Game Over: The Importance of Preservation in Video Games

Often, when we think of heritage, our minds direct towards displays of craftsmanship, monumentality– big stones put up by hairy men in loincloths or photo-realistic paintings that you had to write an essay on in high school. Naturally, we seek to preserve these things, to restore them if necessary, and there are means of restoring fine art and conserving it so it might be enjoyed by generations to come. The same goes for other tangible aspects of our past that weren't meant to be remembered at all. Axes, instruments, clothing perhaps, all things that were not necessarily 'made' to support the test of time are restored and conserved meticulously due to the insight they offer into our ancestors' lives. Now, what if that part of our past is a series of ones and zeroes making up the code to a software, or say, a video game?