Jon-Paul C. Dyson

Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and Vice President for Exhibits

Dr. Jon-Paul Dyson is the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) and Vice President for Exhibits at The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, New York. As Director of ICHEG, Jon-Paul has supervised the growth of the collection to more than 60,000 video games and related artifacts and hundreds of thousands of related library and archival materials, the most comprehensive such collection in the world. He is also in charge of the development, fabrication, and maintenance of highly-interactive, well-interpreted, artifact-rich exhibits at The Strong that are visited by nearly 600,000 people a year.

Selected Exhibitions:

  • Digital Worlds – Leading development of 20,000 sq. ft. exhibit experience on the history of video games, funded by NEH Chairman’s Award (only one awarded in 2019). Centerpiece of The Strong’s $65 million expansion. (Opening 2023)
  • Rainbow Reef Digital Aquarium – Led development of large-scale, augmented-reality digital aquarium. December 2019.
  • National Toy Hall of Fame and World Video Game Hall of Fame airport exhibits – Supervised development of two long-term Strong museum exhibits at the Greater Rochester International Airport. November 2018-present.
  • Women in Games – Led team that developed exhibit exploring role of women in video games. November 2018-present.
  • Peanuts and Play – Developed exhibit on role of play in Charles Schultz’s Peanuts comic. October 2018.

    • Selected Publications:

  • A History of Video Games in 64 Objects –Book published under auspices of World Video Game Hall of Fame. Dey Street Books, HarperCollins, 2018.
  • “Play in America: A Historical Overview” – The Handbook of the Study of Play, James E. Johnson and Scott Eberle. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015.
  • “Toys” – Article in Debugging Game History: A Critical Lexicon, Raiford Guins and Henry Lowood. MIT Press, 2015.

    • Selected Blogs:

  • “A Brief History of Online Games” – Posted August 27, 2020 — https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/2020/08/a-brief-history-of-online-games
  • “Ten Reasons Why Play is Essential (for Children AND Adults)” — Posted June 23, 2020 — https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/2020/06/ten-reasons-why-play-is-essential-for-children-and-adults
  • “A Laboratory for Video Game Preservation” — Posted October 11, 2019 —https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/2019/10/a-laboratory-for-video-game-preservation
  • “A History of Video Games in 64 Objects” — Posted May 22, 2018 — https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/2018/05/a-history-of-video-games-in-64-objects
  • “Playing the ‘Good War’” — Posted June 23, 2017 — https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/chegheads/2017/06/playing-the-good-war

    • Social Profiles

    All Sessions by Jon-Paul C. Dyson

    • 2. Summit Morning

      Nov. 19

    • 13:00  - 14:00
      How does play exist in the material world? Is a video game experienced differently on an emulator than the original arcade version? How do game mechanics migrate from physical board games, dolls, or toys to virtual experiences? The Strong National Museum of Play has the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, dolls, games, video games and other artifacts of play, and this tour by Dr. Jon-Paul Dyson will provide a quick overview of the collection as well as an interactive discussion of how specific artifacts can open up discussions about questions like these that explore the materiality of play.

      A Virtual Tour of the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. By Jon-Paul Dyson, Vice President for Exhibits and Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. Followed by a closing panel with Benjamin Beil, Gundolf S. Freyermuth and Hanns Christian Schmidt.
      Where
      Online via Eventbrite




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    Jon-Paul C. Dyson