How They Got Game

Last updated

How They Got Game is a project that aims to explore the historical and cultural impact of new media, through interactive simulation and video gaming. The involvement was through people researching many defined areas of computing, such as storytelling, strategy, simulation, sports, and shooters. [1] [2]

Contents

Project

The preservation of software and documentation is an important aspect of this project, where How They Got Game constructed a digital archive of the source material. This includes preserving both the digital code of the software itself as well as the experience surrounding the software, to the extent possible. [3] This includes the cultural context of the software. [4]

The project also introduced a Stanford class offered in the Science, Technology, and Society program called the "History of Computer Game Design".

Personnel

Henry Lowood and Tim Lenoir headed the project; and there were other contributors involved with the project, such as Casey Alt, Georgios Panzaris, Rene Patnode, Doug Wilson, Waynn Lue, David Lui, and Sarah Wilson. Technical developers involved were Casey Alt and Zachary Pogue. [5]

Henry Lowood, currently living in San Bruno, California, is a library Curator of History of science and technology, film and media at the University of Stanford. [6] He has been an employee of the university for 32 years. He began his profession immediately after graduating from the University of California. He gained the appropriate qualifications for University at Alexandra Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.

Lowood began his profession at Stanford University as an ordinary librarian in the 1980s; he was soon promoted to his current role. Since 2000, Lowood has headed a project named "How They Got Game". The main focus of the project is the history and preservation of digital games, virtual worlds, and interactive simulations as new media forms now merging. The research was conducted in five main areas of computer games: storytelling, strategy, simulation, sports, and shooters. [1] He spoke to Robert Ashley in an episode of A Life Well Wasted about the project. [3]

Impact

One outcome of the project is the Machinima Archive, which has been exhibited in two museums in 2003 and 2004, which features the worlds of computer games, art, and military simulation. The Machinima Archive is a joint effort of the Internet Archive, the How They Got Game project, the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences, and Machinima.com. The archive is a collection of machinima films, which can be found on the Internet Archive, and accepts Machinima productions from various internet publishers and other producers. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

Machinima Use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production

Machinima, originally machinema is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation.

Sid Meier Canadian-American game programmer and designer

Sidney K. Meier is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the Civilization series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996. For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Internet Archive American non-profit organization providing archives of digital media since 1996

The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, movies/videos, moving images, and millions of books. In addition to its archiving function, the Archive is an activist organization, advocating a free and open Internet. As of April 2021, the Internet Archive holds over 30 million books and texts, 8.9 million movies, videos and TV shows, 649,000 software programs, 13,225,000 audio files, 3.8 million images, and 580 billion web pages in the Wayback Machine.

Terry Winograd American professor

Terry Allen Winograd is an American professor of computer science at Stanford University, and co-director of the Stanford Human–Computer Interaction Group. He is known within the philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence fields for his work on natural language using the SHRDLU program.

An application program is a computer program designed to carry out a specific task other than one relating to the operation of the computer itself, typically to be used by end-users. Word processors, media players, and accounting software are examples. The collective noun refers to all applications collectively. The other principal classifications of software are system software, relating to the operation of the computer, and utility software ("utilities").

Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) is an academic program at many universities which comprises scientific and engineering aspects of computing. CSE is also a term often used in Europe to translate the name of engineering informatics academic programs.

World Game, sometimes called the World Peace Game, is an educational simulation developed by Buckminster Fuller in 1961 to help create solutions to overpopulation and the uneven distribution of global resources. This alternative to war games uses Fuller's Dymaxion map and requires a group of players to cooperatively solve a set of metaphorical scenarios, thus challenging the dominant nation-state perspective with a more holistic "total world" view. The idea was to "make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone," thus increasing the quality of life for all people.

Digital storytelling is a short form of digital media production that allows everyday people to share aspects of their story. The media used may include the digital equivalent of film techniques, stills, audio only, or any of the other forms of non-physical media which individuals can use to tell a story or present an idea.

<i>The French Democracy</i> 2005 French short film

The French Democracy is a short 2005 French political film made by Alex Chan using computer animation from Lionhead Studios' 2005 business simulation game The Movies. The plot centers on three Moroccan men who turn to rioting after facing different forms of discrimination. Chan, a French native of Chinese descent, created the film to convey his view that racism caused the riots of the 2005 civil unrest in France. Although Chan was restricted by shortcomings and technical limitations in The Movies, he finished the film after four days of production.

<i>Diary of a Camper</i> 1996 machinima animated short film

Diary of a Camper is a short American film made using id Software's 1996 first-person shooter video game Quake, released in 1996. It was created by United Ranger Films, then a subdivision of a popular group of video game players, or clan, known as the Rangers. The film was first released over the Internet as a non-interactive game demo file. The video is generally considered the first known example of machinima—the art of using real-time, virtual 3D environments, often game engines, to create animated films. The story centers on a lone camper, a player waiting in a strategic location instead of seeking active battle, who faces five members of the Rangers clan in a deathmatch, a type of multiplayer game in which the goal is to kill as many opponents as possible.

<i>Operation Bayshield</i>

Operation Bayshield is a short 1997 film made by Clan Undead, a group of video game players. The work was created by using the machinima technique of recording a demonstration file of player actions in id Software's 1996 first-person shooter video game Quake, which could replay such files on demand. The group had seen the first known machinima productions, made by United Ranger Films, and decided to make a comedy film. The result, Operation Bayshield, follows a task force's attempts to thwart terrorists who have chemical explosives. Released on January 23, 1997, the work received praise from contemporary Quake movie review sites and helped to attract others, including Hugh Hancock of Strange Company and members of the ILL Clan, to machinima. It pioneered technical advances in machinima, such as the use of custom digital assets and of lip synchronization.

The game canon is a list of video games to be considered for preservation by the Library of Congress. The New York Times called the creation of this list "an assertion that digital games have a cultural significance and a historical significance". Game canon is modeled on the efforts of the National Film Preservation Board, which produces an annual list of films that are subsequently added to the National Film Registry, which is managed by the Library of Congress. The game canon committee comprises Henry Lowood, game designers Warren Spector and Steve Meretzky, Matteo Bittanti, and Joystiq journalist Christopher Grant.

3D computer graphics Graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data

3D computer graphics, sometimes called CGI, 3DCG or three-dimensional computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. The resulting images may be stored for viewing later or displayed in real time. Unlike 3D film and similar techniques, the result is two-dimensional, without the illusion of being solid.

Abandonware is a product, typically software, ignored by its owner and manufacturer, and for which no official support is available. Although such software is usually still under copyright, the owner may not be tracking copyright violations.

Emulator Hardware or software that enables one computer system to behave like another computer system

In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system to behave like another computer system. An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices designed for the guest system. Emulation refers to the ability of a computer program in an electronic device to emulate another program or device.

The history of video games spans a period of time between the invention of the first electronic games and today, covering many inventions and developments. Video gaming reached mainstream popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since then, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern culture in most parts of the world. The early history of video games, therefore, covers the period of time between the first interactive electronic game with an electronic display in 1947, the first true video games in the early 1950s, and the rise of early arcade video games in the 1970s. During this time there was a wide range of devices and inventions corresponding with large advances in computing technology, and the actual first video game is dependent on the definition of "video game" used.

Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM Europe andInformatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the central notion is transformation of information. In other countries, the term "informatics" is used with a different meaning in the context of library science.

The history of computer animation began as early as the 1940s and 1950s, when people began to experiment with computer graphics - most notably by John Whitney. It was only by the early 1960s when digital computers had become widely established, that new avenues for innovative computer graphics blossomed. Initially, uses were mainly for scientific, engineering and other research purposes, but artistic experimentation began to make its appearance by the mid-1960s- most notably by Dr Thomas Calvert. By the mid-1970s, many such efforts were beginning to enter into public media. Much computer graphics at this time involved 2-dimensional imagery, though increasingly as computer power improved, efforts to achieve 3-dimensional realism became the emphasis. By the late 1980s, photo-realistic 3D was beginning to appear in film movies, and by mid-1990s had developed to the point where 3D animation could be used for entire feature film production.

Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment

The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment is an Oakland, California, museum dedicated to digital art and gaming, with fully playable gaming exhibits. Its mission is to collect and curate video games, digital media concept art, and gaming systems, to teach the public about digital art and the process of gaming creation.

Video game preservation Form of preservation in video gaming

Video game preservation is a form of preservation applied to the video game industry that includes, but is not limited to digital preservation. Such preservation efforts include archiving development source code and art assets, digital copies of video games, emulation of video game hardware, maintenance and preservation of specialized video game hardware such as arcade games and video game consoles, and digitization of print video game magazines and books prior to the Digital Revolution.

References

  1. 1 2 "How They Got Game". hotgates.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. ↑ https://stanfordmag.org/contents/saving-worlds
  3. 1 2 https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/pdtc-2015-0021/html
  4. ↑ https://venturebeat.com/2012/02/03/extra-lives-preserving-the-history-of-video-games/
  5. ↑ "How They Got Game – Home". humanitieslab.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  6. ↑ "HLowood". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  7. ↑ "Machinima : Free Movies : Free Download, Borrow and Streaming : Internet Archive". archive.org. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  8. ↑ https://www.ihc.ucsb.edu/game-doom/
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.