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McAllister, Andrew Armstrong (authors)  \nOver the last four decades, electronic games have profoundly changed the way people play, learn, and connect with each other. Despite the tremendous impact of electronic games, however, until recently, relatively few programs existed topreserve them for future generations of players and researchers. Recognizing the need to save the original content and intellectual property of electronic games from media rot, obsolescence, and loss, the Game Preservation Special Interest Group of the International Game Developers Association has issued a white paper summarizing why electronic games should be preserved, problems that must be solved todo so, some potential solutions, and why all these issues should matter to everyone interested in electronic games and play in general. In the white paper, the editing of which was partially supported by the Preserving Virtual Worlds project and by funds from the Library of Congress, its editor and six authors (Rachel Donahue created a survey for IGDA members not included in this article) issue a call for heightened awareness of the need to preserve electronic games—endangered by relatively rapid electronic decay and intellectual neglect alike—for play scholarship and for the culture of the twenty-first century.  \nHenry Lowood: Introduction  \nthe Game Preservation Special Interest Group (SIG) of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) was founded in 2004, only five years ago. Even in this short time, however, interest in the preservation of digital games and virtual worlds has intensified remarkably. Today, cultural institutions such as universities, libraries, and museums have begun to collect, display, and make available artifacts of game culture, and opportunities for the practical and  \n© 2009 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois  \ncritical study of game content and technology are increasing rapidly. Game studies, a field that barely existed ten years ago, now boasts of annual conferences, journals, and organizations dedicated to it.  \nAll of these developments are fine and good. In this white paper, however, members ofIGDA address a threat not just to academic game studies and the historical appreciation of game culture, but also to game developers and the industry itself: the potential disappearance of original game content and intellectual property through media decay, obsolescence, and loss.  \nWe wish to be very clear about one point. So at the risk of repetition, allow us to say it again in other words: if we fail to address the problems of game preservation, the digital games of today will disappear, perhaps within a few decades. We will lose access to the history and culture of contemporary games and find it impossible to trace the influence of interactive digital games and simulations on other forms of play, leisure, entertainment, communication, learning, and work.  \nThe publication of this white paper in the American Journal of Play, therefore, is primarily aimed at a readership of game and play researchers and scholars. Our intention is to present the problems that we face with electronic games before it is too late. We want to raise red flags about the issue and grab the attention of the Journal’s readership. Our next step will be the preparation and distribution of a second white paper on best practices and solutions atthe Game Developer Conference (GDC) in 2010. Meanwhile, please consider joining the IGDA Game Preservation SIG and helping us in our work.  \nDevin Monnens:  \nLosing Digital Game History, Bit by Bit  \nDigital games are in dire need of preservation. Every year, thousands of games move one step closer to oblivion as a result of the same threats to longevity that affect all digital media: bit rot and obsolescence. Digital media have a shockingly short","cbCainidQVB1YUHg","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainidQVB1YUHg","pdf",229313,28,"English","# Henry Lowood: Introduction\n# Devin Monnens: Losing Digital Game History, Bit by Bit\n## Media Decay or Bit Rot\n## Magnetic Disks","[{\"question\":\"Why should electronic games be preserved?\",\"answer\":\"Electronic games should be preserved to prevent the disappearance of original content and intellectual property caused by media decay, obsolescence, and loss. Preservation supports play scholarship and protects the culture of the twenty-first century.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the main technical threat described in the paper?\",\"answer\":\"The paper identifies media decay, also called bit rot, as a gradual natural decay of digital information and storage media. It can render information unreadable over time.\"},{\"question\":\"Why can’t libraries and archives solve the problem alone?\",\"answer\":\"The document states that repositories lack the expertise and funding to address digital preservation challenges. It also notes that current business practices involving digital rights and distribution further complicate preservation.\"}]","Before It’s too Late - A Digital Game Preservation White Paper | PDF",1792072643,71]