McCord Museum’s Web Game Wins Prize!

Tuesday, 09 May 2006 12:53

Montréal, Canada - The McCord Museum’s Website has been recognized once again, receiving an honorable mention , from the Media and Technology Committee of the American Association of Museums, in the Educational/Interpretive — History and Culture category, for its interactive game Watch the Birdie.

The game is part of the virtual exhibition The Photographic Studio of William Notman, devoted entirely to the famous photographer. The game Watch the Birdie (http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/birdie) invites players to take on the role of a customer or an apprentice photographer in Montréal’s renowned Notman studio around 1870.  The historical content—including the use of original Notman photographic works masterfully hand-colored by Pakobrats designers—is the central element of the game and provides the inspiration for the animations as well as the role-playing game's humor.  “An interesting and unforeseen aspect of the game is that many players try harder to fail than to score points ! By doing their best to avoid choosing correctly, they get to see the funny animations that follow a wrong answer,” said Dr. Nicole Vallières, Director, Knowledge and Collections Management.

With The Photographic Studio of William Notman, made possible through the support of the Virtual Museum of Canada, the McCord pursues its commitment to make its collections accessible to the general public.  The site contains more than 125,000 online images and showcases more than 75,000 photographs of the Notman collection, one of the institution’s signature collections.  More than 220,000 people visited the McCord Website in April 2006.

Visit The McCord Museum at : http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/