José López Campos, the regional minister for Culture, Language and Youth, inaugurated the exhibition 'Galician video games: an interactive journey through 40 years of cultural heritage' this morning. The event is part of the programming for Library Day, which took place last month. The exhibition, located at the Biblioteca de Galicia, will be open until May and features over 60 pieces that illustrate the cultural and technological evolution of the region through its video game creations.
During his visit, López Campos emphasised the importance of showcasing Galician talent in the gaming industry by recovering works and projects that have contributed to the sector's development, while also promoting the use of the Galician language. He also highlighted the significant role libraries play in preserving and disseminating Galician documentary heritage.
Accompanying him at the event were Anxo M. Lorenzo, the director-general of Culture, and the exhibition curators, Lorenzo Castro and Charo López, both technicians at the Biblioteca de Galicia. The project is a collaboration between the Biblioteca de Galicia and the Fundación Museo do Videoxogo (MUVI), featuring both the library's own collections and items loaned by the foundation, including videos, automated demos, gameplay sequences, and digital resources. This aims to provide an accessible experience for various audiences while contributing to the visibility, preservation, and contextualisation of Galician video game heritage.
Four decades of gaming history
The exhibition is organised chronologically and thematically into eleven sections, covering four decades of history. It begins in the mid-1980s, a pioneering era marked by self-learning and microcomputers like the MSX, and extends to the present day, characterised by the professionalisation of the sector and global digital distribution.
The journey starts with 'The Wall' (1986), recognised as the first Galician video game and a trailblazer in entering Spanish professional circuits. The 1990s and early 2000s saw the emergence of works with strong identities or educational value, such as 'Cuban Mission' — the first video game marketed in Galician — and the successful 'A grande aventura de Merliño', which was widely distributed in schools and inspired by Galician legends. 'Glest' also emerged during this period, noted for its open-source nature and technical innovation in 3D.
Today, the maturity of the sector is reflected in internationally acclaimed successes such as 'Yuppie Psycho', the racing game series 'Super Woden', and new academic creations like 'Gelatina is Hungry'.
