Question of the Day, November 6, 2010

carpathic

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Oct 5, 2009
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They really should be added if only to keep the coding.

It is my understanding that even with coding best practices, most people who code, do so in a manner that is different from how others approach it. It might be that an obscure piece of code in a game might prove a life saver at some point in the future.
 

cssm3

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Mar 20, 2010
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As someone who works in a Library I have heard many reasons why and why not to have games. We already have movies (not just educational but Iron Man 2), music CDs (not just classical, but new releases) and computers (normally kids use to play games). The library has had game night, in which an employee brought his games systems and a few games for the kids to play. In fact many libraries already have gaming area for teens and games for rent.

I think that games are the next step. I do not believe every game has a place in the library since we can?t censor who has access. However, many games can be an important learning tool. There are a lot of programs out that libraries should have, not just games. I believe that in regards to the British Library they should allow the educational programs. This way they have additional resources and still stay true to being an academic library.

In regards to libraries as a place for books, few libraries have only books anymore.

(Apologies for the wall of text.)
 

SpaceSpork

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May 15, 2009
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Yes. Games, like other art forms, reflect the culture of it's day, whether purposefully or not.
We need to remember Gears of War for the same reason we need to remember Transformers 2.
 

SultanP

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Mar 15, 2009
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Libraries here in Denmark have books, movies, music, documentaries, newspapers, magazines, and video games. I see libraries as not only places of culture, but also information, meaning that they should be very diverse.

So I voted yes.
 

Jodan

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Mar 18, 2009
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yes we will need these as primary and secondary sources in the future

just yesterday i was in the UofM library and found a board game called ghetto. if a board game can be considerd relevent for achiving video games should be even more so.
there is so much data about who we are as a civilization that can be interpolated from this media.

one final thing
along with the games any records pretaining to the game should also be kept for they are just as important as the game itself. historically speaking

ONE MOORE THING!
if their archived there is a greater chance that they wont be lost and will be preserved much better with more care given to preservation and they will be easier to find 25 years from now because they will have been cataloged
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
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Kaltazraza said:
In the danish libraries you can borrow games as well as books and movies.
Time to move to Denmark!

OT: I'd say do it. Games are a new symbol of a new generation. Not to store them for future reference would be a waste.
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
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AvsJoe said:
If the Library of Congress is going to include every Twitter post, then video games belong in a library too.
Seriously? Dang, now there is a record not many would care to read unless it was for research. Mind you, things that I have thought would never attract attention have exploded with popularity.
 

roman gnome

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Feb 1, 2009
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Yes, because someday people will be studying us, trying to understand why we spent so much time in front of our computers and why some of us insisted on blaming video games for certain types of violent crimes, and these scholars may need access to games that might become very difficult or impossible to find unless they are archived somewhere like the British Museum.

Also, they should consider preserving noteworthy moments in gaming history in a hand-illuminated Mac Book Pro. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-news-network/1980-Got-to-Catch-Them-All
 

Altorin

Jack of No Trades
May 16, 2008
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definitely. It'd be a good step in further legitimizing the medium.
 

GothmogII

Possessor Of Hats
Apr 6, 2008
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Shoggoth2588 said:
I can see why Libraries would want to stock video games but personally, I don't think they should rent out the games. The odds of a game coming back damaged or, not coming back at all is far greater than the same thing happening to say, the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I know many larger libraries have halls of records and, areas in which the material are meant to stay without being checked out. I'd put the games there.
I don't know about that, many have for quite some time also loaned out DVD's, Audiobooks, cassettes, VHS tapes and the like, I don't see why a game should be a problem, unless you think gamers are more prone to thievery or something? ;)
 

Kolosus

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Apr 22, 2009
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In the about every Danish library, there's a section for both Music and Videogames, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC

There's a 3 week rent time. Plenty of time to win most games. And if not, you can just rent it twice.

Unfortunately!!, some of the games, and CD's are quite scratched, and are therefore unable to be read. :/
I haven't used the renting service myself, because of the faulty discs, but it's a good service anyways.
 

Shoggoth2588

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Aug 31, 2009
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GothmogII said:
Shoggoth2588 said:
I can see why Libraries would want to stock video games but personally, I don't think they should rent out the games. The odds of a game coming back damaged or, not coming back at all is far greater than the same thing happening to say, the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I know many larger libraries have halls of records and, areas in which the material are meant to stay without being checked out. I'd put the games there.
I don't know about that, many have for quite some time also loaned out DVD's, Audiobooks, cassettes, VHS tapes and the like, I don't see why a game should be a problem, unless you think gamers are more prone to thievery or something? ;)
It isn't thievery so much as it is that games (especially discs) tend to get abused. I think there was an article about it a few weeks ago...Sure, there is also the risk that information from a game disc will be duplicated but really, my main concern is with the care a disc or cartridge would receive. Maybe people in the U.K. would take better care of library games than people in the U.S. ? That remains to be seen I guess.
 

MorteSphere

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Jul 8, 2009
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Swaki said:
MorteSphere said:
Not exactly now, but sooner or later, they should.

Right now, people who play games aren't looking for an artistic experience. This is the subculture that gave billions to Microsoft for the Halo games, remember.
and michael bay keep making billions, Dan Brown is one of the most celebrated writers of our time and the bible is the all time best seller, musical talent has taken a back seat to image.

we should just shut down the libraries.
And yet there are still far more great movies than there are great games, and great books.
 

thatstheguy

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Dec 27, 2008
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They should, but only for older games that aren't being made anymore. So newer games released would still make money.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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Jesus Phish said:
-Do libraries which stock movies for example, stock as much as say a Blockbuster/Video rental store? Do they have copies of Iron Man 2? Or do they just (as the libraries I've been to) just stock videos which are of an educational basis.
The answer to this is a little bit mixed. While an individual library is not likely to have as good a selection as an individual Blockbuster, it's usually possible to request a transfer from one library to another, effectively making it possible to get any movie (Or book, or album, or periodical) that you can possibly think of, absolutely free of charge. It's kind of funny, but I've noticed that in my county's library cooperative, the smallest towns have the best selection of R rated films. Seriously, if you want The Terminator or Alien, and you don't mind getting it in the form of a VHS tape, it's the libraries in the podunk little towns that can hook you up.