Everyone has played a video game before, whether you have competed in an esports competition or you just beat your high score on Subway Surfers. Games have a way of connecting people by encouraging group cooperation and providing common topics to discuss with people who share the same interests.
RetroTECH is an initiative from the Tech Library focusing on the curation of technological materials with historical significance. Its goal is to connect students with both the future and the past through digital and physical gaming artifacts.
Dillon Henry, a Digital Accessioning Archivist at Tech Library, is in charge of maintaining and growing Tech’s digital and physical media collections.
“I honestly think some of it is self-evident, as gaming platforms, as well as TV and movie platforms, move to streaming. All of a sudden, [something] was on Netflix, and now it’s not on there anymore,” Henry said on the importance of storing gaming artifacts.
The value of physical media has shifted in recent years as streaming sites have gained popularity. People are more inclined to subscribe to a service for access to media rather than purchase and own it.
Events like retroTECH Game Day give students access to media they would otherwise never have experienced. These events also remind students that libraries are useful for more than studying and checking out books.
“The first time that I went into an archive at a university, I was just blown away by the stuff they had. They had a flyer for a Black Flag concert in the early 1980s, and I was like, ‘Wait, libraries collect this sort of thing?’” Henry stated.
RetroTECH hopes to spread awareness amongst the public about the far-reaching archival work at libraries by bridging the gap between curious students and libraries, like Tech’s, that are rich with resources.
The most recent Game Day retroTECH hosted featured a lineup of three consoles: a Nintendo 64, a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and a Game Cube. Each console had at least two controllers to allow students the choice of single or multiplayer mode.
Some students who attended the event were unfamiliar with classic games, while others were almost experts. Attending this event allowed everyone to engage not only with the game consoles but also with other students.
About thirty minutes after the event began, students who had never met before were talking and laughing as they bonded over MarioKart and Super Smash Bros. At another table, students were researching combo moves to beat each other in Mortal Kombat.
The bonding power that video games have over people was clear as students came together in competition and camaraderie. Even though these were games that many of the attendee’s parents had played years ago, they still have an impact on gamers today. Games give us an outlet, a safe space to find friends and family and allow us to explore new worlds, past and present.
RetroTECH and Tech’s other library events are great ways for Jackets to learn about the amazing resources we have and to connect with other people.