Online Videogame Database Launched

Having trouble keeping all your videogames straight? Did you mindlessly try to jam your Atari 2600 Meglamania cartridge into your PS2? Relax. Help is on the way.

Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) has announced the launch of the Game Innovation Database (GIDb), an online encyclopedia of videogames. The goal of the online database is to classify and document every innovation in the history of videogames. The GIDb provides a taxonomy for videogame innovations and is implemented through an online Wiki, which lets you update existing entries and contribute new ones.

Want to find out about "Joe Montana II Sports Talk Football," "Thief: The Dark Project," "F-Zero GX," or (here's my favorite) "Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!"? They're all here, along with a bunch others.

"Videogames have been, and continue to be, an area where innovation is flourishing," says project advisor Jesse Schell, an instructor of Entertainment Technology who specializes in game design at the ETC. "So many videogame innovations have occurred so fast that there is a danger that many fascinating and important innovations will be forgotten. We have created the Game Innovation Database in order to create a historical record of which innovations appeared when, and why they are important.

"The videogame industry has existed for around 35 years, and there is still no comprehensive resource for the history of videogame innovation," said Eric Keylor, a member of the development team. "The GIDb will fill this need. Academics and instructors can use it as an educational resource, while fans can use it to learn something about their favorite games and to discover related games," Keylor said.

The database had a few hundred entries at its launch, but as the community becomes aware of the database, it is expected to grow. Users with a strong interest in expanding the database may apply to join the GIDb Editorial Board.

It is worth noting that the ETC offers an interdisciplinary master's degree program with the College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Although students come from both fine arts and technology backgrounds, they are not expected to master both fields. Instead, the program focuses on honing the students' existing skills and teaching them to work effectively with other professional groups. Carnegie Mellon is the only university to offer the Master in Entertainment Technology (MET) degree.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 09:05 AM  Permalink