THE National Film and Sound Archive will now collect and preserve Australian video games.

In announcing the new collecting imperative, archive CEO Jan Müller described the phenomenon of computer games as “a new frontier”.

He said the archive would conserve and store hardware and software.

Müller said that an initial list of eight games created from 1982 to 2019 had been chosen, ranging across all platforms, from cassettes and mobile devices and virtual reality headsets.

The eight games selected for preservation are:

• “The Hobbit” 1982, by Beam Software;
• “Halloween Harry” by Interactive Binary Illusions/Subzero Software, 1985 and 1993;
• “Shadowrun” by Beam Software, 1993;
• “LA Noire” by Team Bondi, 2011;
• “Submerged” by Uppercut Games, 2015;
• “Hollow Night” by Team Cherry, 2017;
• “Florence” by Mountain, 2018 and
• “Espire 1: VR Operative” by Digital Load, 2019.

The  move towards popular culture at the NFSA began last year with the Heath Ledger exhibition, followed by a popular show focusing on one film “The Dressmaker”, but now children, parents and grandchildren seem likely to descend on the NFSA to enjoy themselves trying out the 80 playable video games installed at its new exhibition “Game Masters: The Exhibition”.

Müller said he had already been trying out his gaming skills on the nearby console for “Donkey Kong.”

“Game Masters” was created and curated by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne during 2012, and has since been seen by audiences in Australia, NZ, the US, Germany Sweden and Scotland.

Wherever it goes, it updates its content, so that in Canberra new titles will include “Florence”, “Lumino City” and “Submerged, the latter produced by Canberra‘s Uppercut Games.

Fiona Trigg, senior curator at  ACMI, said the exhibition was the centre’s first international export and had now entertained more than 1.2 million visitors around the world.

“Game Masters: The Exhibition,” National Film and Sound Archive, until March 9. Visitors with autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivities should seek advice from the front of house staff.