ICHEG Video Game Play Capture Project collection

Collection

Identifier: ICHEG-VGPC

Staff Only

This collection contains several dozen terabytes of digital capture recorded during the IMLS-funded Video Game Capture Project at The Strong. Researchers interested in this resource should contact staff from ICHEG for contents/extent of video games available from this project.

Dates

2011 - 2018

Creator

International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

At this time, this collection is limited to on-site researchers only. Researchers must make an appointment with an ICHEG curator.

Extent

30 Terabytes (Accessible on-site only in ICHEG Lab with staff supervision.)

Additional Description

Historical Note

Launched in 2011 with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, ICHEG's Video Capture Project is part of a multi-pronged response to the challenge of preserving video games. ICHEG staff and co-op students from Rochester Institute of Technology’s game design program have developed methods for accurate video capture of games from original hardware systems and have tested and recorded game play from thousands of games in the museum’s collection.

While complementing a variety of preservation techniques used by ICHEG and other preservation organizations, video recording of game play helps viewers understand the nature of that game play in ways that screen capture photographs cannot. Similarly, video of games being played on original hardware captures the nature of the original games more faithfully than video of games being played on emulators.

Often, video capture is the only means for preserving game play, and fortunately it enables the preservation of game play in a wide array of electronic forms, from console and computer games to arcade games and handheld electronic devices. For example, Massively Multiplayer Online Games may not be playable once the servers that run them are shut down and the player communities disappear, and ICHEG has enjoyed success in capturing that type of game play as well.

Through video capture, ICHEG is endeavoring to ensure that even if the original artifacts themselves are no longer functional, their content will be preserved for future generations to study and enjoy.