Indie Essentials: Must-Play Video Games at the Museum of the Moving Image
Still looking for an excuse to head on over to Astoria to check out the Museum of the Moving Image? Well, look no further! Indie Essentials is a must-see, kid-friendly NYC exhibition featuring 25 "must-play" independently-designed video games. It’s the perfect adventure to take your kids on, as long as they are of a certain age and skill set.
The museum is easy to get to, just a few blocks from the N and Q, and its extensive core exhibition “Behind the Screen” is engaging, interactive, and an all-around excellent look at every aspect of movie making. Not to mention, some these new video games are really fun to play!
Single Player Video Games
I went to the Indie Essentials show at the Museum of the Moving Image on a weekday afternoon and was able to jump right in and play just about every game there. Among my favorite single-player games were:
- Alien Hominid: a wild, side scrolling, comic-book-ish shoot-em-up that pits you, the alien, against a million shady federal agents
- Everyday Shooter: which was like an updated version of Asteroids.
I played both of these for at least half an hour each. Not only are they just exactly the right degree of challenging/satisfying, but they're both really cool to look at. Note: these two and many others here have been available on computers and various game systems for years, but they were new to me, so, really, who cares?
Multi-Player Video Games
Several of the most intriguing games are designed as multi-player platforms, so it might be even better if the museum is more crowded than the day I went. The dual-screened Joust-like monster Killer Queen Arcade, for example, plays best with ten people at the controls at a time, and you really need four players for SlashDash, a kind of capture the flag, but with ninjas. There were a couple of games, like the atmospheric horror story of Path (the cartoony stream punk puzzler Machinarium), that looked fantastic, but that I couldn't figure out at all. Basically, there's something for everyone here at the Indie Essentials show, both from an aesthetic and entertainment perspective.
More Information: Indie Essentials Exhibition
Indie Essentials: 25 Must-Play Video Games will be at the Museum of the Moving Image through March 2nd. The Museum of the Moving Image is located in Astoria, on 35th Avenue and 37th Street, and is regularly open Wednesday through Sunday.
Posted in NYC Events | Tagged indie essentials video games • kid friendly exhibitions nyc • museum of the moving image • nyc exhibitions for kids • video games exhibition nyc
