The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, also known as The MADE, is a museum in Oakland, California. It focuses on digital art and gaming, with exhibits that visitors can play. Its goal is to encourage future digital creators by preserving and sharing playable games.
The Board of Directors and Board of Advisors include people with experience in the gaming industry, journalists, experts, and historians. The museum was created by Alex Handy, a technology journalist who writes for international publications. Henry Lowood, who works at Stanford University managing history and media collections, is part of the Board of Directors.
In September 2015, the museum started a Kickstarter campaign to find a location in San Francisco, California, which is across the bay from Oakland.
In June 2022, after being closed for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum reopened in a new location in downtown Oakland. Shem Nguyen became the museum’s new executive director at that time.
In July 2024, the museum’s board of directors hired Mason Young as its first full-time executive director.
MADE Classroom: Digital Creation and Critique
The MADE provides a free programming workshop every Saturday morning. The workshop uses their resources and the Scratch program to teach students about game design and development. Students can choose to join a class focused on video game programming, computer art, or both. No prior programming experience is needed, and new students may attend any session. To participate in the workshop, students must be at least 9 years old.
History
In July 2008, Alex Handy found a set of EPROMs for the Atari and ColecoVision games at a flea market at Laney College. These EPROMs contained different versions of games at various stages of development. Seeing their value as early examples of how games were created and revised, Handy gathered volunteers to display the museum’s first collection at GDC 2011 to promote their first Kickstarter campaign. The MADE printed and displayed a large poster showing the history of video game companies, and professionals signed next to the places where they worked. After a successful Kickstarter, volunteers looked for a space at 3rd and Market, a former location of William Hearst’s offices and where the San Francisco Chronicle once printed newspapers.
In August 2011, the MADE asked City Council member Libby Schaaf to find a permanent location for the museum. They were directed to Phil Tagami’s space at 610 16th Street, and the museum signed a lease to rent the second floor. The floor was shared with other non-profits, such as the Mongolian Cultural Center and classes for anger management and parenting. When IDG Media closed GamePro after more than 20 years of publication, the entire GamePro Collection was donated to the MADE. This collection now forms the foundation of the MADE’s holdings. In November 2011, the MADE opened with a 3D exhibit, a symposium by RJ Mical, and free Scratch programming classes for children. Will Wright, the creator of Sim City, donated to the museum, and his wife Anya Wright joined the board of directors. The MADE’s oldest group, the Interactive Fiction Club, held its first meeting.
In 2013, the MADE began its first major digital preservation project beyond uploading lost 1996 GamePro TV episodes to YouTube. With help from Chip Morningstar, F. Randall Farmer, and Fujitsu, the MADE preserved Habitat, the first graphical multiplayer online game, originally released in 1986 for the Commodore 64. This effort led to a partnership in January 2015 with the EFF, Stanford, MIT, Archive.org, and game developers to change copyright law. The change allowed players to bypass digital protections when online game servers no longer worked, letting players continue playing games they had already paid for. This legal change made it possible to legally share a playable version of Habitat with the public.
In June 2015, the ceiling in the MADE’s classroom collapsed, forcing the museum to relocate. The MADE launched a second Kickstarter to move to a 4000-square-foot retail space. They met their $50,000 goal and moved to 3400 Broadway in downtown Oakland. The museum reopened in February 2016 at its new location, resuming all previous events, exhibitions, and classes. Neohabitat, the project to preserve Habitat, was released to the public, and its source code was made available under the MIT license.
In March 2020, the MADE closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government shelter-in-place orders. After disagreements with new landlords, the MADE moved its collection to temporary storage in West Oakland. Video game documentary creators NoClip featured the museum in one of their videos, helping raise awareness and funds to maintain the collection. Museum volunteers started the MADECast, a podcast discussing video game development, play, and preservation with experts in the field. Guests included Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert, Roberta Williams, and MADE volunteers.
In the fall of 2021, Shem Nguyen became the Executive Director of the MADE, while Alex Handy became Board President. The MADE displayed its collection for the first time since the pandemic at a summer festival in East Oakland’s Little Saigon district.
In May 2022, the MADE signed a lease with EBALDC (East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation) to reopen at 921 Washington Street. A month later, the MADE held its reopening party. Matt Householder, the producer of Diablo II, attended, signed a copy of Diablo, and shared stories about its creation. Over 100 visitors attended.
In July 2024, Alex Handy resigned as Board President but remained on the board as an advisor and founder emeritus. Shem Nguyen resigned as Executive Director and became Board President. The board voted to hire its first full-time Executive Director, Mason Young.
In February 2025, NHK World broadcast an episode about the history of gaming featuring MADE historian Rob Curl.
NeoHabitat
NeoHabitat is an open source project led by The MADE. Its goal is to bring Habitat back to its original condition from 1986. The project is hosted on GitHub and needs help from volunteers.