Most cultural institutions know games matter. Very few know what to do about it. Kristian Volsing is one of the people who figured it out — and built the path in real time.

As part of the V&A's contemporary design team, Kristian co-curated Design/Play/Disrupt, one of the most significant museum exhibitions ever dedicated to game design. He navigated studio NDAs, convinced the National Gallery of Art to lend a Magritte for a game show, and flew a colleague to Kyoto — where Nintendo showed her exactly one meeting room.

In this conversation, we go deep on what it actually takes to build a sustainable games program inside a cultural institution: why live events beat collection-building as a starting point, how to work with an industry that guards its IP fiercely, and what experimental game designers actually need from institutions like yours. If you're a champion inside an organization who sees the opportunity but doesn't yet have the authority to act on it — this one is for you.

• (00:00) - Why Cultural Institutions Can't Afford to Ignore Games Anymore
• (01:36) - Kristian Volsing's Path From Film Student to V&A Curator
• (05:27) - How a New Director Opened the Door for Digital Design at the V&A
• (09:20) - Inside Design/Play/Disrupt: Why Depth Beats the "50 Games on a Wall" Approach
• (17:32) - Nintendo, NDAs, and What It Actually Takes to Partner With Game Studios
• (27:55) - The Hard Truth About Collecting and Preserving Digital Work
• (40:50) - Where Your Institution Should Start: Practical Advice From Someone Who Built the Path

Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts’ past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

Hey there -- if you subscribed to the Twofivesix podcast, we've made some changes to our focus. I'm working with museums, collections, galleries, and cultural orgs on the same big problems I used to help corporate clients with. Hope you enjoy!

What does it actually take to exhibit game-based art in a museum? Beyond the romantic notion of "games as art" lies a complex reality of technical requirements, development timelines, and institutional infrastructure that most cultural organizations simply aren't prepared for.

Today, I'm speaking with Theo Triantafyllidis, an artist who builds what he calls "performative systems where natural and synthetic intelligences rehearse their coexistence." Working with games, live simulations, performances, and installations, Theo creates darkly playful procedural worlds that turn phenomena like ecological collapse and networked desire into experiences that can be felt rather than verbally explained.

Theo has exhibited at major institutions including the Whitney Museum, Centre Pompidou, and was part of the Venice Biennale's Hyper Pavilion. His work ranges from Pastoral, an intimate anti-game about a muscular orc running through an infinite hayfield, to Feral Metaverse, an ambitious eight-player multiplayer game with a custom medieval catapult rig that's been in development for over three years.

In this conversation, we go deep on the practical realities of exhibiting interactive work: Why IT staff aren't the same as technical infrastructure. How institutions fund physical installations but not digital development, or vice versa. Why a game that takes two weeks to build might tour internationally while a three-year project struggles to find the right venue. And what it means when audiences bring their player psychology into the gallery space—that instinct to test boundaries and break systems that makes games fundamentally different from other art forms.

If you're a cultural institution thinking about game-based programming, an artist navigating this landscape, or simply curious about what happens when the art world meets interactive media, this conversation offers a rare, unvarnished look at what it really takes to do this work well.

• (00:00) - The Infrastructure Gap: Why Museums Can't Show Interactive Work
• (00:43) - Theo Triantafyllidis on Building Performative Systems
• (01:30) - Beyond IT: What Game-Based Art Actually Requires
• (03:55) - The Funding Paradox: Digital vs. Physical Production
• (08:59) - Technical Realities: Maintenance, Testing, and Player Psychology
• (15:39) - Case Studies: From Two-Week Prototypes to Three-Year Developments
• (25:41) - Building Institutional Literacy for Game-Based Practice

Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts’ past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

I'm shining the spotlight on Chris Norris, the exec from Electronic Arts who's dialing up the positive play in gaming communities. Chris is the Senior Director of Player Connection at EA.

I had a great conversation, treading the path of evolution of social interactions in video games - from the cozy comfort of couch co-op play to making friends in the far reaches of the globe. We also explored how game makers developers can inspire better behavior in players and debunk the widespread belief that gamers are antisocial.

Chris and I also delve into the exciting prospects of how using cues from physical spaces can create palpable experiences in the digital world. We're not just talking about games; we're talking about fostering positive social interactions in gaming spaces, and you're invited to join the conversation.

This episode was hosted by Jamin Warren. Music was provided by Lusine.

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Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts’ past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

I spoke with Rebecca Mir, Director of Digital Product Management at Ad Council, about the inherent potential of technology, games, and digital media for creating social change; the differences between traditional marketing and PSA development; and how Guild Wars 2 proved to be the perfect place to Seize the Awkward.

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Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts’ past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

One of the biggest success stories from the world of games has been charity fundraisers. While public perception of "gamers" doesn't include philanthropy, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. More than $42 million has been pledged to charity over the last decade—all from gamers supporting their favorite causes.

"I don't think it has anything to do with video games, to be honest," Alyssa Sweetman, diversity and charity platform manager at Twitch says about the success of fundraisers. "I think that it has everything to do with instant feedback loop."

Alyssa has helped lead some amazing activities in her role. When COVID first hit, she worked with brands like Verizon and P&G too put together an amazing 12-hour event that featured live music from Ellie Goulding and Diplo alongside competitions in Fortnite and UNO. All proceeds went to the United Nations Foundation's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. She also helped to raise over $300,000 for The Trevor Project.

I spoke with Alyssa about how to pick the right streamers for your fundraiser, why videogame charity events aren't any different from walk-a-thons, and why you should let influencers just be themselves.

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Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts’ past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

Juan Vaca, Netflix’s first narrative designer, gives us his thoughts on why interactive content is taking off lately. He also details how his gaming background influences his storytelling, why he thinks of his audience as players instead of viewers, and what exactly goes into making an interactive movie or TV show at Netflix.