Interested in Donating Materials to the Archive?

Well, then, let us know what you have! To build its collection, the UT Videogame Archive is actively seeking donations from game developers and collectors. While we are interested in acquiring many types of materials related to videogames (including the games and hardware), we are most interested in acquiring materials that document the processes involved in the making of videogames.

With this core focus in mind, we fully appreciate the legal concerns that often complicate the donation of such materials and documentation, especially when one considers intellectual property issues and privacy. To accommodate these concerns, we are prepared to limit access to the Briscoe Center's physical reading room. In such cases, full web access would not be permitted (though we may occassionally post low-res jpegs of extremely limited excerpts), and copying for anything other than scholarly research would be strictly prohibited. Furthermore, we are not shy about contacting donors to gauge their level of comfort with the disclosure and copying of a particular document or image.

Our primary concern lies in the preservation of these materials for research purposes, and this guiding principle has to date proven useful in striking a balance between protecting our donors' interests and providing researchers access to the materials they need for their work.

We look forward to hearing from potential donors, and encourage anyone interested to contact us. More general information about donating to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History can be found here.

A Sampling of Materials to Consider Donating

-Design documents of all kinds
-Development-related correspondence
-Artwork, such as conceptual art, sketches and storyboards
-Prototype versions of games
-Game development source code (preferably uncompiled), assets, and tools
-Development maps
-Scheduling/planning documents
-Devoloper/Publisher budgets, forecasting, and market research
-Other documentation related to the developer/publisher relationship
-Company newsletters and circulars
-Advertising and marketing materials, especially pieces used for unique, one-time purposes
-Press kits and demos
-Business and legal documentation

-Digital files of everything listed above

-Books on game design, development, and game theory
-Source materials (i.e., writings, film, art, etc. that inspired a game)
-Powerpoint presentations for conferences
-Game magazines, including clippings files