Down the Rabbit Hole: Innovative Independent Video Games

Fall Down the Rabbit Hole and into the world of independent video games during our new exhibition! Ten fully playable gaming stations will feature both well known and fringe indie games including Braid, Lumino City, Antichamber, Gravity Ghost, and Passage.

Learn about the innovative approaches indie developers take to crafting games that upend traditional game mechanics and challenge the limits of what games are. Experience empathy in That Dragon, Cancer and Coming Out Simulator, and explore the worlds of Mountain and Hohokum without worrying about fighting off enemies. Also included in the exhibition are student-developed learning stations where visitors will learn about 3D modeling, the importance of music in video games, and game mechanics.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Exhibit Opening Daylong Celebration
July 15
11am – 4pm
Museum Admission/Free for Members

Movie Night – Tron (1982) 
July 29
6pm
Free (concessions for purchase)
When talented computer engineer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) finds out that Ed Dillinger (David Warner), an executive at his company, has been stealing his work, he tries to hack into the system. However, Flynn is transported into the digital world, where he has to face off against Dillinger’s computerized likeness, Sark, and the imposing Master Control Program. Aided by Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) and Yori (Cindy Morgan), Flynn becomes a freedom fighter for the oppressed programs of the grid.

Free Family Fun Day – Pixel Art Project
August 13
2pm
Get in the spirit of “Down the Rabbit Hole” and create art using square “pixel-like” sticky notes! The Museum will provide easy, medium, hard, and expert images for you to fill-in using various colors. We will also have a large image that every adult and child can help create!

Movie Night – Indie Game the Movie 
August 19
6pm
Free (concessions for purchase)
INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE looks at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realize their lifelong dreams of sharing their creative visions with the world. Following the making of the games SUPER MEAT BOY, FEZ and BRAID, this Sundance award-winning film captures the tension and drama by focusing on these developers’ vulnerability and obsessive quest to express themselves through a 21st-century art form.

Free Family Fun Day – Minecraft Perler Beads and Activities 
September 10 
2pm
Do your kids love Minecraft? Come join us at NVM to create perler bead key chains, necklaces, bracelets, and backpack decorations, all in the style of popular Minecraft characters! There will also be coloring pages to do and a Minecraft dice game to pass time while your creations are ironed and cooled.

Retro Game Marathon
September 16
8 – 10pm 
$10 per person
We’ll bring the Atari, you bring your mad gaming skills! We’re hosting a retro game night with snacks and booze to keep you fueled. Get nostalgic with games like Super Mario cart, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Prince of Persia and more.

Free Family Fun Day – Lumino City Model Building
October 8
2pm
Lumino City’s creators took a risk making a game-world out of paper instead of computer code. NVM wants to recreate that look and feel with its own Lumino-like miniature city, and YOU can help! Kids and adults alike can create their own paper house or shop front. NVM will provide tissue paper, popsicle sticks, and other materials to personalize them. Then, come back to the museum late October to see them all glued together into a small city!

Create Your Own Character Workshop 
November 2
3pm
$20 per student
Have you ever wanted to create your own character for a game or movie? In this workshop we will focus on bringing that character to life by exploring how personality affects the shape, pose, and expression of your character. Combining foundational drawing instruction with a fun creative process, this workshop will give you that jumpstart to share your stories with the world!

Annie Ruygt is an illustrator living and working in Sunnyvale, CA.  She graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a B. F. A. in art and illustration, and has since worked on character design, children’s books, and various product design with different clients around the United States.  She currently does all the branding and creative visuals for a tech company in Mountain View called RethinkDB, as well as pursues her love of yoga and storytelling in new ways.  She has worked with children in the past, teaching art lessons and education, and hopes to share the importance of creative expression with all of the arts by engaging with the community.

Free Family Fun Day – Binary Code Beads   
November 12
2pm
Binary codes, based in 1’s and 0’s, are the basis for all computer programming. Convert that code to color, and it’s art! Parents can help kids match the color codes to each letter in a name or phrase, and “write” it in the child’s three favorite colors. Makes a great Holiday gift for your best friend!