Jerome McDonough University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Preserving Virtual Worlds  Multiyear initiative investigating the preservation of computer games & interactive fiction Goal: To help develop mechanisms and methods for preserving digital games and interactive fiction Methods: Case studies of individual games, experimental testing  Partners Graduate School of Library & Information Science University of Illinois Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities University of Maryland College of Computing & Information Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology Stanford University Libraries Stanford University

You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Preserving Virtual Worlds

Game Preservation Problems  Complexity & Boundaries  Versioning  Meaning & Context

Game Preservation: A Data Model Archival Information Package – Open Archival Information System Reference Model

Game Preservation: A Data Model

Adventure Manifestation Adventure Item Adventure Expression Adventure Work Adventure Sub-Item Data File Adventure Sub-Item FORTRAN IV File <rdf:Description rdf:about=”URI for Work Aggregation"> <ore:aggregates rdf:resource=“URI for Expression Aggregation /> …

Game Preservation: A Data Model Adventure Work Adventure Sub-Item FORTRAN IV File xlink:arcrole="pvw:has_context_information" Adventure Family Tree Website Work DEC System 10 FORTRAN Language Manual Expression

A few remaining problems

A few possible solutions  Collaboration Among libraries, archives and museums on: ○ On data storage ○ On identification of representation information Between LAMs and the gaming community on: ○ Selection and acquisition of context information ○ Intellectual description

Thanks! Questions?