Rockett’s New School
Object name/title: Rockett’s New School
Maker(s): Brenda Laurel (director), Purple Moon Games (developer)
Date: 1997
On display: Yes
Object number: SHEVG.2024.9
Credit line: Purchased, 2024
Rockett’s New School
Back to exhibitionsRockett’s New School was the end result of five years of research into what girls enjoyed in play and in videogames. Director Brenda Laurel combined her academic background in computing and virtual reality with her work experience in interactive design to create a narrative-driven ‘friendship adventure’ game. She hoped that by including elements of social interaction, character development, and navigating real-world scenarios, games like Rockett’s New School would encourage girls to become comfortable and familiar with computers.
The Girl Games Movement of the mid-1990s faced criticism both from executives still convinced that women and girls were not a viable market for videogames, and from those who felt that games made for girls reinforced feminine stereotypes. Nonetheless, Rockett’s New School marks a milestone in the history of women in games. Moreover, its choice-based storytelling helped pave the way for the popular ‘visual novel’ genre of videogames.
Our Collection
What you see in our gallery is just a small part of our collection. Vital work behind the scenes focuses on cataloguing our items.
This is a key part of managing a Museum’s collection and is essential for many of our activities such as research, conservation and exhibition development.
Back to our collection