Open Access
Evaluating Strategies for the Preservation of Console Video Games
TLDR
In this article, a case study on console video game preservation is shown utilizing the PLANETS preservation planning approach for evaluating preservation strategies in a documented decision-making process, while previous case studies concentrated on migration, compared emulation and migration using a requirements tree.Abstract:
The amount of content from digital origin permanently increases. The short lifespan of digital media makes it necessary to develop strategies to preserve its content for future use. Not only electronic documents, pictures and movies have to be preserved, also interactive content like digital art or video games have to be kept “alive” for future generations. In this paper we discuss strategies for the digital preservation of console video games. We look into challenges like proprietary hardware and unavailable documentation as well as the big variety of media and non-standard controllers. Then a case study on console video game preservation is shown utilizing the PLANETS preservation planning approach for evaluating preservation strategies in a documented decisionmaking process. While previous case studies concentrated on migration, we compared emulation and migration using a requirements tree. Experiments were carried out to compare different emulators as well as other approaches first for a single console video game system, then for different console systems of the same era and finally for systems of all eras. Comparison and discussion of results show that, while emulation works in principle very well for early console video games, various problems exist for the general use as a digital preservation alternative. It also shows that the PLANETS preservation planning workflow can be used for both emulation and migration in the same planning process and that the selection of suitable sample records is crucial.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Systematic planning for digital preservation: evaluating potential strategies and building preservation plans
Christoph Becker,Hannes Kulovits,Mark Guttenbrunner,Stephan Strodl,Andreas Rauber,Hans Hofman +5 more
TL;DR: A systematic approach for evaluating potential alternatives for preservation actions and building thoroughly defined, accountable preservation plans for keeping digital content alive over time is described.
Journal ArticleDOI
Keeping the Game Alive: Evaluating Strategies for the Preservation of Console Video Games
TL;DR: Comparisons and discussion of results show that, while emulation works in principle very well for early console video games, various problems exist for the general use as a digital preservation alternative and that the PLANETS preservation planning workflow can be used for both emulation and migration in the same planning process.
Journal ArticleDOI
Videogame preservation and massively multiplayer online role-playing games: A review of the literature
TL;DR: This article reviews the literature related to videogame preservation and attempts to describe the complexities and relationships between the traditional acts of technology preservation, representation, and collection development.
Journal ArticleDOI
Decision criteria in digital preservation: What to measure and how
Christoph Becker,Andreas Rauber +1 more
TL;DR: It is shown that a majority of the criteria can be evaluated by applying automated measurements under realistic conditions, and it is demonstrated that controlled experimentation and automated measurements can be used to substantially improve repeatability of decisions and reduce the effort needed to evaluate preservation components.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Measurement Framework for Evaluating Emulators for Digital Preservation
TL;DR: An evaluation framework and a set of tests that allow assessment of the degree to which system emulation preserves original characteristics and thus significant properties of digital artifacts are presented.
References
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Proceedings ArticleDOI
How to choose a digital preservation strategy: evaluating a preservation planning procedure
TL;DR: The PLANETS Preservation Planning approach is presented, which provides an approved way to make informed and accountable decisions on which solution to implement in order to optimally preserve digital objects for a given purpose.
Journal ArticleDOI
Planets: Integrated Services for Digital Preservation
Adam Farquhar,Helen Hockx-Yu +1 more
TL;DR: The motivation for this work is introduced, the extensible technical architecture is described and the Planets approach into the context of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model is placed.
Emulation for digital preservation in practice: the results.
TL;DR: Dioscuri, the first modular emulator for digital preservation, is delivered, delivering a durable x86 component-based computer emulator that can be used for rendering complex digital objects without affecting their authenticity and integrity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Emulation for Digital Preservation in Practice: The Results
TL;DR: Dioscuri as discussed by the authors is a modular x86 component-based computer emulator for digital preservation, which was developed and tested at the National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, [KB]).
Journal ArticleDOI
Development of a Universal Virtual Computer (UVC) for long-term preservation of digital objects
TL;DR: The realization of the enhanced UVC developed for the National Library of the Netherlands is described and proven to work for image types using the JPEG and GIF87a formats, although performance of the present UVC can still can be improved.