[game_preservation] Project Discussion: Oral Histories

[Henry Lowood]

Andrew,

Just catching up on e-mail.   I know David and this project.  Way back 
when, sometime in the past, we talked about a coordinated effort for 
different regions of the U.S.  (In fact, I have done an oral history at 
the Computer History Museum with Al Alcorn, so we have at least one on 
the West Coast).

It would be super to lend support to the WPI project, and I think we 
should do it.   Dean, if you would like to assume a role within our SIG 
as a coordinator of the SIG's efforts as a clearinghouse and host for 
information about projects such as WPI, we would have a plan.   By now, 
Andrew has the Internet Archive side of this sorted; if not, maybe I can 
help as I curate a couple of collections there, as well.   Also, if you 
are thinking of doing video, have a look at a Stanford project (on the 
semiconductor industry):
http://silicongenesis.stanford.edu

A long way of saying: Let's do it!

Henry

Andrew Armstrong wrote:

> It'd be a pleasure for you to take on the project if Henry agrees :) 

> You'd need to have an IGDA.org account to edit the wiki, which no 

> doubt would have the IGDA's information on how to get involved (for 

> developers) which you might need to sort.

>

> Hopefully there'll be other efforts in the future which the project 

> can keep up with - like Rachel's contributions, and other's. I doubt 

> there'd be any competition if anyone else wanted to "use the list" of 

> available developers - there's more developers then people working in 

> all the game history community :)

>

> I can check with someone at the IGDA about putting a call out in a 

> newsletter (which goes out monthly) or as a news piece, when the 

> appropriate time comes up to publicise it - you can obviously actually 

> write the details if we're able to do this :) Feel free to make edits 

> to the wiki, or suggest how you want it to work here first if you like 

> (I can do wiki editing as needed of course too, I do so for the other 

> projects).

>

> For hosting, I'd love a mirror of whatever files be made available on 

> the Internet Archive, we have collections for interviews, which these 

> would be awesome to add to. :) It'd be all credit to your team though, 

> and rights reserved as you'd like, of course. It mainly helps make it 

> available, which was one of the projects aims when initially thought out.

>

> Andrew

>

> O'Donnell, Dean M wrote:

>>

>> Sorry, I subscribed and have been a bit inundated with other things, 

>> so only noticed this when it popped up just now.

>>

>>  

>>

>> Introduction:  I'm on the faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

>> in the Interactive Media and Game Development program.  We've been 

>> working on an archive that focuses on New England developers.  My 

>> colleague David Finkel, and our archivist, Rodney Obien spearhead 

>> that project.

>>

>>  

>>

>> The Oral History Project:  I work with oral histories.  Specifically, 

>> each year I train some students to collect and record them.  I work 

>> with Jason Scott on this (he's local to us), and he's been willing to 

>> host our raw footage while the students edit and compile by person 

>> and subject.  The work has gone slowly mostly because I'm still 

>> learning and I start with new students every year.

>>

>>  

>>

>> Next year we'll have 6 or 7 oral histories collected, which seems 

>> like enough to go "prime time" and set up a web page.  We'd welcome 

>> the backing of the IDGA and making it a joint effort of the IDGA and 

>> WPI seems like a perfectly reasonable way forward.  I have the 

>> students, the equipment, and the web hosting; the IDGA has 

>> developers.  We've been dealing with local developers and that can 

>> continue for awhile (Boston has a pretty good community), with work 

>> on how to expand beyond our area as part of next year's project.

>>

>>  

>>

>> I would be happy to head the this project for the IDGA as long as the 

>> list doesn't mind when every fall I call for volunteers or 

>> introductions to developers to be interviewed.

>>

>>  

>>

>> Best,

>>

>> Dean

>>

>>  

>>

>> ____________________________________________

>> Dean O'Donnell     Associate Director,

>> Interactive Media and Game Development

>> Dept. of Humanities and Arts   WPI

>> dodo at wpi.edu

>> Phone: 508-831-5947

>> Fax: 508-831-5932

>>

>>  

>>

>> *From:* game_preservation-bounces at igda.org 

>> [mailto:game_preservation-bounces at igda.org] *On Behalf Of *Andrew 

>> Armstrong

>> *Sent:* Friday, February 06, 2009 2:35 PM

>> *To:* IGDA Game Preservation SIG

>> *Subject:* Re: [game_preservation] Project Discussion: Oral Histories

>>

>>  

>>

>> 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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-- 
Henry Lowood
Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;
     Film & Media Collections
HRG, Green Library
557 Escondido Mall, Stanford University Libraries
Stanford CA 94305-6004 USA
http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood
lowood at stanford.edu; 650-723-4602

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