Finding Aid to the LGBTQ Game Archive Collection, 1986-2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection Finding Aid to the LGBTQ Game Archive Collection, 1986-2020 Summary Information Title: LGBTQ Game Archive collection Creator: LGBTQ Game Archive project, Adrienne Shaw (primary) ID: 120.4257 Date: 1986-2020 (inclusive) Extent: 12.6 GB (digital) Language: The majority of materials in this collection are in English, with a few instances of Japanese. Abstract: The LGBTQ Game Archive collection is a collection of primary sources (including websites, articles, blogs, forums, videos, and screenshots) used in the creation of the LGBTQ Game Archive. Repository: Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong One Manhattan Square Rochester, New York 14607 585.263.2700 [email protected] Administrative Information Conditions Governing Use: This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donor has not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, she has given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes. Conditions Governing Access: At this time, digital games in Series V are limited to on-site researchers only. Please see The Strong’s Digital Games Files Access Policy. Custodial History: The LGBTQ Game Archive collection was donated to The Strong in October 2020 as a gift of Adrienne Shaw. The collection was accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 120.4257 and received on a hard drive with two additional related digital collections. Preferred citation for publication: LGBTQ Game Archive collection, Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong Processed by: Julia Novakovic, November 2020 Controlled Access Terms Personal Names • Binette, Aja • Brenner-Levoy, Jeremy • Lauteria, Evan W. • McGarry, Shane A. • Mejeur, Cody • Ralph, C.M. • Savage, Joshua D. November 2020 Page 1 Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection • Shaw, Adrienne • Shoemaker, Matt Corporate Names • Bethesda Softworks (Firm) • Electronic Arts (Firm) • Konami, Inc. • Nintendo of America, Inc. • Sierra On-Line, Inc. • Temple University Subjects • Animal Crossing (Video game series) • Baldur’s Gate (Video game series) • Caper in the Castro (Video game) • Dys4ia (Video game) • Earthbound (Video game) • Electronic games -- Social aspects • Fallout (Video game series) • Final Fantasy (Video game series) • Gabriel Knight (Video game series) • GayBlade (Video game) • Gender identity • Grand Theft Auto (Video game series) • Heileen (Video game series) • Katamari (Video game series) • Legend of Zelda (Video game series) • Leisure Suit Larry (Video game series) • LGBTQ Game Archive • LGBTQ Video Game Archive • Mass Effect (Video game series) • Metal Gear Solid (Video game series) • Metroid (Video game series) • Shadow Hearts (Video game series) • Soul Calibur (Video game series) • Super Mario Bros. (Video game series) • Tekken (Video game series) • The Sims (Video game series) • Ultima (Video game series) • Video games -- Gender identity • Video games -- LGBTQ content • Video games -- Sex • Video games -- Social aspects November 2020 Page 2 Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection Historical Note The LGBTQ Game Archive, established by Dr. Adrienne Shaw, documents the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer content in games. This site collects LGBTQ video game content, cataloging games or game series and categorizing relevant material by actions, artifacts, characters, locations, relationships, traits, and more (including instances of homophobia or transphobia found in games). The intended audience is broad; the LGBTQ Game Archive is meant to be an online resource for researchers, journalists, critics, game designers/ developers/ publishers, game players, and anyone interested in learning more about the history of LGBTQ content in video games. Since 2015, the project has relied on research assistants from Temple University as well as various volunteers to collect information on, and create entries about, games with LGBTQ content. The bulk of these files were saved by Cody Mejeur during a Digital Humanities post-doctoral project as a Graduate Student in the English department at Michigan State University. This project was an extension of an earlier effort established by Shaw through a Temple University Digital Scholarship Faculty Fellowship to preserve the materials used in the LGBTQ Game Archive after GayGamer.Net, a major source of LGBTQ gamer history, went offline. With research assistance from Aja Binette (then a Temple University Sociology PhD candidate) and Head of the Digital Scholarship Center Matt Shoemaker, Shaw created a model for bulk saving of the content and produced a spreadsheet file that could be used to add item information and metadata to a digital collections site hosted on Omeka. Mejeur further refined and automated the process of capturing various resource formats. Temple Communication and Media Studies Research Assistants Hocheol Yang and Weimei Sun continued to populate the metadata spreadsheet file and tracked down “dead links” which were available through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. These efforts took place from 2016-2018, with final additions of files in 2020 before the digital collection was donated to The Strong. To learn more about the project and its methodology, refer to https://lgbtqgamearchive.com/about/about-archive/. Collection Scope and Content Note The LGBTQ Game Archive collection is a compilation of primary sources (including articles, websites, blogs, web forums, videos, and images) used in the creation of the LGBTQ Game Archive. Files within this collection document LGBTQ content in video games from the 1980s through present day. Many major hit game series, including The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Brothers, Fallout, and The Sims, are covered within these materials. Additional scope and content information can be found in the Contents List section of this finding aid. The LGBTQ Game Archive collection is arranged into eleven series. This digital collection can be accessed on-site at The Strong. November 2020 Page 3 Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection Related Materials The Strong received two additional related digital collections from Shaw: the Rainbow Arcade collection (open for research) and the Joshua D. Savage digital game documents archive (which will be available in 2021). Andrew Borman at The Strong helped to create a preservation copy of Caper in the Castro (1989) for designer C.M. Ralph and Adrienne Shaw at the LGBTQ Game Archive. Read more about that on the museum’s Play Stuff Blog. System of Arrangement Series I: Administrative, 2018-2020 Series II: Articles, 1989-2020 and n.d. Series III: Blogs, 2008-2020 and n.d. Series IV: Forums, 1996-2016 Series V: Games, 1989-2020 Series VI: Gaming magazines, 1986-2012 Series VII: Images, 1986-2018 and n.d. Series VIII: Notes, 2015 Series IX: Videos, 2007-2018 and n.d. Series X: Websites, 1997-2018 Series XI: Wikis, 2013-2018 November 2020 Page 4 Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection Contents List Series I: Administrative, 2018-2020 Scope and Content Note: Within this series is project documentation advising research assistants how to capture digital information, as well as a list of citations and source material used for the LGBTQ Game Archive. Digital_I Folder 1 Series I_Administrative [3 files] • 01. LGBTQ Video Game Archive Instructions.docx, 2018 • 02. LGBTQ Video Game Archive Sources.xlsx, 2020 • 03. LGBTQ Video Game Archive Sources.pdf, 2020 Series II: Articles, 1989-2020 and n.d. Scope and Content Note: This series contains .PDF files of articles saved for the LGBTQ Game Archive. Articles are from a variety of publications (though mainly online ones), including Wired, Kotaku, IGN, Gamasutra, Game Spot, GameFAQs, GayGamer, and many others. Digital file names are retained from the original project. In brackets, the article title, creator, publication/source, and year are indicated when possible. Digital_II Folder 2 Series II_Articles [228 files] • A1.pdf [“‘M’ is Not for Male: The Legacy of Samus Aran,” Kristin Bezio, The Learned Fangirl, 2014] • A2.pdf [“10 things you didn’t know about Super Mario Bros 2,” Chris Antista, Games Radar, 2010] • A3.pdf [“16 LGBT video game characters,” Donna Dickens, Buzzfeed, 2011] • A4.pdf [“7 Sins FAQ/Walkthrough,” Spazzout, GameFAQs, 2007] • A5.pdf [“A Brief History of Gay Marriage in Video Games,” Yannick LeJacq, Kotaku, 2015] • A6.pdf [“A Brief History of Gay Marriage in Video Games,” Yannick LeJacq, Kotaku, 2015] • A7.pdf [“A Closed World, a Role-Playing Game About Growing Up Queer,” Luke Plunkett, Kotaku, 2011] • A8.pdf [“A Great Port Of A Classic Fighter,” Guile176, GameFAQs, 2004] • A9.pdf [“A Q&A with the designer of the first LGBT Computer Game,” Luke Winkie, Paste, 2014] • A10.pdf [“Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Review,” Greg Kasavin, Game Spot, 2001] • A11.pdf [“Are They or Aren’t They?: Link,” Lelan Mangrum, Gay- Nerds.com, n.d.] • A12.pdf [“Bahamut Lagoon - Review,” Seán Michael Peters, RPGamer, n.d.] • A13.pdf [“Banjo-Tooie,” Fran Mirabella III, IGN, 2000] November 2020 Page 5 Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play LGBTQ Game Archive collection • A14.pdf [“Blazing Dragons. HardcoreGaming101,”