Video Game Museum
Encyclopedia
Video Game Museum, is a video game database with an extensive collection of screenshots from title screens, general gameplay
and game endings. It also features a collection of scans of video game covers, boxes, as well as current and old video game print advertisements. The information attempts to cover the entire range of video games, from the beginnings of video games to the present day. It is the most comprehensive collection of screenshots on the Internet and is cited heavily throughout the online video game community, particularly as a source of screenshots of games that aren't easy to find on the market, including by such sites as MTV
, 1UP
, IGN
, Joystiq
, Gamesradar
Other smaller sections include: sprite rips, game reviews, video game magazine cover scans, system information, game music and game artwork. The website also has a forum
for people to share their common interest of all things gaming.
On December 12, 1999, the first game scans were added to the site and they became so popular that by January 14, 2000, the sub-site Gamescans was online, followed quickly by merging of these two sites into the Video Game Museum, launching officially on January 26, 2000. In the following months and years after the merge, more sections such as Game Endings, Game Ads and Game Reviews were added, various redesigns were applied to the site, several staff members joined and left building the VGMuseum as it is today.
The site is updated and maintained by staff members Rey and Oli with Mek serving as the webmaster.
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
and game endings. It also features a collection of scans of video game covers, boxes, as well as current and old video game print advertisements. The information attempts to cover the entire range of video games, from the beginnings of video games to the present day. It is the most comprehensive collection of screenshots on the Internet and is cited heavily throughout the online video game community, particularly as a source of screenshots of games that aren't easy to find on the market, including by such sites as MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
, Gamesradar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
Other smaller sections include: sprite rips, game reviews, video game magazine cover scans, system information, game music and game artwork. The website also has a forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
for people to share their common interest of all things gaming.
History
Started by Garrett "Mek" Dockery on August 20, 1999, out of his need to have screenshots for as many games as possible, the site was originally called Gamepics.On December 12, 1999, the first game scans were added to the site and they became so popular that by January 14, 2000, the sub-site Gamescans was online, followed quickly by merging of these two sites into the Video Game Museum, launching officially on January 26, 2000. In the following months and years after the merge, more sections such as Game Endings, Game Ads and Game Reviews were added, various redesigns were applied to the site, several staff members joined and left building the VGMuseum as it is today.
The site is updated and maintained by staff members Rey and Oli with Mek serving as the webmaster.
Website Designs
The VGMuseum (and Gamepics before it) tries to set itself apart from conventional website designs by applying its own unique look, a mix of refreshing pastel colors and video game sprites that adorn the website on every page.Pre Designs
- August 1999 - January 2000: The final Gamepics design before merging into the VGMuseum - Gamepics
- January 14th 2000 - January 26th 2000: The short-lived Gamescans site before merging into the VGMuseum - Gamescans
Post Designs
- January 2000 - September 2000: First design after Gamepics and Gamescans merged into the VGMuseum - VGM 1.2
- September 2000 - August 2001: The second design was completed on August 25 and it stands as one the best designs yet - VGM 2.1
- August 2001 - Current: The current design was completed August 2001 and it has been in use ever since - VGM 3.1
Sections
The Video Game Museum is home to various main sections and some smaller ones, just like the wings a real museum has.Primary
- Gamepics: Quantity-wise, the Gamepics section is the largest part of the site, containing title screens and gameplay screenshots for over 10,000 console and portable games.
- Game Endings: The most popular part of the site with over 3000 game ending pages complete with last bossBoss (video games)A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, full ending and creditsCredit (creative arts)In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.-Credit in the arts:...
for each game listed (with some endings stretching over 200 images).
- Game Scans: This is the third largest section of the site, with scans of the game disks/cartridges, instruction manuals and front/back art covers of video game boxes.
- Game Ads: The ad section presents magazine cover scans and a look at the promotional ads featured in various magazines across the years for multiple game systems.
Secondary
- Game Systems: Screenshots and technical information about the actual game console and portable systems.
- Game Reviews: Small section with game reviews for multiple systems.
- Game Music: Features game music for various games.
- Game Art: Art galleries made by contributors.
- Sprite Rips: Various sprite rips for multiple games.
- Downloads: WinampWinampWinamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features.Winamp...
Skins and wallpapersComputer wallpaperWallpaper is an image used as a background of a graphical user interface on a computer screen or mobile communications device. On a computer it is usually for the desktop, while for a mobile phone it is usually the background for the 'home' or 'idle' screen...
for download.
- Links: Links to other interesting video game related websites.