The How They Got Game project's aim was to explore the historical and cultural impact of new media, through interactive simulation and video gaming. The involvement through people conducting research in many defined areas of computing, such as storytelling, strategy, simulation, sports and shooter. In this project, an important aspect is the preservation of software and documentation, where How They Got Game constructed a digital archive of source material. The project also introduced a Stanford class offered in the Science, Technology and Society program called the "History of Computer Game Design."
People Involved
Henry Lowood and Tim Lenoir headed the project, there have also been contributors involved with the project, such as Casey Alt, Georgios Panzaris, Rene Patnode, Doug Wilson, Waynn Lue, David Lui and Sarah Wilson. Technical developers involved were Casey Alt and Zachary Pogue.
Henry Lowood
Henry Lowood, currently living in San Bruno, California, is a library Curator of History of science and technology, film and media at the University of Stanford. He has been an employee of the University for 32 years. He jumped straight into his profession after graduating the University of California. He gained the appropriate qualifications for University at Alexandra Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. Lowood began his profession at Stanford University as an ordinary librarian back in the 1980s. His career soon climbed into the more important role in which he now holds within the University, of being a library Curator. Since 2000, Lowood has headed a project named ‘How They Got Game’. The history and preservation of digital games, virtual worlds and interactive simulations as new media forms now merging, was the main focus of the overall project. Research was conducted in five main areas of computer games: storytelling, strategy, simulation, sports, and shooters.
How They Got Game and its result
The main outcome so far in relation to the project is the exhibition of two museums in 2003 and 2004, which featured the worlds of computer games, art and military simulation;. The Machinima Archive, is a joint effort of the Internet Archive, the How They Got Game project, the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences, and Machinima.com. The archive is a collection of machinima films, which can be found on Internet Archive, and accepts Machinima productions from various internet publishers and other producers.
