[game_preservation] Game Preservation Awareness Day

[Devin Monnens]

This is to follow up on Marty's proposal for a Game Preservation Awareness
Day.

I think it would be a very good idea to use the IGDA bullhorn to do some
more awareness work like with the whitepaper a few years back. This might
be something similar, but in a more 'suit-readable' and 'dev-readable'
format.

This is basically something we can advertise through the IGDA and Gamasutra.

The pamphlet/announcement would include information for what companies can
do right now to help preserve their work.

-How is preservation important to your company?
-What is important to the history of games?
-What should you preserve?
-How should you preserve it/what steps can you take?
-How much is this going to cost you?
-What can you do if you're just one person?
-Here's people who can help

-What are game preservation groups doing, and why should you care?

This can also help allay fears that 'preservation = pirates' by describing
what preservation groups actually do and how they protect sensitive
materials.

So like what should a company do if they have a bunch of art assets and dev
materials that they no longer want to store? Right now, it's cheap (and
somewhat secure) for them to just throw it all in the dumpster. What's an
alternative that isn't going to cost them much money and hassle and still
achieve their objective of clearing space cheaply and securely?

Unless this sort of option is given, then companies are going to continue
to throw away their history.


On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 5:46 PM, Martin Goldberg <wgungfu at gmail.com> wrote:


>

>

>

> On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 4:26 PM, Alex Handy <alex at themade.org> wrote:

>>

>>

>> The real problem is that companies approach the preservation groups with

>> hostility. It's not making them any friends there. Henry's got the right

>> idea, but he can do this because he's with an institution. We need more

>> institutions to help take this on and add legitimacy to it.

>>

>>

> And I absolutely hate to see preservation efforts treated that way by

> companies. In the case of more institutions like Henry's not being

> available, what's the middle of the road answer then? Should the IGDA Game

> Preservation SIG itself go on a campaign to promote awareness on the

> importance of preservation within the public and at these companies? Having

> a single voice could go a long way in supporting everyone's legitimate

> efforts in a company's mind and distinguishing legit efforts from the

> pirates/copyright concerns/etc. they normally knee-jerk respond with. Look

> at it from a company's perspective: Who are you to them and what assurances

> do they have that their IP is solely going to be used for preservation? How

> can we all come together to promote the assurances?

>

> I think the big hurdle is this on display/distribute for people to enjoy

> part. That's what the games were created for in the first place, for people

> to purchase and enjoy. At some point the item in question ceases to become

> a commodity, but when? How do you convince these holders that the time has

> past and "freely buy to enjoy" is no longer in the interests of

> preservation but "freely enjoy" is? And if you go the route of "We'll just

> do it all anyways regardless" is that really helping combat the stigma and

> hostility that's there or proving in their minds they're right for having

> that attitude?

>

> I really think this SIG should come up with concerted/unified campaign to

> promote that awareness of the importance of what everyone is doing. Come up

> with a national game preservation day (or month), do press releases, get

> the gaming sites and magazines to participate, having events at everyone's

> locations, reach out to these companies to participate, etc. Could go a

> long way.

>

> --

> Marty

>

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>

>



-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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