I'm currently working on a research project that includes a brief section on the cultural implications of gaming. So while I was mulling over this and bouncing some ideas off friends, I discovered that the US - that bastion of political paradoxes - is currently actively trying to preserve video game culture (while at the same time vilifying it).
The Library of Congress is a governmental organisation which, like the British Library, records the publication of media. It's a treasure trove of everything that has a US copyright, including - from 2000 - digital media. Now, according to GamePolitics, games are going to be included in its stacks, thus ensuring their place in the cultural heritage of America.
I'd like to point out that there ain't no Tomb Raider game in the stacks at St. Pancras (though you can find the film script, the official Lara magazine, the official film magazine and the film companion in its catalogue). Yet, there have been other great examples of how video games have contributed to the UK's culture, and how its cultural mainstays have tried to give something back.
Hardware In America, where I grew up, we didn't have gaming PCs like the Sinclair Spectrum or the BBC Micro. We had home consoles like the Atari, Intellivision and later Nintendo. To that end, we never had a bedroom programmer culture, which the UK is famous for, and which the UK industry is based upon.
Because of their programmability, home computers encouraged the development of countless games with huge leaps of innovation. The results are a disproportionate number of computer game developer brother teams who honed their skills and made their names (and later their millions) because of the support the British public gave to the newfangled microcomputer.
Software I don't need to list the countless worldwide hits that have come from the UK. OK, I will, as the readership of the gamesblog is 60% non-British (believe it or not). The companies that have emerged out of UK games history include Rockstar (GTA), Rare (GoldenEye, Metroid, Banjo-Kazooie), Core (Tomb Raider), EIDOS (Hitman), Codemasters (Operation Flashpoint), Lionhead (Fable, Black & White), Bullfrog (Populous), Acclaim (Turok), Blitz (Dizzy), Climax (Sudeki), Sony London (SingStar, EyeToy), Relentless (Buzz!), etc etc etc etc...
Respect While we don't yet have a wing for UK games at the British Library, there are plenty of forward-thinking curators at some of the most respected cultural institutions who have celebrated games.
The Barbican led the way with Game On in 2002, now a worldwide travelling exhibition. Game On was the first major UK exhibition on the history and culture of videogames. An updated Game On is set to re-launch later this year at the Science Museum with the assistance of Nintendo.
The London-based international digital arts festival onedotzero incorporated gaming into their essential programme in 2001, when it introduced lensflare, "a unique compilation of the world's greatest games animations projected in a cinema environment" (said sleazenation). For the next few years it was curated by Emily Newton Dunn, who incorporated the best of in-game action into themed programmes.
The Design Museum has never been shy about celebrating British gaming culture, nominating Rockstar (GTA: Vice City) for Designer of the Year in 2002 and hosting the BBC's Great British Design Quest for The Culture Show in 2006, when Tomb Raider and GTA were both nominated for the prize.
The Institution for Contemporary Arts in London has recently teamed up with Sony to bring the art to the people, on their handheld PSPs. ICA The Show is
a bi-monthly video magazine conceived by the Institute of Contemporary Arts for the PlayStation ®Portable exploring the working methods, philosophies and styles of film makers, artists, designers and musicians.
Interested PSP owners and art enthusiasts can download the latest episodes from its website, where it promotes the use of the new technology, bringing the content of the gallery to gamers' pockets.
Finally, the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (which, in full disclosure, I was involved with before I became too busy with my PhD) is the first games festival in the world with a cultural slant - away from the consumer-driven or hardware-tipped culture of most games conferences. Nicely, it's become part of the Edinburgh Festival fringe family, along with the TV festival, the book festival, the film festival, and other bastions of cultural currency, like opera and dance.
Honours The Queen's even handed out knighthoods to some of the UK's gaming greats, including Jez San (2002), Peter Molyneux (2004) and Ian Livingstone (2006)
And the latest news on the table is that the British Academy, responsible for the BAFTAs, has made games its "third arm", giving equal weight to the interactive medium as it does to film and tv.
Games contribute financially and culturally to the UK. Public broadcasters, government departments, universities and museums all view them as assets of cultural significance. There have been attempts to create an archive of computer games material, but to date these have been the products of communities of fans. Surely the UK should follow the US' lead and create a national archive of digital entertainment materials.
