How can we preserve the history of events which occur in virtual worlds? And why would we want to?
The BBC reports that researchers at the University of Texas, Austin are studying ways in which MMO history could be recorded. Said Prof. Megan Winget (left):
It's a huge challenge for archivists to deal with digital information. One of the most interesting problems for digital preservation is interactivity and how difficult that is to preserve. Video games offer all of the same problems as digital art. They are interactive, very complex and a lot of people get involved in making them happen...
We want to raise the consciousness in the industry about how important these records are. I do not think they save anything or it's saved in such a way that they would not be able to recognise the significance of what they are holding.
Key events mentioned as perhaps worthy of documenting include an outbreak of virtual plague in World of Warcraft, the assassination of Lord British in Ultima Online and the death of Morpheus in The Matrix Online. Said Winget:
A lot of people have mentioned [Lord British's death] to me as a pivotal moment in their lives. I would like to talk to people who experienced that, saw it happen or where they were when they heard about it. Maybe we can talk to the people who did it and whether they knew Lord British was [Ultima series creator] Richard Garriott.
Article Source: www.gamepolitics.com.
