1. Jerome McDonough University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign jmcdonou@illinois.edu

2. Preserving Virtual Worlds  Multiyear initiative investigating the preservation of computer games & interactive fiction Goal: To help develop mechanisms and methods for preserving digital games and interactive fiction Methods: Case studies of individual games, experimental testing  Partners Graduate School of Library & Information Science University of Illinois Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities University of Maryland College of Computing & Information Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology Stanford University Libraries Stanford University

3. You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Preserving Virtual Worlds

4. Game Preservation Problems  Complexity & Boundaries  Versioning  Meaning & Context

5. Game Preservation: A Data Model Archival Information Package – Open Archival Information System Reference Model

6. Game Preservation: A Data Model

8. Adventure Manifestation Adventure Item Adventure Expression Adventure Work Adventure Sub-Item Data File Adventure Sub-Item FORTRAN IV File <rdf:Description rdf:about=”URI for Work Aggregation"> <ore:aggregates rdf:resource=“URI for Expression Aggregation /> …

9. Game Preservation: A Data Model Adventure Work Adventure Sub-Item FORTRAN IV File xlink:arcrole="pvw:has_context_information" Adventure Family Tree Website Work DEC System 10 FORTRAN Language Manual Expression

10. A few remaining problems

13. A few possible solutions  Collaboration Among libraries, archives and museums on: ○ On data storage ○ On identification of representation information Between LAMs and the gaming community on: ○ Selection and acquisition of context information ○ Intellectual description

14. Thanks! Questions?