Replayed: Essential Writings on Software Preservation and Game Histories

Replayed: Essential Writings on Software Preservation and Game Histories

A leading voice in technology studies shares a collection of essential essays on the preservation of software and history of games. Since the early 2000s, Henry Lowood has led or had a key role in numerous initiatives devoted to the preservation and documentation of virtual worlds, digital games, and interactive simulations, establishing himself as a major scholar in the field of game studies. His voluminous writings have tackled subject matter spanning the history of game design and development, military simulation, table-top games, machinima, e-sports, wargaming, and historical software archives and collection development. Replayed consolidates Lowood's far-flung and significant publications on these subjects into a single volume. Replayed represents the invaluable compilation of Henry Lowood's important work on game studies and the preservation of games software over the past two decades. Lowood was innovative in collecting, researching, and teaching on computer and video games, and his body of scholarship at the intersection of the historical study and the archival curation of games is unequalled in the United States and worldwide. ―Jeffrey R. Yost, coauthor of FastLane: Managing Science in the Internet World Henry Lowood, a longtime leader in the twin fields of digital preservation and game history, writes clearly, thoughtfully, and incisively. Anyone interested in these subjects will read this book with profit and pleasure. ―Jon-Paul C. Dyson, Director, International Center for the History of Electronic Games, Strong National Museum of Play A journey through one man's scholarly life dedicated to the history and preservation of the most elusive of concepts, the Game. Any skeptic about the importance, labor, and cultural meaning of games will emerge from this book transformed. ―Jason Scott, Free-Range Archivist / Software Curator, The Internet Archive Replayed masterfully documents not only Lowood's career and scholarship, but the gestation and development of the software and game history and preservation fields. This is truly a landmark collection. ―Melanie Swalwell, author of Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality Replayed is a valuable resource... I read the book and wished such a resource had been available when I first dipped my toes into game preservation and game history. ― American Journal of Play A leading voice in technology studies shares a collection of essential essays on the preservation of software and history of games. Henry E. Lowood is the Harold C. Hohbach Curator of the History of Science and Technology Collections and the Curator of the Film and Media Collections at Stanford University Libraries. Raiford Guins is a professor and the director of cinema and media studies in the Media School at Indiana University Bloomington.