Preservation of Video Games
Devin Erlandson, Kris Kniffen, Mara Powell, Amanda Seppala
Video Game Preservation
Abba, T. (2012). Archiving digital narrative: Some issues [Electronic version]. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 18(2), 121-125. doi:10.1177/1354856511433687
While not expressly about “video” games, this article details issues that archivists need to consider when moving to preserve born-digital game media, such as ARGs (augmented reality games) or other digital narratives which can have a more traditional video game component. The focus is how to best capture the entire experience of the digital narrative and not just the basic content. Archivists need to consider incorporating spatial or temporal metaphors in order to properly maintain the digital-born experience as it played out in real time for the initial participants (Abba, 2012). The author also points out that while emulation is a potentially valuable tool, it goes against archival principles by fundamentally altering the original work and that archivists will have to decide between maintaining the original data or maintaining access (Abba, 2012). The author does not present solid solutions so much as they just want to engender conversation.
Anderson, D. & Delve, J. (2012). Computer games preservation: The challenges. In Anderson,D., Delve, J., Konstantelos, L., Billenness, Baker, D. & Dobreva, M. (Eds.). The Preservation of Complex Objects (pp. 113-118). Bristol, England: JISC. Retrieved from http://www.pocos.org/books/pocos_vol_3.pdf#page=115
This chapter serves as an introduction to some of the basic challenges arising from video game preservation, and to the different parties involved. The paper explores several topics. These include 1) the role of the developer in game preservation; 2) the role of cultural institutions in terms of curation, metadata, and documentation in particular; and 3) the role of the gaming community in preserving abandonware. Of particular note is its exploration of the expectations of preservationists, and the practical support that developers would need in order to meet those expectations.
Antonescu, M., Guttenbrunner, M., & Raber, A. (2009). Documenting a virtual world: A case study in preserving scenes from Second Life. In The 9th International Web Archiving Workshop (IWAW 2009).Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://hdl.handle.net/10797/14072.
This paper describes a case study where an approach to archive information from within the virtual worlds of online games is used. The paper outlines the importance of not only preserving the content that online games such as World of Warcraft or Second Life provide, but also the interactions within that content. It is the social interactions that give the digital content (preserved using migration and/or emulation) context. In the case study, the authors worked with the Second Life scripting language to create an in-game camera that would move invisibly and seamlessly through the gaming environment to record video and still images. The paper also lightly touches on legal and ethical aspects of this practice.
Bachell, A., & Barr, M. (2014). Video game preservation in the UK: Independent games developers' records management practices [Electronic version]. International Journal of Digital Curation, 9(2), 139-170. doi:10.2218/ijdc.v9i2.294
It is clear that library and information science professionals find archiving video games to be a worthwhile endeavor, but what about the video game industry itself? This article studied the current preservation efforts of different video game companies in the UK. In general, the companies seemed agreeable to preserving their work, but the cost and the threat of piracy is preventing them from undertaking the work, or allowing external agencies to preserve their work (Bachell & Barr, 2014). The authors advocated that archivists should work with the video game industry by advocating the commercial benefits that preservation could offer (Bachell & Barr, 2014).
Barwick, J., Dearnley, J., & Muir, A. (2011). Playing games with cultural heritage: A comparative case study analysis of the current status of digital game preservation. Games and Culture, 6(4).373-390. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://gac.sagepub.com.
Despite the importance of video games in popular culture, little is written in academic literature about its preservation. Using a comparative case study analysis, this article explores the challenges and issues in digital game preservation. The case study involved the Computerspiele Museum (now defunct) in Berlin, Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY, and the National Video Game Archive within the National Media Museum in the UK. Areas examined are long-term preservation, emulation, exhibiting, and selection. The case study found that the current approaches to long-term digital preservation are technological preservation, migration, and emulation. Whereas it has been found that emulation is the best choice for long-term digital preservation, many institutions utilize technological preservation. The reason for this is that not only are emulation projects expensive and time consuming, there are many Intellectual Property laws disallowing emulation. Exhibition is difficult as video games can exist in many formats at once, text, images, sound, and video. The organizations in the case study try to focus on making an authentic experience. The organizations suggest collecting oral histories, guide books and other ephemera to aid in the interpretation of video games. Many of the institutions interviewed have collection policies in place that limit their collections to software that is the first of its kind, or that was very popular.
Barwick, J., Muir, A., & Dearnley, J. (2009). Where have all the games gone? Exploration on the cultural significance of digital games and preservation. DIGRA 2009: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory, London, England 1-4th September, 2009. Lecture conducted from Brunel University, London. Retrieved from https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/5325/1/State%20of%20Play%20a.pdf
This paper explores the needs of researchers who are interested in digital games and how their efforts are hindered by a lack of research collections comparable to those that exist for television and film. It explores the importance of games to our cultural heritage and thus the importance of figuring out how to preserve them, but notes that very little research has been conducted into how negative perceptions of video games - such as bad media attention garnered for violence or addiction - have impacted decisions to preserve them. Of particular note is its exploration of the current status of game preservation, and of how important it will be to increase collaboration between institutions, and particularly between preservationists and the games industry, in order to increase preservation in the future.
Buchanan, K., & Vanden Elzen, A. M. (2012). Beyond a fad: Why video games should be part of 21st century libraries. Education Libraries, 35(1/2). Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text.
Aside from specialized artchives and academic libraries, public libraries can provide a valuable short-term preservation service that is accessible to the average layperson. This article advocates for the inclusion of video games in a public library collection in a way that would best help a librarian convince the director or board to invest in the technology. While the topic of long-term preservation is not really discussed, the authors do talk about the use of re-released or “classic” games (such as the HD remake of “Beyond Good and Evil”) as a way to retain culturally significant older video games (Buchanan & Vanden, 2012). Such remakes are, of course, dependent on the industry finding value in maintaining their previously released material and migrating them to new systems, which was discussed in “Videogames in the UK” (Bachell & Barr, 2014).
Casillas, B. (2013). Attack of the clones: Copyright protection for video game developers. Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review, 33(2), 137-205.
This paper focuses on one court case and explores how video game developers’ creations are protected under copyright law from cloning or emulation. This paper also discusses how courts evaluate copyright claims for video games, and how original content is protected from being cloned. This may be pertinent to video game preservation tactics if cloning or emulation is being used. Copyright can be confusing and it is important for those involved with curation and preservation to be aware of the laws that protect or restrict these actions.
Conley, J., Andros, E., Chinai, P., Lipkowitz, E. & Perez, D. (2004). Use of a game over: Emulation and the video game industry. Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 2(2), 1-30. Retrieved from http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=njtip
Conley et al discuss the legality of using emulators for the digital preservation of video games. Knowledge of the legal issues brought up by the video game industry with regards to video games offers useful knowledge for those working to curate video game collections and preserve their content. The video game industry alleges that emulators are piracy and compete with original games by contributing to the creation and usage of ROMs that mimic the game cartridge. The paper ends with a proposed strategy—game companies should develop their own emulators for discontinued consoles, support backward compatibility, and expand their IP portfolio.
Doyle. J., Viktor, H. & Paquet, E. (2009). Long-term digital preservation: Preserving authenticity and usability of 3-D data. International Journal of Digital Libraries, (10) 33-47.
This paper discusses the fact that hardware and software are impacted by obsolescence, thus making it difficult to access and view digital information. This paper is meant as a framework for long-term digital preservation of 3-D data. The two most important preservation practices discussed are emulation and metadata; both ensure that the data is authentic and usable. Emulation, argues Doyle et al, is the most realistic preservation approach for 3-D data. The framework also takes into account the end users—their needs are vital, according to the paper, and it is the end user who determines what should be saved and in what way. While this article is not explicitly about preserving video games, it is about the long-term preservation of digital content that has almost identical metadata and continued accessibility issues. This successful model is valuable to consider for any archivist looking to develop best practices for preserving video games. Given how popular emulation is in both the video game industry, and as a model of preservation, the methods that the authors developed for preservation metadata is directly applicable to the challenge that archivists face when working with video games.
Ennis, M. (2013). Saving games. Library Journal, 138(17).44-n/a. Retrieved October 30, 2014 from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/docview/1438967507?accountid=14925.
This article focuses on the importance of video games to digital culture and their challenges to preservation. Since video games include moving images, audio, text, and all different types of software that if one were to solve the problems in video game preservation, it would solve the problems of digital preservation at whole. Challenges and issues that come about with video game preservation are hardware and software obsolescence, or storage media corruption. Ennis discusses the Preserving Virtual Worlds project involving the Rochester Institute of Technology, Stanford, the University of Maryland, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Linden Lab. The article also discusses complex copyright issues, console issues (both the console and the individual games must be preserved), emulation issues (very viable preservation option, however, mostly illegal), and server shutdown (resulting in the complete loss of an online digital world). The article ends with future plans for how video game preservation can continue.
Galloway, P. (2011). Retrocomputing, archival research, and digital heritage preservation: A computer museum and ischool collison [Electronic version]. Library Trends, 59(4), 623-636. doi:0.1353/lib.2011.0014
Many video game archives are ad-hoc and not affiliated with an institution (Winget & Murray, 2008). If the end goal is to have institutional collaboration, how could this be achieved? This article explores a computer museum in Texas that is run by non-museum professionals who are experts in technology that has begun to work with a local University. Archivists who begin working with private collectors who are experts in their field can form a mutually beneficial relationship where archivists can learn more about the technology and the private collectors can learn how best to store their materials (Galloway, 2011). These kinds of relationships are going to become more and more important as the backward compatibility and continued support for retro games begins to decline, which leaves modern archivists unable to even access content without specialist assistance.
Gooding, P. & Terras, M. (2008). ‘Grand theft archive’: A quantitative analysis of the state of computer game preservation. The International Journal of Digital Curation, 3(2), 19-41. doi:10.2218/ijdc.v3i2.56
This paper reports on a quantitative study of the state of preservation of computer games in the U.K. in an effort to determine how much of our gaming heritage has already been lost and why games have been so sporadically preserved. According to its findings, games are already in a vulnerable state because they are often not accorded the same respected as other examples of modern popular culture. As a result, computer game history is a particularly challenging discipline as it is impossible to know what has already been lost and early records are often incomplete. Finally, the paper argues that compiling accurate metadata and examining the exact scale of data loss more closely is of paramount importance to the future of games preservation. Strikingly, they note that the serious state of current preservation levels is proven by the fact that Ebay is a better source of old games than the resources of computer game archives.
Guttenbrunner, M., & Rauber, A. (2012). A measurement framework for evaluating emulators for digital preservation. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 30(2), 1-28. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2180876
Guttenbrunner and Rauber state that accessible emulation is the best method for preserving and maintaining digital objects, such as applications, electronic art, or video games. This paper offers an evaluation framework for validating an emulator’s ability to reproduce the original behavior of digital object. This framework allows for assessment of original characteristics and properties of digital artifacts (such as video games). This article also provides for concepts that will enable digital curators and preservers to evaluate how the emulation affects digital objects and compare them to their behavior in their original non-emulated environment.
Guttenbrunner, M., Becker, C., & Rauber, A. (2010). Keeping the game alive: Evaluating strategies for the preservation of console video games. The International Journal of Digital Curation, 1(5), 65-90.
This article discusses strategies for digital preservation of console videogames. First, the article provides a brief history of videogame home consoles, then outlines the specific challenges in preservation of console videogames, such as preservation of game code, online content, preserving the “look and feel”, and legal aspects. The article concludes with a case study examining emulation of ten popular videogames from an imaginary future library. The results showed that emulation through a modern is a successful way to access game software from early obsolete consoles, however, none of the emulators could be ensured for long-term availability, which is a major disadvantage for preservation. Emulation for newer video games, like those for the Sony Playstation 2, rendered unplayable files. Furthermore, unique peripherals like fishing controllers or maracas are not supported on emulation through a modern computer. Another problem found was that the emulators do not support metadata. Other types of preservation were examined in the case study. The video approach where video recordings are taken of users playing the game, was ruled out as a viable video game preservation strategy because it lacks interactivity, but they could serve as addition material. The article ends by saying that research needs to be done on the preservation of the experience, a way to capture metadata should be developed, and calls for a preservation agreement between institutions and video game manufacturers to extend legal deposit laws to video games.
Guttenbrunner, M. (2008). Preserving interactive content: Strategies, significant properties and automatic testing. In Workshop in Data Analysis (WDA'2008). Retrieved from http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_172294.pdf
This paper explores the various ways that interactive digital content, including videogames, can be preserved. It seeks to identify the significant properties of interactive objects in order to determine optimal preservation solutions. It then discusses the various migration and emulation strategies for preserving these items long term. It argues that potential losses need to be investigated very closely in this kind of preservation, as the loss of interaction can render a digital object like a video game entirely useless. Of particular note is its exploration of various preservation strategies, including the re-compiling of source codes on new systems, the simulation of original behaviors when source code isn’t available, the filming of an object to convert audible and visual characteristics to video, the preservation only of database content without maintaining the interactivity of the software, and low-level emulation. The weaknesses and strengths of each option are discussed.
Horodyski, J. (2006). Making metadata work in digital asset management and video game production. Journal of Digital Asset Management, 2(5), 255-261.
This article discusses Digital Asset Management (DAM) and the metadata needed to support the given asset. Making metadata work for DAM involves the construction of a metadata model, a set of descriptive elements about the assets, that enables users to search for and retrieve items needed for their work. This article uses video game production to describe DAM and metadata work and creation. Video game elements, specifically digital assets from Electronic Arts, are used as a tool for analyzing how DAM is useful for the description, identification, and retrieval of digital assets. Horodyski uses objects from the Sims 2 to show how 3D models, textures, and concept art have unique metadata considerations. The article also argues that metadata should be seen as a fluid model that is subject to change and not as static information.
Kraus, K. (2011). ‘A counter-friction to the machine’: What game scholars, librarians, and archivists can learn from machinima makers about user activism. Journal of Visual Culture, 10(1), 100-112.
Kraus proposes that game scholars, librarians, and archivists take note of machinima (using computer graphics engines to create cinematic productions) artists when developing their approaches to digital access and preservation. Kraus argues that machinima is both visual culture and a cultural practice. From a legal perspective, machinima is at a point between copyright law and contract law, public rights and private rights, and the right of reproduction versus the right of adaptation. Kraus states that unlawful machinima has paved the way for lawful machinima, and argues that perhaps archivists and librarians should operate outside the constraints of a legislative culture that has become anachronistic in the information age.
Laskowski, M., & Ward, D. (2009). Building next generation video game collections in academic libraries. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 35(3), 267-273.
This article focuses on curating gaming collections and services within an academic library environment. The authors discuss developing an academic library gaming initiative at a large university, and identify questions academic libraries need to ask, as well as issues that need to be addressed, to create a next generation gaming collection. Collection needs are addressed, including: building core collections, hardware and format support, using video games as primary resources, use of non-commercial gaming materials, and acquisitions and access issues. The article also touches on research grants for preserving gaming collections and related materials. One major challenge for academic libraries within the next decade is finding a way to preserve games in a way that allows them to be analyzed in a close approximation of their original context.
Landgraf, G. (2011). Inside the Library of Congress's video game collection [Electronic version]. American Libraries,42(11), 45.
This article describes the efforts of the LOC to archive all of the video games produced in the United States. They admit that their goal has been incredibly challenging because they primarily rely on donations and have yet to figure out how to store born-digital games. For physical games, the LOC’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation in Virginia utilizes the best practices and equipment they have developed from archiving film. This includes climate controlled storage rooms for the games, and acid-free folders for game packaging. Cataloging has also proven to be a challenge, and the archivists are experimenting with incorporating industry keywords as genre headings as well as the standard LCSH/LC genre headings.
Lee, J. H., Tennis, J. T., Clarke, R. I., & Carpenter, M. (2013). Developing a video game metadata schema for the Seattle Interactive Media Museum. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 13(2), 105-117.
The authors describe their collaboration with the Seattle Interactive Media Museum (SIMM) to fill the gap in traditional organizational systems and standards for video game access. A standardized description model for video games is both needed and important due to inconsistent, vague, and subjective sources of information for title, genre, release date, features, region, language, and developer and publisher information. The article's authors developed a formal metadata schema for video games. In the paper they describe how the schema was established, their user-centered design approach, and the introduction of core elements for their schema. They discuss their challenges in cataloging video games and offer advice for video game catalogers.
Libby, J. S. (2003). The best games in life are free: Videogame emulation in a copyrighted world. 36 Suffolk University Law Review 36, 843-861. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/sufflr36&collection=journals&page=843
This article explores the legal difficulties associated with emulation, noting that the ease with which emulated games can be transferred via disks or the Internet raises questions of software piracy, but that some argue it to be a necessary action regardless of the law as waiting for copyrights to expire would mean waiting until there was nothing usable left to archive. It stresses the challenge of retaining emulation and encouraging the underlying principles of maintaining aging videogames while still respecting the rights of copyright holders. In order, it explores the development of copyright law for videogames, discusses how emulation effects the manufacture, distribution, and use of emulator software, explores how emulation can exist independently of software piracy, and finally analyzes the steps legislatures must take to ensure that emulation remains viable without the constant threat of copyright act violations. This article is of particular note as it assists would-be digital curators in balancing preservation and respect for the rights of copyright holders.
Lowood, H. (2004). Playing history with games: Steps towards historical archives of computer gaming. Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Portland, Orgegon. Lecture conducted from the Electronic Media Group, Portland, OR. Retrieved from http://www.imappreserve.org/pdfs/educ-past_conference/lowood-emg2004.pdf
This paper seeks to explore the particular preservation difficulties presented by videogames. It explores the positions of both historians of the media and curators of collections, seeking to define the objects to be preserved and outlining projects planned by Stanford University. In defining what the objects to be preserved are, it argues that videogames are not simply artifacts but activities -stressing that preserving the hardware and software is of limited value if we do not also preserve recorded game play and user-made game modifications. The paper continues by noting that this must be taken into account when developing metadata standards. Finally, it outlines hurdles faced in the long-term preservation of collections at Stanford, considerations in the development of The Machinima Archives, and early planning for an Archives of Wargames, Simulations and Modeling project.
Lowood, H. (2002). Shall we play a game: Thoughts on the computer game archive of the future. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/~lowood/Texts/shall_game.pdf
This paper explores the cultural importance of video games (noting that the number of hours consumers dedicate to video games significantly surpasses the hours dedicated to watching television or movies) as well as issues with ensuring that this culturally important phenomenon remains available for future study. The paper asks the following questions: what challenges do we face in building historical collections of interactive media? How will the characteristics of video games define historical collections and who will curate them? What can be done today to advance the games archives of the future? Finally, it presents a plan for action that stresses the importance of collaborative, multi-institutional projects.
Lowood, H., Armstrong, A., Monnens, D., Vowell, Z., Ruggill, J., McAllister, K., & Donahue, R. (2009). Before It’s Too Late: A Digital Game Preservation White Paper. IGDA Game Preservation Special Interest Group. Retrieved from: https://apps.lis.illinois.edu/wiki/download/attachments/3736446/IGDA_Game_Preservation_SIG_-_Before_It's_Too_Late_-_A_Digital_Game_Preservation_White_Paper.pdf
This paper addresses the threat represented by the potential disappearance of original game content and intellectual property through media decay & obsolescence, noting that this is a threat to academic game studies, to the historical appreciation of game culture, and to game developers themselves. It explores the numerous problems that games developers and preservationists face, particularly stressing the importance of cooperation and coordination between archives, libraries, and the industry.
McDonough, J.P. (2011). Packaging videogames for long-term preservation: Integrating FRBR and the OAIS reference model. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(1), 171-184.
This article focuses on ways that the PVW (Preserving Virtual Worlds) project creating AIPs for videogames in a way that is consistent with the OAIS reference model. The author discusses the PVW project , and the issues that have come up along the way. Some common problems addressed are availability of source code, versioning questions, obsolescent storage media, playability, availability of representative information, and intellectual property. The article also discusses using FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records) as an entity-relationship model.
McDonough, J., Olendorf, R., Kirschenbaum, M., Kraus, K. M., Reside, D., Donahue, R., ... & Rojo, S. (2010). Preserving Virtual Worlds Final Report. Retrieved from http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/14734.
This paper is a final report by the Preserving Virtual Worlds Project, which involved the Rochester Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Illinois and was carried out as part of Preserving Creative America, an initiative by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program at the Library of Congress. The goal of the project was to use a series of case studies and literature to explore the issues surrounding the preservation of video games. Their final report explores the issues of obsolescence, boundaries (the web of interconnections that functioning games require), intellectual property law, collection management, significant properties of games, and preservation strategies.
Newman, J. (2012). Illegal deposit: Game preservation and/as software piracy. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 19(1), 45-61. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://con.sagepub/content/19/1/45.
This article discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by video game emulation software, and illegally ripped game codes (ROMs). The video game industry is constantly concerned with the “next generation” of gaming, so older game hardware and software become obsolescent rapidly. To make matters worse, the best mode of preservation, emulation, violates intellectual property laws. The article describes the opportunities that ROMs provide, and calls for the video game industry to be more actively involved with preservationists.
Newman, J. (2012). Ports and patches: Digital games as unstable objects. Convergence, 18(2), 135-142.
The fact that digital games are inherently unstable is a major problem for curators and archivists. Gameplay in digital games takes unexpected and unpredictable directions when players push at boundaries of rules and systems, which poses a challenge for those engaging in archival work, curation, or exhibition of digital games. Newman argues that games themselves are composed of a collection of digital objects, not just one single object. Digital games cannot be considered static objects or assets, as they are routinely ported and patched. This article uses the Sonic the Hedgehog series to demonstrate the porting, patching, and unstable nature of games.
Nicholson, S. (2013). Playing the past: A history of games, toys, and puzzles in North American libraries. Library Quarterly, 83(4). Retrieved from Library Literature & Information Science Full Text.
Video games still have a stigma attached to them that has prevented their preservation from being taken seriously. This article explores the historical context for libraries maintaining collections of analog games as a way to explain the importance of libraries maintaining video game collections. Aside from the programming boost that a video game collection would bring to a public library, this article also explains how important an accessible game collection is for both cultural and educational research.
Pinchbeck, D., Anderson, D., Delve, J., Alemu, G., Ciuffreda, A. & Lange, A. (2009) Emulation as a strategy for the preservation of games: The KEEP project. DiGRA 2009 - Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory. Retrieved from http://eprints.port.ac.uk/2714/
This paper explores the question of why game preservation matters and outlines the serious challenges preservationists must overcome in order to develop strategies to retain access to obsolete games. It explores emulation as an option and introduces the KEEP project, which is designed to create an open emulation access platform. Of particular note is its overview of the complexity of preserving a video game, describing a situation in which a game was released in more than one format, was patched six times following its release (with separate patches for each format), was released in a collectors’ edition with extra content, and included a multiplayer component with official and unofficial servers that contain data about the history of the online aspects of the game. If this wasn’t enough, the game was also modified, discussed & reviewed by the gaming community, and walkthroughs were produced. The article further outlines questions that are raised by this complexity, asking whether it is necessary to preserve copies of the game in every format, whether to keep the original or the final, patched version, and so forth. Finally, the article discusses the KEEP project and how it helps to meet some of the unique problems associated with games preservation – including the large bodies of material that surround most games.
Robson, D., & Durkee, P. (2012). New directions for academic video game collections: Strategies for acquiring, supporting, and managing online materials. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(2). doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2012.01.003
In order to preserve access in more than just corporate archives, it is important for academic libraries to also develop video game collections. This article uses the author’s personal experience as well as the current literature to describe how an academic library could develop a video game collection from the ground up. While the issue of long-term preservation is not discussed, and academic libraries may not have the resources or desire to maintain a large volume of classic games and their hardware; this author does address the issue by advocating for the use of emulated game services such as Gametap to provide access to classic games for researchers (Robson & Durkee, 2012).
Swalwell, M. (2009). Towards the preservation of local computer game software. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 15(3), 263-279.
This article discusses a multidisciplinary team of researchers who brought legal, technical, and media-historical expertise for the preservation of New Zealand’s locally written software titles from the 1980s. The article discusses the threat of digital decay to locally written video games. The games exist on a degrading storage device, and rely on obsolete video game consoles. A pilot preservation project involving preservation for local games for the Sega SC3000 microcomputer funded by the Victoria University of Wellington is discussed. The aims of the project were to conserve local early video games, provide legal access to them (by making them available for download on a mobile device), to explain the process of software archiving, and to showcase New Zealand’s local video games. It was very difficult to address the legal challenges because even when contact could be made with people who worked for the company, nothing could be recalled about copyright. Many of the games were in “legal limbo”. The results from the project conclude that the look and feel of the original hardware is lost, but something is gained by being able to play the game in a modern context.
Tappeiner, E., & Lyons, C. (2008). Selection criteria for academic video game collections. Collection Building, 27(3), 121-125.
The authors discuss the relevance of creating video game collections in an academic library environment which would support research on campus. They also propose criteria for building collections in academic libraries. This paper approaches video game collection development by examining collection policies of several academic libraries and examines research which discusses the cultural, historical, and educational nature of video games. They also examine playback devices, packaging, and video game websites. Finally, the authors proposed criteria for selecting video games for academic libraries: physical characteristics, teaching principles present in games, subject matter and content, and the cultural and historical nature of the game. The authors propose collecting games as serious objects of study.
Thielman, Sam. "Mining value in videogames." Variety 2010. Print.
While emulation is not a “pure” form of archiving, it does allow for the essence of a video game to be preserved in a way that can still provide value to the original content creators. As noted in “Videogame Preservation in the UK,” the commercial benefits of preservation might be one of the best ways for archivists to convince the videogame industry to preserve their material (Bachell & Barr, 2014). This article further expands upon this idea by pointing to iPhone apps such as Asteroids and Valve’s Steam service as ways that the video game industry has successfully used emulation to continue to make money on the emulated games.
Thomas, C. M., & Clyde, J. (2013, November). Game as book: Selecting video games for academic libraries based on discipline specific knowledge. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39(6). doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2013.07.002
Institutions outside of video game-specific archives may also look into preserving video games as part of their collections. This article explores how discipline-specific knowledge may be contained in a video game, necessitating its preservation as part of an academic collection (specifically, the author’s looked for material related to the history discipline). While the authors were unable to find anything of value for the history department’s collection in the games they evaluated, they concluded that games are still worthy of being evaluated for inclusion in different discipline’s collections (Thomas & Clyde, 2013).
Winget, M.A. (2011). Videogame preservation and massively multiplayer online role-playing games: A review of the literature. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(10), 1869-1883.
This literature review focuses on the present challenges that video game preservation has. The paper notes that video games have the same challenges as every other form of digital content, plus it needs to cope with the preservation of console systems, peripheral controllers, and network dependencies. The review is broken down into areas of preservation challenges: technical dependencies, representation, and collection development. The paper notes that video games have technical dependencies that make them difficult to preserve. This type of digital object can become inaccessible without effort from preservationists. Some strategies for preservation include migration, and emulation. Based on an attempt to migrate Quake, migration is not a good option for video games. Emulation is considered to be an acceptable form of video game pre2servation; however, it is most often illegal due to Intellectual Property Rights laws. Both migration and emulation allow for a degree of loss, but the paper suggests that more research needs to be done on the idea of “authenticity” when video games are concerned. Video games also have challenges in representation. Games, in general are difficult to describe. Even simple games have complex technical dependencies that can change over version, and they also require instructions for use. According to the authors, representation is another area that is under researched in video game preservation. One article splits descriptive framework for older games into five categories: representation information (basic information, requirements, necessary devices), reference information (title, platform, version, etc.), provenance information (legal information, source code, programming languages, etc.), fixity information (descriptive functionality and copy protection information), and context information (Dublin Core). Problems are that this framework does not make it easy to track relationships between patches, versions, and new releases. Four areas for collection development are emulation testbeds (to test the authenticity, reliability and access of emulations), game development archives (collecting game development models from designers, producers, and developers), artifact collections (game cartridges, CDs, gaming consoles, etc.) and game performance archives (machinima, game mods, speed runs, fan-fiction, etc.).
Winget, M. A., & Murray, C. (2008). Collecting and preserving videogames and their related materials: A review of current practice, game-related archives and research projects [Electronic version].
One of the reasons why preserving video games is so difficult is because a lot of archivists do not have a clear understanding of how video games are created (Winget & Murray, 2008). The authors of this article argue that if archivists and collectors learned more about how video games are created and developed (and conversely, if video game creators and artists understood more about archival best practices), we would have an easier time preserving this new medium. the authors also point out that most of the collections that existed at the time of publication were ad-hoc and fractured, without official institutional support (Winget & Murray, 2008). However, the people who run these archives are highly knowledgeable and passionate, and can provide more formal archives with valuable insight into the medium (Winget & Murray, 2008).
