London museum showcases games

As part of the London Science Museum's Game On exhibition, several talks by key UK game industry pros have been announced. These include Eidos Interactive's Ian Livingstone on the topic of "10 Years of Lara." Livingstone will reflect on the icon's 10-year anniversary. The talk will take place on November 13.

Other talks include Kuju's Nicolas Rodriguez on "Dance Mats and Joysticks: Who's Playing Now?" on November 1. Rodriguez will discuss the impact of new controllers such as dance mats, buzzers, and EyeToy on the gaming landscape.

David Braben, who developed the classic game Elite in the 1980s, takes a trip down memory lane with "Gaming: Now and Then" on November 20. Braben will discuss the evolution of video games since he started in the industry, from their humble beginnings to the cinematic level of many games today.

In addition, Mark Griffiths, professor at Nottingham Trent University, will discuss some of the psychological issues that games prompt in his presentation, "Gaming in Mind," on November 28.

The Game On exhibition, which is sponsored by Nintendo, will run from October 21 to February 25. The exhibition aims to "explore the history, technology, and culture of computer games." There will be over 120 playable game classics such as Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Kart.

Visitors will also be able to see the DEC PDP-1 computer on loan from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The DEC PDP-1 is the computer that ran one of the world's first video games--Spacewar!--back in 1962. There will also be a large-scale art exhibition by UK artist Jon Burgerman and a collection of classic game posters and ads.

Another highlight of the exhibit is a special section on Japanese game culture, with displays of manga and anime, which have influenced video games, and playable Japanese games, including Densha De Go! and Dance Dance Revolution.

All lectures take place from 7 to 8 p.m. and cost £7. Tickets to the Game On exhibition cost £8.50 for adults and £6.50 for children. Combination tickets for the Game On exhibition and the evening talk can be bought for £11. More information can be found on the London Science Museum's Web site.