[game_preservation] Project Discussion: Oral Histories

[Rachel Donahue]

Andrew --
If my survey generates any "yes I'm interested in follow up questions"
responses, I'd be happy to conduct an oral history with them. Given my
piddling grad student budget it will probably have to be by phone, but I can
see if anyone would be willing to have the interview recorded and podcast.

On Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 2:34 PM, Andrew Armstrong <andrew at aarmstrong.org>wrote:


>  I left this open but no one has replied. Another bump, we do have some new

> members.

>

> This project is, really, a bit too practical for the SIG to do "by

> volunteer work" as all SIG's operate (with most of our work going on

> online). With no money, and no one seeking out sponsorship, donations, or

> funding, we don't have any equipment (nevermind manpower and transport) to

> do this actively, even though it is an excellent idea, and we'd likely be

> able to find interested developers to participate.

>

> So, perhaps it can help by cataloguing other efforts in the area,

> preserving them on the Internet Archive, and helping logistically and with

> advertising the service. If anyone also did want to do histories through us

> somehow, having the final result freely available online or in an archive

> would be invaluable. This is tough to setup without people who are in

> industry available to be "on call" or to sign up, and without people who

> want to do the recordings in the first place! It's a lot of work on both

> sides (finding time for both, and possibly major travelling, preparing and

> researching, equipment, post-production...)

>

> Therefore, this project is going no where with no active interest. I

> personally can put forward weekend time and possibly take days off to record

> things, but since I have no videocamera I can't help directly. I would like

> to investigate setting up a signup form for both sides - the interviewers

> and interviewees so we can get a good list of people (and their location,

> what they did) to do interviews with, and who to send, and get people

> talking this way. There is a possibility that this is better done

> informally, however, or maybe through the new IGDA site which is mainly

> forum based (with mailing lists possible, just really being forum posts

> being sent to accounts, with replies being allowed), and thus developers

> would easily be able to get involved with the SIG and discuss it on forums

> or via. PM's/email.

>

> There was some possible interest from Dean O'Donnell from WPI, who is

> running an oral histories project with student help. Other then this I know

> of no proper active oral histories project, save Jason Scott's GET LAMP

> documentary, which is basically edited oral histories (which I hope he puts

> online in full :) ).

>

> Andrew

>

> Andrew Armstrong wrote:

>

> This is coming on from our previous discussion over spring cleaning the

> SIG.

>

> *Oral Histories*

> Status: *On Hold*

> Currently lead by: *No one. *

> Short description: *Interviews with industry people related to their past

> works. Brought up at GDC 2008, but currently has no assigned project lead.

> *

>

> Concerns raised previously:

> - Aims of the histories, contents, etc.

> - What to ask (I brought this up before)

> - Who can do them

>

> Someone to work on this or start organising a team of people would be good.

> Logistically this is the hardest project to manage, and technically we have

> no resources to fund it at all, meaning it requires heavy volunteer work.

>

> People suggesting information, examples of existing histories done, ways to

> get this going, and so forth are welcome. Basically bring whatever you like

> to the table, it's an open discussion.

>

> Andrew

>

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