Wikimedia Blog/Drafts/Enter the video game museum through Wikipedia

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Enter the video game museum through Wikipedia

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The first video game Evan Amos ever played was Super Mario Bros. on the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) on Christmas day 1988. In the 25 years since, the 30-year-old Missouri native has witnessed the evolution of gaming consoles into what they are today.

As a game enthusiast and photographer, Amos noticed the lack of high quality pictures for game consoles on Wikipedia and on the internet. Feeling that he can do a better job himself, he set out to take his own pictures. Amos began a quest to preserve video game history by photographing video game hardware.

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  An American Power Glove controller for the NES, made by Mattel. By Evan Amos.
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  The Neo Geo AES video game console, released by SNK in 1991. By Evan Amos.
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  A Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first video game console. By Evan Amos.
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  The Commodore 64 Games System, a game-console version of the Commodore 64 released in 1990. By Evan Amos.
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  The Japanese Sega Mega Drive video game console. This is the first design model of the system. By Evan Amos.
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  A Nintendo 64 video game console shown with gray controller. By Evan Amos.

Amos started taking high-quality pictures of video game consoles and controllers in his apartment after he moved to Brooklyn, New York, and uploaded them to Wikimedia Commons.

“The first picture I uploaded was a poorly shot roll of duct tape,” he says. “I knew I wanted to take pictures of the video game consoles I owned but I took some test shots of things lying around the apartment first.” He put the duct tape on a piece of white poster board to minimize shadows. He shot it with a Sony A700 DSLR and an inexpensive Impact studio strobe. He used Photoshop to wipe away the remaining shadows.

“Since this was for an encyclopedia, I wanted the pictures to be as direct, neutral and clean as possible. If you go too stylized in your photos, I think that it limits their application or ability to be educational,” he says. “I'm sure that the style is also what helps the pictures get around as much as they do, because it makes them so easy to use for a variety of projects.”

Amos' photography improved steadily. “I enjoy teaching myself how to take pictures. My participation on Commons has given me a great avenue to gain experience and exposure," he says, noting that he has subsequently upgraded his camera and equipment to a Nikon D7100 and an Einstein E640 strobe light.

Amos grouped his photos in what he called The Vanamo Online Game Museum, and put the idea on Kickstarter, a fundraising site for creative projects. His goal was to raise $8,500 to create a catalogue chronicling video game history through pictures. He got over $17,000 from more than 1,000 donors in little less than a month.

“After the pictures have been taken, I'll be working with the NYU Game Center and The International Center for the History of Electronic Games to help house and display the physical collection,” he says.

One of Amos' early entries was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first commercially available gaming console. His collection ranges from popular consoles like the Commodore 64 Games System (1990) to lesser known ones like the Neo Geo (1991). Amos aims to capture the detailed history of classic consoles like the NES by documenting many of its external components, like the Power Glove, a controller that fits over a player’s hand like a glove.

In the spirit of Wiki Commons and Wikipedia, all the photos he takes are free for anyone to use and distribute. Amos estimates millions of people have already seen and re-used his photos. One of the byproducts of his encyclopedia-style photography is that it’s difficult to spot an Amos original; which is something he's fine with. To him, it's the video game console that matters. “When you aim for this particular style, you're going to leave less of a personal imprint on it. You want the focus to be the product, not yourself. You shouldn't really be standing out,” he says. “But it's all an important and necessary service, and I'm more than happy to do it.”