University of Texas at Austin Looks at MMO Preservation

With a constant release of software updates and an ever growing list of subscribers, MMO's present a difficult task to those interested in game preservation. Despite those hurdlers, the Institute of Museum and Library Science recently gave $255,040 to the University of  Texas at Austin's School of Information to study the preservation of these fluctuating (sometimes) behemoths.

At the receiving end of all that money is UT assistant professor, Megan Winget, who recently answered a few questions for LibraryJournal on the project and her history with the medium.

"I'd like to conduct in-depth interviews with all types of people involved in the creation process, from programmers and testers to visual artists and music composers, as well as game developers, producers and visionaries," Winget explains when asked how she will begin the archive. With BioWare Austin the presumed studio behind the recently confirmed Knights of the Old Republic MMO, Winget may find herself with some interesting material nearby.

Later, in a comment to the post Winget also asks for MMO histories with a greater focus on player experiences, "specifically during "epochal" moments, like when Lord British was assassinated in Ultima Online."

She's not an MMO gamer, but considers that a positive, "I believe that my status as an enthusiastic nongamer will be a strength of the research project-because I don't have any preconceived notions about what is important and can't make assumptions about what people are talking about, I will be able to ask for clarifications, and approach the subject objectively." The avatar at the top is her own World of Warcraft character, a level one mage, she plays to bond with her nine year old son, a much more experienced player.

A final comment that should interest anyone devoted to the 'games are art' thesis: "My primary overarching research interest is in the preservation of new media artifacts, specifically new media art, of which videogames are a major exemplar."