Video games subject specialist network launched
National Videogame Museum wants to share best practice and knowledge across sector
The National Videogame Museum in Sheffield has launched a Subject Specialist Network (SSN) to develop best practice and share knowledge about preserving and exhibiting video games.
The Videogame Heritage Society (VHS) is free and open to anyone interested in the subject.
The network will be working on a white paper entitled Time Extend detailing the history of video games, heritage and preservation. The paper is a collaboration with the Science and Media Museum in Bradford, Bath Spa University, the British Library in London, Museum of London and the BFI Southbank.
Gina Jackson, a trustee for the British Games Institute, said: “In order to develop as an art form, to become more diverse and reflect all kinds of areas of our lives, and to build a cultural confidence that is sometimes absent, we need to be able to learn about video games.
“In order to learn about them, we need to be able to access them and make sense of them. The work we’re doing at the institute and the National Videogame Museum isn’t out of nostalgia. It’s out of a concern for the future. We want to be able to inspire and educate new kinds of game makers to make new kinds of games.”
The Videogame Heritage Society (VHS) is free and open to anyone interested in the subject.
The network will be working on a white paper entitled Time Extend detailing the history of video games, heritage and preservation. The paper is a collaboration with the Science and Media Museum in Bradford, Bath Spa University, the British Library in London, Museum of London and the BFI Southbank.
Ian Livingstone, the chairman of the British Games Institute, the charity that governs the National Videogame Museum, said: “This group is for anyone who cares about or works in video game preservation.
"We recognise that the expertise in this field isn’t just locked inside museums and heritage institutions, but also inside a wide range of dedicated and passionate private collectors.
"The VHS will bring everyone together to preserve the important heritage of videogames in our country.”
Gina Jackson, a trustee for the British Games Institute, said: “In order to develop as an art form, to become more diverse and reflect all kinds of areas of our lives, and to build a cultural confidence that is sometimes absent, we need to be able to learn about video games.
“In order to learn about them, we need to be able to access them and make sense of them. The work we’re doing at the institute and the National Videogame Museum isn’t out of nostalgia. It’s out of a concern for the future. We want to be able to inspire and educate new kinds of game makers to make new kinds of games.”