I can't believe it's been
two years (and a day) since I posted my original
writeup outlining the concept of a collaborative
database site dedicated to computer and
video games. I feel this would be a suitable juncture to give an update on the progress that has been made, other developments that have taken place in the intervening period, and my thoughts on the goals of the eventual site.
The original idea for the site was to create a gaming equivalent of Halliwell's Film Guide (or IMDB) and the Penguin Classical Music Guides, containing accurate reference data, points of historical and trivial interest, and expert criticism about every game in the medium's history. This original design was extended to include a writeup system similar to Everything2 and Community2's model, where an unlimited number of writeups could be contributed to a topic, retaining ownership by the author (differing from the Wiki model). Each game node would become a scrap book of contributions allowing each game to be thoroughly documented, appraised and explored by a variety of voices, with the different writeups being coralled into a navigable form through the use of contextual tags (see Flickr), and possibly some form of Wikipedia-like index creation.
Another idea that was thrown about at this time was the replacement of E2's voting, XP and Content Editors power structure with an alternative based on trust metrics, whereby editing rights and management/housekeeping of certain key nodes would be awarded depending on other users vouching for the applicant's authority on the relevant subjects.
Following the creation of the Everygame writeup and usergroup, there was a flurry of development activity on the part of Fuzzie, based around a new version of the Everything core (ecore) written in Python. This reached the prototype stage and in the process threw up many, many questions about the details of the implementation and the database model that would form the backbone of the system. Some time later, MightyMooQuack took up the gauntlet, setting to work on an implementation of the ideas tabled to date developed in Django, which we are assured is continuing.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, other projects with similar remits have been founded. Tyagi's Gamerwiki.com site, sparked from a discussion on the rllmuk games discussion forum, has made a fair amount of progress, both aided and hindered by the MediaWiki software. (Adding a new game to the Gamerwiki database is a tricky and longwinded process, and, as with Wikipedia, there are a number of inelegant hacks to try and retrofit specialisation onto the generalised Wiki structure.) It has become something of a running gag that Gamerwiki is collecting the data which will be transfered into Everygame, should it ever appear.
Another project is the much-publicised Game Innovation Database (another Wiki-based site) at Carnegie-Mellon. This is a rather odd (and arguably ill-conceived) project with most of its intended value catering for the academic study of games design rather than critical or reference interest. The content currently present on the site gives a strong impression that it is highly reliant on external sources (Wikipedia, Mobygames, GameFAQs) to provide any solid information about the games covered, being content to mention only the 'innovations' that each game is purported to have introduced. (There is some very dubious reasoning in the site's mission statement which basically says that for some reason it will be important for people designing games in the future to be able to precisely pinpoint the first instance of a game that implemented a particular feature. I have no idea why this should be the case - it does not seem to be necessary for any other creative medium.)
I have recently also read that the Library of Congress is planning to catalogue software and games.
I still believe that there is a need for a comprehensive reference site for games. Games are making further inroads into the mainstream, thanks to the casual games explosion on the PC, cheap, accessible handheld devices like the mobile phones and the Nintendo DS, and increasingly sophisticated integration with other mediums. This is resulting in a huge pool of interested parties, be they journalists, academics, parents, new and returning gamers, and even developers and publishers trying to break out of traditional niches, all of whom could benefit from a centralised, diligently edited guide to help them gain the knowledge they need to fully appreciate games and to encourage them to try new things.
In summary:
- The project isn't dead
- There is no end in sight
- There is still a pressing need for such a database to exist
- We still don't have an official title
If any of this has sparked your interest, the following links may be useful:
(Everygame usergroup)
Everygame thread on e2bb
Django homepage
GamerWiki (not affiliated in any way, shape or form)