Electronic Games

A Laboratory for Video Game Preservation

Posted October 11, 2019 by Jon-Paul Dyson

Vice President for Exhibits and Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games

In 2006, when we began our efforts at The Strong to preserve the history of video games, we knew we were onto an important subject, but we did not truly foresee the vast array of challenges that we would face in preserving video games. Over the years as we founded the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) and grew our collection to more than 60,000 video games and related objects we’ve learned quite a bit about how to care for these materials.

“Serious” Fun: Social, Moral, and Political Content in Video Games

Posted October 4, 2019 by Peter Licari

2019 Strong Research Fellow
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Video games have become increasingly popular over the last few years. In fact, a recent survey suggests that approximately 2/3rds of American adults partake in the pursuit. But even with this emerging success, gaming continues to be dogged by decades-old accusations. Many of the medium’s most ardent critics argue that games offer only vacuous experiences. Lying beyond the pixels, polygons, and interactive scenes is just empty entertainment. Or, even worse, they argue that games are only a vehicle for mindless violence and other moral corruptions.

Paper, Please: What I've Learned (So Far) from Three Decades of Video Game Fanzines

Posted June 28, 2019 by Michael Hughes

2018 Strong Research Fellow
Instruction Librarian and Associate Professor, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas

In May I had the good fortune to spend two weeks as a research fellow at the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, which sits atop the too-tempting playground of The Strong National Museum of Play. My objective: to capture, using only my iPhone, every last page of Chris Kohler’s collection of 300+ fanzines. Note to future fellows: a two-minute stretch routine will help prevent back pain!

Paul Reiche III Papers at The Strong

Posted June 20, 2019 by Jon-Paul Dyson

Vice President for Exhibits and Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games

The histories of tabletop games and video games are deeply woven together. Analog and digital games often share similar mechanics (such as experience points) or similar settings (e.g. dungeon crawling). Many times in the past, game makers have ported titles from one medium to the other. And yet perhaps the most crucial connection between analog and video games lies in the personal biographies of many game designers, who often began work with board games before applying their skills to the digital medium.

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