Eaten by a Grue

One of the fun things about getting donations of really old computer equipment is that sometimes we find random bits of entertainment to go along with it. Here is a really old dictionary of computer terms that has helpful (and hilarious) pictures to describe each term.

The archive recently got its very own vertical file, which has inspired a discussion about what we want to highlight and set aside for research purposes. One thing we've decided to set aside are the game ads that come in game cases, and the product catalogs (especially the really old ones) that are donated to us over time. Having them all in one place could make it easier for someone studying game marketing over time to access what they need.

An article hit the New York Times earlier this month discussing the prevalence of sexual harassment in virtual game play. In the article, they highlight several examples online, from a Kickstarter devoted to documenting how women are portrayed in video games to a blog devoted to the unpleasant comments that women often encounter while playing online games. Quoted in the article are also several people who recognize the need to do something about it.

Here is the top 10 of our most popular games in the archive for the month of July. A combination of a lot of kids in the archive, as well as a number of individual users dedicated to playing a specific game everyday has given us a list that looks a little different from normal. Personally, it's been refreshing to see more unconventional games being played.

We've been working on sorting through some of the game ephemera that we've collected over the years and finding a good way to display it. Some of this stuff is just too good not to have out there for people to see.

People have donated so many game manuals over the years that we (sadly) end up keeping in storage because we just don't have the games themselves to go with them. It's a pity because there are quite a few in our hidden collection that have amazing game art, full of color and bringing back a sense of game nostalgia that few other sources can inspire.

Here is the list of our top games played in the archive for the month of June. It was quite a month for the Nintendo DS, as well as other systems that rarely make the list since we've seen so much interest from kids thus far over the Summer.

Today we had an impressive assortment of incoming freshmen check out the archive in a big tour, about 60 people in total. It's wonderful to see so many new students taking an interest, but we just had to take pictures since we haven't had that big of a crowd in quite some time.

A piece appeared in UM's Michigan Today about Sid Meier's Game Design Boot Camp, which took place earlier this Summer. In it, we discover what gave him the idea for the boot camp, which companies were involved, and a bit about how it was structured. We also learn that not only was Sid Meier's son Ryan involved (a UM graduate), but also his mother, who attended the event as well.

Here is our list of the top 10 games played in the archive for the month of May. A couple of RPG classics made the list, with a Disney game even making an appearance towards the bottom of the list.