An exhibition that explores the integral role of video games, board games and moving images in contemporary life, 30 Lives, is now on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The exhibit was named after the iconic “Konami Code,” which prompts users to input a sequence of commands to gain extra life points.

It presents a study on gaming as an activity long derided for its apparent triviality. It investigates the concepts of play as a space temporarily occupied, and game as the formal rules that govern it. Both are diversions from daily life and serve as an interim from reality. Whether they take a physical area such as a basketball court or a mental space like a board game, both become sites where critiques and even subversions can be constructed.

The gallery transports guests to different arenas, be it in card or board games, or modern video games. It features the works of German filmmaker and author Harun Farocki, Shanghai-based artist Lu Yang, South Korean new media artist Heecheon Kim, and Filipino artists Ikoy Ricio and Miguel Inumerable. There are likewise stations with an array of original video games, which were conceptualized and created by the budding game designers and developers from the Interactive Entertainment and Multimedia Computing Program of the DLS-CSB School of Management and Information Technology. Each project is a representation of the emerging practices and trends in video game development.

30 Lives is free and open to the public. It is available on view until 31 March. MCAD is located on the ground floor of the Benilde Design + Arts Campus along Dominga Street, Malate, Manila. It is open from Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit at www.mcadmanila.org.ph/visit.