Next Generation. Preserving, curating and exhibiting videogames: a UK-Japanese collaborative approach.

下一代。

• 批准号: ES/S013768/1
• 负责人: James Newman
• 金额: $ 6.31万
• 依托单位: Bath Spa University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FS013768%2F1
• 关键词: Next; Generation.; Preserving; curating; exhibiting

In 2018, videogames are more widely available across a greater array of platforms than ever before. The number of games available for current smartphone devices outweighs the libraries for all the consoles produced in the 1980s and 1990s combined. Gaming is a key leisure pursuit with gameplay undertaken not only by those identifying as 'gamers'; professional play through e-sports or streaming gameplay are growing sites for creative expression and commercial opportunity; game development and the creation of innovative gameplay remains a cornerstone of the UK creative economy and a vital cultural export.And yet, for all this, the simple fact is that videogames are disappearing.Every day, consoles stop working; data becomes unreadable as floppy discs, CDs and DVDs fail; servers are taken offline as companies focus on newer titles; companies go out of business leaving products abandoned and unsupported and the knowledge and expertise of developers, players, critics and commentators is lost forever.As the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Game Preservation Special Interest Group noted in 2009, we need to act 'before it's too late'. Ten years later, the situation has only become more urgent.But what form should this action take and whose responsibility is it?The UK and Japan are two of the powerhouses of videogame creativity and development and represent two of the largest markets in the world. The UK and Japan helped to create the global games industry so it is only right that they should take the lead in ensuring its future.Over the last few years a number of universities, museums and private collectors, in the UK and Japan have begun to take action. In Kyoto, Ritsumeikan University has been building a collection of Japanese gaming hardware and software, documenting every game published in Japan since the 1980s, and working with Nintendo to find solutions to keep old games playable. In the UK, the NVM (formerly National Videogame Arcade) opened in 2015 to provide a dedicated space to showcase different types of videogames, tell the stories of their development, and experiment with different ways of making them available to diverse audiences.Despite the fact that organisations such as these have recognised the urgency of the videogame preservation and exhibition problem, this activity is uncoordinated and there are very few opportunities for collaboration between UK and Japanese researchers, curators, collectors and exhibition designers. It is is not clear what form preservation or exhibition action could or should take as videogames continue to transform with new types of gameplay, new platforms and technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality joining massively multiplayer online networked games to further complicate our idea of what constitutes a videogame and gameplay and what the object and focus of preservation should be.Next Generation will find ways to help museum curators, university researchers, fans and collectors in the UK and Japan collaborate more effectively to develop new and innovative solutions to the challenges of preserving, interpreting and exhibiting videogames. The four key objectives are:- Map existing videogame preservation, curation and exhibition work across the UK and Japan to understand what materials are being cared for and where there are gaps- Document the risk factors affecting videogames in order to identify which materials are particularly challenging and vulnerable to becoming permanently inaccessible for future generations of researchers, developers and museum-goers- Consider current strategies for game preservation and curation while identifying and championing new thinking and the development of new techniques, strategies and goals- Develop ways to enable museums, galleries and university researchers to collaborate on preserving and exhibiting videogames and lay the foundations for a major UK-Japanese exhibition

在2018年，电子游戏比以往任何时候都更广泛地出现在更多的平台上。当前智能手机设备上的游戏数量超过了上世纪80年代和90年代所有游戏机的总和。游戏是一种重要的休闲活动，玩法不仅由那些自称为“玩家”的人承担；通过电子竞技或流媒体游戏玩法进行的职业游戏是创造性表达和商业机会的增长场所；游戏开发和创新玩法的创造仍然是英国创意经济的基石和重要的文化出口。然而，尽管如此，一个简单的事实是，电子游戏正在消失。每天都有主机停止工作；由于软盘、cd和dvd失效，数据变得不可读；由于公司专注于开发新游戏，服务器被迫下线；公司倒闭，产品被抛弃，无人支持，开发者、玩家、评论家和评论员的知识和专业技能永远消失。正如国际游戏开发者协会（IGDA）游戏保存特别兴趣小组在2009年所指出的那样，我们需要在“为时已晚”之前采取行动。十年后，情况变得更加紧迫。但是这种行动应该采取什么形式，谁来负责呢？英国和日本是电子游戏创意和开发的两个强国，代表着世界上两个最大的市场。英国和日本帮助创造了全球游戏产业，所以它们应该在确保其未来发展方面发挥带头作用。在过去的几年里，英国和日本的一些大学、博物馆和私人收藏家已经开始采取行动。在京都，立命馆大学（Ritsumeikan University）一直在收集日本游戏硬件和软件，记录上世纪80年代以来在日本发行的每一款游戏，并与任天堂（Nintendo）合作，寻找保持老游戏可玩性的解决方案。在英国，NVM（原National Videogame Arcade）于2015年开放，提供了一个专门的空间来展示不同类型的电子游戏，讲述它们的发展故事，并尝试不同的方式将它们呈现给不同的受众。尽管诸如此类的组织已经认识到电子游戏保存和展览问题的紧迫性，但这种活动是不协调的，英国和日本的研究人员、策展人、收藏家和展览设计师之间很少有合作的机会。我们并不清楚保存或展示行动能够或应该采取何种形式，因为电子游戏随着新型玩法、新平台和技术（如虚拟现实和增强现实加入大型多人在线网络游戏）的不断演变，使我们对电子游戏和玩法的构成以及保存的目标和重点进一步复杂化。Next Generation将设法帮助英国和日本的博物馆馆长、大学研究人员、粉丝和收藏家更有效地合作，开发新的创新解决方案，以应对保存、解释和展示电子游戏的挑战。四个关键目标是：-绘制英国和日本现有电子游戏保存，策展和展览工作的地图，以了解哪些材料受到关注以及存在差距的地方-记录影响电子游戏的风险因素，以确定哪些材料特别具有挑战性，容易成为未来几代研究人员永久访问的对象；开发者和博物馆观众-考虑当前游戏保存和策展的策略，同时确定和支持新思维和新技术，策略和目标的发展-制定使博物馆，画廊和大学研究人员能够合作保存和展示电子游戏的方法，并为大型英日展览奠定基础

项目成果

Magazines, Modchips and Blu-Tack The UK Grey Import market for Japanese videogames 1990-2006

杂志、Modchips 和 Blu-Tack 日本视频游戏的英国灰色进口市场 1990-2006 年

• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Newman J

Be Kind Rewind! Harnessing the transformativity of emulation for videogame interpretation, exhibition and analysis

善意倒带！

• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Newman J

Slower, Squashed and Six Months Late : Japanese Videogames in the UK, 1991-2019

速度变慢，被压扁，晚了六个月：日本电子游戏在英国，1991-2019

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Replaying Japan
• 作者: James Newman

TIME EXTEND! The future of curating, preserving and exhibiting videogames. A White Paper

时间延长！

• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: Newman J

'Next Generation': towards best practices in preserving, curating and exhibiting videogames

“下一代”：寻求保存、策划和展示视频游戏的最佳实践

• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Newman J