This paper introduces a comparative analytical system that seeks to document the evolution of the game experience in the history of video games. Following an overview of formal and ontological inspections of games, ten interactive figures – domains of human agency typically modelled by game systems – are presented. The study of figures in art history traces the emergence and resurgence of different types of characters, poses or scenes, and indeed this is the meaning that is ascribed to the term here; games propose different “roles” depending on the specific ways they model this agency. These concepts are ideal to segment any game experience, and each of these segments are then analyzed with four conceptual categories: three layers of interface (the manipulation, mapping and feedback layers), and the ludic modes of engagement associated with each figure. The presentation of the system is encapsulated in an argument about the recurring fascination for VR technology in the world of video game; the analytical system will be able to document the actual integration of such elements along with other important parts of the ludic mediation.

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From Video Games to Virtual Reality (and Back). Introducing HACS (Historical-Analytical Comparative System) for the Documentation of Experiential Configurations in Gaming History

Videogames are a rich domain for scholarship, and their dynamic content makes them a new and unique challenge for information retrieval (IR). Recent work has made it possible to cite specific moments in a videogame (like pages in a book), but currently finding those moments to cite is laborious because there are no videogame moment search engines. We conducted an in-depth interview study with ten users across a variety of user profiles: developers, educators, speedrunners, scholars, and streamers. From these interviews, we identify the unique needs of each user profile for retrieving moments from videogames. We outline implications for future research in retrieval and design implications for new tools focused on interactive media.

Understanding user needs in videogame moment retrieval

PurposeThis paper theorizes ubiquitous computing as a novel configuration of the archive. Such a configuration is characterized by shifts in agency underlying archival mechanics and a pronounced rhythmic diminution of such mechanics in which the user's experiential present tense is rendered fundamentally historical. In doing so, this paper troubles the relationship between: archival mechanics such as appraisal, accession and access; the archive as a site of historical knowledge production and the pervasiveness of data-driven daily life.Design/methodology/approachBy employing conceptual analysis, I analyze a classic vision of ubiquitous computing to describe the historicization of the present tense in an increasingly computerized world. The conceptual analysis employed here draws on an interdisciplinary set of literature from library and information science, philosophy and computing fields such as human-computer interaction (HCI) and ubiquitous computing.FindingsI present the concept of the data perfect tense, which is derived from the future perfect tense: the “will have had” construction. It refers to a historicized, data-driven and fundamentally archival present tense characterizing the user's lived world in which the goal of action is to have had created data for future unspecified use. The data perfect reifies ubiquitous computing as an archive, or a site of historical knowledge production predicated on sets of potential statements derived from data generated, appraised, acquisitioned and made accessible through and by means of pervasive “smart” objects.Originality/valueThis paper provides foundational consideration of ubiquitous computing as a configuration of the archive through the analysis of its temporalities: a rhythmic diminution that renders users' experiential present tenses as fundamentally historical, constructed through the agency of smart devices. In doing so, it: contributes to ongoing work within HCI seeking to understand the relationship between HCI and history; introduces concepts relevant to the analysis of novel technological ecologies in terms of archival theory; and constitutes preliminary interdisciplinary steps towards highlighting the relevance of theories of the archive and archival mechanics for critiquing sociotechnical concerns such as surveillance capitalism.

Into the archive of ubiquitous computing: the data perfect tense and the historicization of the present

Game development artifacts resulting from the creation process of video games, such as design documents, style guides, test builds, and marketing materials, provide rich contextual informa...

Describing, organizing, and maintaining video game development artifacts

Development of the Digital Processing Framework began after the second annual Born Digital Archiving eXchange unconference at Stanford University in 2016. There, a group of nine archivists saw a need for standardization, best practices, or general guidelines for processing digital archival materials. Members of this group were already engaged in digital processing and had knowledge and experience with acquiring, preserving, and managing born digital content but had a lot of questions about processing this type of material and making it accessible. They sought commonalities for processing digital materials and wanted to create a framework that would be extensible, flexible, useful, descriptive rather than prescriptive, and as simple as possible.

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Digital Processing Framework

This article outlines the creation of computer game platform and media format Linked Open Data (LOD) controlled vocabularies by the Game Metadata and Citation Project (GAMECIP). We discuss the need for more consistent and accurate information in computer game library records, define what we mean by “platform” and “media format,” and then elaborate on our research process and issues encountered along the way. Our vocabularies were constructed with the Simple Knowledge Organization System to take advantage of its properties and hierarchical structure. After describing our LOD schema in detail, we conclude with a discussion of future work and a call for more collaboration.

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Implementing Controlled Vocabularies for Computer Game Platforms and Media Formats in SKOS

Archives of letters and documents belonging to individuals provide valuable insights into history. In the digital age, such history is being captured in personal digital archives, especially in the form of email. Archival organizations have recognized the importance of email archives and often collect email when they acquire the papers of eminent donors; however they find it difficult to screen, process and provide access to email for research, due to its sheer volume. We describe the considerations we encountered with the email archives of two prominent individuals in the special collections of Stanford University Libraries. We have designed novel approaches to the challenges of (1) Reconciliation with authority records, (2) Making "finding aids" of the archive available to the general public, without revealing confidential information, and (3) Browsing an email archive when one may not know what exactly to look for. Our solutions have been implemented in a publicly available and open source system called ePADD. As a result, we enable donors and archival organizations to appraise, process and screen large-scale email archives, thereby unlocking the historical value embedded in them. \

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Historical Research Using Email Archives

In September 2012, the Manuscripts Division of the Stanford University Libraries Department of Special Collections and University Archives completed a one-year National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)-funded project to process the records of the STOP AIDS Project, an HIV prevention non-profit organization in San Francisco, California. This project marked the department’s first large-scale processing project to capture and process born-digital records. Building upon the nascent framework outlined by the AIMS white paper and the infrastructure developed by Stanford University Libraries, the project team captured born-digital records and implemented new processing strategies using digital forensics tools. This case study will document the strategies and workflows employed by the project team to capture and process the born-digital component of the STOP AIDS Project records. We will describe the successes, challenges and roadblocks encountered while forensically imaging 3.5 inch floppy disks, Zip disks, and CDs using Forensic Toolkit (FTK) Imager software. We will then outline our approach to processing nearly 30,000 unique digital files captured from the computer media using AccessData Forensic Toolkit (FTK) software, discuss our current delivery strategy, and offer some concluding thoughts.

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=westernarchives

Capturing and Processing Born-Digital Files in the STOP AIDS Project Records: A Case Study

ePADD is free and open-source software that supports the computational analysis of email with potential historical or cultural value. The software incorporates techniques from computer science and computational linguistics, including natural language processing, named entity recognition, and other statistical machine learning-associated processes. These functionalities enable ePADD to promote the appraisal, processing, discovery, and delivery of email held by archival repositories and other cultural memory institutions. In November 2015, Stanford Libraries, with partners University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Harvard University, University of California, Irvine, and Metropolitan New York Library Council, received three years of funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to advance the formation of a national digital platform by further developing ePADD. Now in year two of the grant, Stanford Libraries and its grant partners have continued to improve the program's scalability, usability, and feature set, while simultaneously taking steps to engage and grow the user community. This article provides background on the need for the ePADD software, identifies how ePADD contributes to the national digital platform, informs on the work completed, highlights the ways in which ePADD is being adopted by the community, and identifies next steps and areas for future project development.

ePADD: Computational Analysis Software Facilitating Screening, Browsing, and Access for Historically and Culturally Valuable Email Collections

ePADD is free and open-source computational analysis software facilitating screening, browsing, and access for historically and culturally significant email collections. The software incorporates techniques from computer science and computational linguistics, including natural language processing, named entity recognition, and other statistical machine learningassociated processes. In this paper, we explain how these processes enable ePADD to support the appraisal, processing, discovery, and delivery of email held by archival repositories and other memory institutions, filling an important role in the preservation of these materials. CCS CONCEPTS • Computing Methodologies → Artificial Intelligence; Natural language processing • Computing Methodologies → Machine Learning • Information Systems → World Wide Web; Web applications; Internet communications tools; Email

Glynn Edwards

Papers

Implementing Controlled Vocabularies for Computer Game Platforms and Media Formats in SKOS

Historical Research Using Email Archives

Capturing and Processing Born-Digital Files in the STOP AIDS Project Records: A Case Study

ePADD: Computational Analysis Software Facilitating Screening, Browsing, and Access for Historically and Culturally Valuable Email Collections

ePADD: Computational analysis software enabling screening, browsing, and access for email collections.