"A Palette of Pixels" details the industry's compelling artistic evolution through nearly two-dozen games
EWING -- In 1981, those who purchased video games based solely on their cover art were doomed for disappointment.
Artist Steve Hendricks depicted stoic kings for "Checkers," or planetary destruction for "Defender" -- with photo-realistic detail similar to today's products -- but the embryonic Atari 2600 games were comprised only of two-dimensional, blinking boxes, coupled with boops and beeps.
Of course, early titles like "Centipede" or "Space Invaders" are held in great esteem by first-generation gamers. But over the last three decades, perpetual advances in technology have spurred a transition from rudimentary design to dazzling, lifelike expression.
"A Palette of Pixels," a striking, new art exhibition at The College of New Jersey, details the industry's evolution through nearly two-dozen games, and their representative concept art and video screens of looping gameplay.
The exhibition, which is open to the public through Dec. 13, is broken into three "eras," explains Chris Ault, curator and associate professor of interactive multimedia at the college.
Atari games at "A Palette of Pixels," a new art exhibition at The College of New Jersey centered on the evolving art of video games. (Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) The first period is the aforementioned outset of video-gaming, where there was great disparity between the fantastical store-shelf graphics and the games themselves.
"There were these grand artistic visions but the technology just wasn't up to it," Ault says in a recent interview.
In "Era 1," vibrant images painted onto '80s arcade cabinets are juxtaposed with a screen of crude, flashing images of "Defender."
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But as the gallery snakes around to Era 2, visitors see a drastic leap forward, in both time and artistic prowess.
The dynamic, otherworldly concept art of blockbusters "God Of War III" (2010) and "BioShock" (2007) represents the first series of immersive games, bolstered greatly by the release of Playstation 2 (2000) and Xbox (2001).
"In Era 2, finally the technology was up to the task, and whatever you dreamt up, you were able to execute, but it was a relatively closed shop," say Ault, adding that although the emergence of early 2000s game engines were mega milestones, the only designers with access to the tools were those employed by large studios with considerable funding.
A world overview of "God Of War III" (2010) at "A Palette of Pixels," a new art exhibition at The College of New Jersey centered on the evolving art of video games. (Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) But in 2015, (Era 3), software to create beautiful, intuitive games is more accessible than ever, and teams of a handful -- or even one -- can produce in a week what used to take months. The advances have bred a shift to computer and console "indie games," which avid players now gravitate toward almost frequently as typical top sellers.
"Very small teams, now all of the sudden have this new avenue to show creative expression," Ault says. "People have freedom to choose whatever styles they want, from super-realistic to cartoons."
Among indie highlights in the exhibition are "Flower" (2009), a serene, "poetic adventure" game where users control the wind and blow petals across different landscapes, and "Journey" (2012), another minimalist game which Ault says is one of the most important titles of the last decade.
"It's so effective in creating an emotional atmosphere," he says. "It's very simple, and because of that simplicity, it invites you to feel so much. ... People can get absorbed very quickly."
Visitors can play "Journey," "Flower" and 25 other games on computers in the exhibition's interactive area.
Visitors observe stills from "FLOMM! THE BATTLE For MODeRN 1923" (2013) at "A Palette of Pixels," a new art exhibition at The College of New Jersey centered on the evolving art of video games. (Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Ault hopes that through stills, video and sampling, the games which he, gallery director Emily Croll and TCNJ student Dom Portera, gathered will spawn a newfound appreciation for the medium as an artistic outlet.
"They may have walked into that room skeptical, but I'm confident they will leave realizing it's not unusual," he says. "It's engaging and evocative just like it was a gallery full of paintings."
"A Palette Of Pixels," Open to public until Dec. 13; Tuesday to Thursday 12 to 7 p.m., Sunday 1 to 3 p.m.; TCNJ Art Gallery, Art and Interactive Multimedia Building; The College of New Jersey; 2000 Pennington Rd., Ewing; Free.
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook.