The preservation of art so that it can be discovered by future generations is incredibly important. Videogames should be no exception and a new paper published in the International Journal of Digital Curation outlines the challenges our preferred form of entertainment faces in being protected. Painting a bleak picture, it suggests a not-distant future where some console games could be lost to time forever.
Satisfactorily preserving a game is difficult. In order to present the exact experience as designed, games really need to be run on their original hardware. As any retro fan will tell you, it's just better that way.
Game consoles have never been built to last, operating under the expectation that the devices would eventually be replaced with more powerful hardware. But once the last ColecoVision or Magnavox Odyssey stops working, so does the game as originally designed. Emulators attempt to fix this problem but, as they are not typically produced by a commercial entity, compatibility may not be across the board and even emulators run the risk of being made obsolete as computer systems continue to evolve.
Copyright laws, too, present challenges which will have to be overcome. In order for a game to be preserved in such a manner that it could be played decades later, everybody who has a stake in the ownership of that title would have to agree to do so. Beyond the crass suggestion of a loss of profitability, just tracking people down and getting their signature could be a bureaucratic nightmare.
I don't know if it is possible to properly preserve our history in games. The paper suggests ways in which we can improve the situation and, as with every creative endeavor man has undertaken, some things are always going to fall through the cracks and become lost. But games are unique in that, even if a lost and forgotten game should be discovered decades from now, it's entirely possible that nobody will ever be able to experience it. Sad, sad things to think about on your Friday morning.
Keeping the Game Alive: Evaluating Strategies for the Preservation of Console Video Games [International Journal of Digital Curation via Technology Review]
Contest:
5:00 AM on 07.30.2010
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Gamers are rich in history and community. Emulators, Virtual Console, Backwards Compatibility all these things assist us to rediscovering our roots.
Not to mention the fact that gamers are big on sharing old games, recommendations, and interest in older systems through shared experiences.
Things like retroforce go are a great example. Gamers really refuse to let their histories die. As the older games of today tend to enter the business. Draw inspiration from the games of their youth, and have no problem name dropping their favorites.
Lawl.
For example, one can rebuild a NES controller to work through an USB connection without much hassle, and the whole NES library is available in ROM form. Nothing to worry about.
Speaking as the type of gamer who has a closet full of consoles, I'm more than okay with the fact that I can play just about any game I've experienced in my early childhood on my PSP or PC with relative immediacy (and a 360 controller, and a kickass display). I prefer a streamlined interface to a bunch of consoles sitting on my shelf with a TV bleeding wires out of its bum. But then, I live in a small apartment.
I understand the purist's argument for maintaining working consoles and cartridges, but how far would you take it? Do you also preserve the TVs you played the games on as a kid? How about the entire room in which you first experienced Alex Kidd or Contra?
Man, I am a snarky bitch this morning.
Just like music enthusiast love to preserve vinyl. We too must try and protect what we love most. And the culture associated with gaming.
.....I think I said too much.
If they want a real Colecovision sat there rather than a PC running MAME, can they not make new console hardware (with high-quality wiring and such) based on the original blueprints?
But to speak to what you (and others) have said in regards to the ease and longevity of emulation, I'm sorry, it's not the same. And it's not mere nostalgia either. I don't feel the need to wax nostalgic about Gyromite, but I would like there to be an option available in the future for people to play the game as it was meant to be played.
The experience of playing a game on original hardware versus emulation can be fundamentally different in terms of audio/video as well as controls and emulators typically fail to achieve 100% compatibility for a console's library. Add to the fact that emulators will have varying performance based on the hardware they run on and you can immediately see the disparity from the original experience potentially grow wider and wider.
I think what we have to remember is that not all art is preserved in it's original state, only things "worth" preserving were preserved. Further to that, there are car museums as well where they have experts keeping them maintained in perfect working order.
If there ever was a full project, I would assume the hardware could be maintained in a similar way to classic cars.
There are currently projects such as redump which aims to preserve original game code. I contributed to the Dreamcast one as the preservation of DC games is one of the priorities. Unlike older cartridge ROMs that have the original dumps (occasionally with an intro, but they're easy enough to rip out) a lot of the Dreamcast pirate dumps had the original data modified to squeeze the GD-ROM gigabyte size down to a 700mb CD-R. If you've got some old DC discs lying around, it's a worthy cause to donate to as the .GDI format preserves games in their original state.
USB classic console controllers ROCK
There's an overlying problem here. I really do hate to use utilitarian thought here, but what is humanity's purpose in retaining some of these things? Old games are really, truly only good for nostalgic value. By the time someone becomes interested in the gaming of old (which will only happen by discovering their own personal interest in modern gaming), they will have played games that are more immersive, more aesthetically pleasing, more intellectually challenging, and more topical. Granted, not ALL of these descriptors will apply to one single game (or maybe they will), but that is almost besides the point. Video gaming is a technological device. New technology will ALWAYS spoil us. We will be accustomed to newer and hopefully greater ways to enjoy our hobby.
I don't think that future generations will be missing out on much. A lot of our love for the games of our youth are really only special when juxtaposed with our state of being and surroundings at the time. While a lot of us may regard Final Fantasy VII as something dear to our hearts, there will be a day when the impact of that game itself will fade. It will pass on through inspiring the next great innovators and storytellers of gaming, but in its pure form as a game alone, it will not stand the test of time. It is surely useful to keep the code around for historical purposes, but anybody saying they will want to play these games 30, 40, maybe 50 years from now are being a bit hopeful, if not ignorant.
Conrad: The importance of recording history and reliving it are two very different things. Reverence for the past is severely important to any living person, but making it a priority to go back, even for a short while, to attempt to connect with that older time will probably just be met with disappointment and it will be a reminder of how far along we've come. The only things that the past serves us is a lesson learned in how to function in our future, otherwise progress is impossible.
What are we really saving some of these games for? We most certainly don't need to save our sports titles, especially those redone year after year. The only thing I can think of worth saving are stories, mechanics, and game worlds/universes. These are all things that will inevitably be saved by reiteration. If they were truly enjoyable and worthy pieces of their own, they will be recycled. That is how the human race thrives.
These conversations always come up in the realm of art. Fear of death is not about being fearful of ceasing to exist - its being afraid of ceasing to experience. We all fear change because it is always a sign that all things that exist will evolve beyond our short time here on Earth. There are GREAT games that we will never ever see. There are stories and intelligent mechanics that we will NEVER experience. That's saddening to us. To grasp at the games of the past is a way to reaffirm that what we experienced was worth our time and our admiration. It is a way to tell ourselves that what we experienced was something pure and untouchable. And in our emotional ties, they most certainly were. But if we are honest with ourselves, we will understand that it will never serve the same purpose for the future. People will have been jaded and spoiled by newer, more exciting ways to tell stories, compete with their friends, and socialize and communicate with something, whether human or machine. And isn't THAT why we play games? If it's something we are passionate about, our time will always be better spent soaking in all of the NEW experiences. Reveling in the past is not avoidable and it is definitely purposeful, but we've got to be realistic and understand that we will be in this boat of nostalgia.
All alone.
This is not an effort to dissuade people from keeping history and records of their favorite way to pass the time. This is only a reminder to not confuse nostalgia with utility.
Another problem is having proper storage for all these systems and games as well as acquiring media on which to play them. One of the biggest issues facing archives today besides budgetary concerns is space. The console, televisions, games, and controllers all require a significant amount of space and materials to properly and safely store these items to preserve them. Storing electronic media is particularly tricky due to besides the common problems of dust, sunlight and temperature, you also have to be able to repair the machines as they will break over time so that's buying spare parts as well as finding someone who can repair the machines or outright buying a new machine.
For those of you who think it would be ok to lose this history, I would say to you that all history is priceless. It is how the past speaks to us and how we learn not only about ourselves but about the evolution of culture and society. Just because you think no one would want to play these old games (something I completely disagree with) doesn't mean that the history of video games doesn't need to be preserved for future generations. Nostalgia isn't an issue here. It has nothing to do with loving an old game or console. As an archivist, it is your duty and trained profession to preserve history in whatever form it takes for the future. Video games will only continue to become more prevalent and as the culture evolves and becomes and intrinsic part of our society, future generations will need to understand it's beginnings and organic evolution.
Losing this history would be a damn shame because once its gone, it cannot be replaced in its original form and offering up emulation to the people is not its original form.
There is almost a tangible feeling you get from it, that I don't believe ever goes away. Not just nostalgia.
That impact old games brings is never lost on myself, personally. I feel that so many people don't appreciate the older titles and are happy to just have emulators because we've evolved into this disposable, single serving society. And just like Elvis mp3's on your PC, it's convienient, but doesn't do the classics the justice of being there when it happened or experiencing it the way it was initially brought to the public. I just hope that a ton of us have huge collections to pass down for the future generation gamers.
Bit curious about where you got the stuff about copyright though? "In order for a game to be preserved in such a manner that it could be played decades later, everybody who has a stake in the ownership of that title would have to agree to do so." - This doesn't sound right to me. In most cases I believe copyright has a limited timeframe before it expires, besides which I think it would be permissable to archive pretty much anything without obtaining permission beforehand.
These systems were only made to last a few years, and while its awesome that there's emulation and digital distribution of old games, its not quite the same as playing iton the original hardware.
Not to mention games like Panzer Dragoon Saga which are going to be lost in time because of their rarity and the fact that no one will ever re-release it (and from what I've heard emulating Saturn is near impossible).
People are thinking in the short term. Sure, you can preserve an old console's code/roms/controller for 10, maybe 20 years, but what happens in 100 years? Computers will be so advanced, they won't even be comparable to what we have now.
The reason films like Metropolis, Los Olvidados, Fando and Lis, and many others haven't been lost, is because such creations were treated as art from the very beginning by their very creators, the critics, the viewers and the general artistic culture, making it easier for international organizations and national authorities to declare the films as a cultural heritage.
Even then, we the gamers claim and get endless iterations of every single game we like, and its value as art and cultural heritage gets inherently devalued. I mean, we are about to get Silent Hill 8 and Final Fantasy 14, right?
you do realise that the batteries inside those console carts you mentioned can be easily replaced right?
Moreover, as PCs get better and DOSbox gets better, playing those old pre-Win95 games will get even easier.
My two cents on the matter is that most gamers view gaming as a technological progressive medium, like someone said earlier. We don't mind that the originals fade into obscurity as long as the ideas are preserved or evolved.
Like someone else mentioned, there are groups dedicated to preserving the original experience. If it's something you feel necessary, you can always contribute.
I'm not too worried about emulators going anywhere. Even if people eventually stop coding them, I'm sure that there will be a way to run old programs (maybe you'll have to use emulation to run emulators)
I've actualy bought a retrode for this reason. You can plug a cartridge in and plug it into the USB drive and it'll show up as a drive containing the ROM.
I agree %100. There really is an intangible quality to playing the games on the original hardware. Emulation on some systems is nearly %100 perfect. Hell in terms of the graphics it can be better than the original console due to filters and higher resolutions. It's still not quite the same though. Emulators and rom dumps are a good thing but are not a perfect solution as Conrad pointed out. 20 years from now will I be able to show my grandkids the 2600, Intellivision and Colceovision games of my childhood? I certainly hope so.