'Knee-Deep in the Data': Practical Problems in Applying the OAIS Reference Model to the Preservation of Computer Games

The Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System has been extraordinarily influential within the digital preservation community. The Preserving Virtual Worlds project explored the application of the OAIS Reference Model for the preservation of computer games, videogames and electronic literature within a research library setting. This paper identifies practical problems in determining the appropriate range of representation and context information needed to preserve computer games and discusses possible solutions to those problems.