In mid 2007, academia recognized the importance of video games in a large way when the University of Texas at Austin created a video game archive.  UT’s Brenda Gunn wrote, “the UT Video Game Archives will gather material that illustrates the processes and means by which the developers arrived at a finished, packaged product.  Not to be overlooked in our effort to document the backstories, we will accession the games and hardware too.”  (Gunn)

 

Richard Garriott, a veteran computer program in Austin, has donated all of his collection to the archive.  His collection is 30 years worth of magazines, memos, and hardware.  Garriott was a real pack-rat when it came to his career; he saved copies of and posters from all of the games he developed.  Garriott’s charity is accompanied by “The Fat Man” Sanger’s.  Sanger is a video game composer and he is donating 30 boxes worth of goodies.  (Rockwell)

 

Gunn also reported that the idea for the archive came from the game community itself.  Warren Spector and Bill Bottorff were the first to approach the school with the brilliant! idea, and Garriott and Sanger quickly backed them.  (Gunn)  But it doesn’t matter whose idea it was, gamers/historian everywhere are thankful that the University of Texas made the dream a reality.

Gunn, Brenda.  “Preserving Video Games History:  The Time is Now.”  Game Informer.  Is. 174.  p. 52.  Oct. 2007.

 

Rockwell, Lilly.  “UT Creates Video Game Archive.”  Austin American Statesman.  19 Apr. 2007.

The UT Video Game Archive Official Website.

 

 

 

 

UT’s Massive Video Game Archive

By Andrew Flanagan

Updated 2/27/08

‘cause low art is still art