I have run across a very exciting project recently from my regular internet perusals. It is a very awesome looking music installation piece for children by Marieke who is already well known for her pixel animations. The installation is called ComputerMusic4Kids and is a very interesting and fun way for children to learn about a ton of game consoles from the 1970's to late 80's. You can check out everything about the project, including her work in progress blog on the project. It is all very exciting, but I think she explains it better than I do.

ComputerMusic4Kidz is an interactive electronic music installation for kids, inviting them to explore the history and sound of classic gaming consoles.

Gameconsoles have had an ever changing face ever since they were first introduced. It seems as if video games have been around forever. Almost everyone remembers the first game they played. But looking at the history of video game consoles, it's really only necessary to go back to the early 1970s. That's when it all started. Games such as Pong, Tetris and Space invaders, that have been created for early game consoles are ever as populair and can now be seen as symbols of contemporary culture. Computermusic4kids is meant to offer kids an insight in the relatively young history of the gameconsoles they play today.

The installation mainly focusses on the sounds that can be produced with classic gameconsoles and enables children to create music using classic gameconsole soundsamples. By using an intuitive interface children can navigate through a visual library, that contains a selection of gameconsoles produced between 1972 and 1990. By selecting a gameconsole they can produce music with samples that originate from the chosen gameconsole.

In my opinion this is very cool, and a very good way to show kids who did not grow up with all the classic consoles that we did a chance to hear and learn about the history of games and game music. So be sure to check out the ComputerMusic4Kids website! Hopefully they will be posting some videos from the exhibit very soon as well! And if you were wondering what game consoles were being included in this exhibit, check the list below. Was your favorite early console included?

Magnavox Odyssey: 1972
Atari 2600: 1977
Arcade: 1980
Commodore 64: 1981
ZX Spectrum: 1982
Nintendo Entertainment System: 1984
Vectrex: 1983
MSX: 1984
Sega Mastersystem: 1986
Amiga 500: 1987
Gameboy Classic: 1989