The use of video games as a sustainable tool for preserving existing archaeological data in an entertaining and interactive manner was investigated. The main aim of such investigation was to explore the potential benefits in terms of archaeological/heritage education, broadcasting, and representing data in a manner that is interactive and encourages critical thinking through play. Game Pass Shelter, located at Kamberg in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park was used to create a virtual environment in a video game that accurately represents traditional Bushmen rock art and folklore. Two phases were featured in the development of the video game: (i) getting feedback from gamers through a questionnaire I had designed, and (ii) using the identified recommendations to design the 2D video game using Unity Game Engine (a free video game development piece of software). This 2D video game, defined by authenticity to the represented folklore, features rock art motifs from Game Pass Shelter used against the backdrop of the Spoiling of the Eland traditional story. The video game begins with the ‘Rosetta Stone’ of southern African rock art and contextualises it using selected traditional folklore. Through this process, the video game aims to show why hunting was so important to the traditional Bushmen way of life. It further shows why eland were so valued and some unique beliefs that the Bushmen had concerning them. / Dissertation (MA (Archaeology))--university of Pretoria, 2020. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MA (Archaeology) / Unrestricted

Using ethnographic research methods, I worked with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) to conduct an exploratory study about developer perspectives on video game preservation. I conducted in-depth interviews with independent developers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a hub for Texas game development. These interviews explored developers' knowledge and awareness of game preservation as a topic of concern, archival culture and practices in the industry, and the IGDA's potential role in addressing issues related to preservation work. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on game preservation, urgently needed as many gaming technologies face obsolescence in the near future. I use Ellen Cushman's concept of "perseverance" to examine the difference between simply preserving video games for the future, and the perseverance of game development as a professional trade and artistic craft.

Progression of human civilization in fields of technology, culture and media is closely tied to the creation of remains known as a cultural heritage. These artefacts and knowledge are testimonies of human cultures of distant and recent pasts. In last two decades, a trend of creating and living in synthetic worlds has emerged with social media and vast digital games being prime examples of such synthetic worlds. To better understand human culture, a new, yet undeveloped and academically unestablished (even though suggested by texts in past 30 years) interdisciplinar field has emerged: archaogaming. Its mission is researching distant and recent past through cultural heritage in and of digital games, connecting archaeology, game and media studies, using methods and tools inspired by archaeological practice. Among such methods belongs digital ethnography and on-site research, methods used in this Master's thesis' research. Its aim was to describe artefacts used and left in game worlds by gamers of three chosen digital games: GTA Online, Fortnite Battle Royale and Soul Calibur VI. Moreover, other goals of this research were to identify factors influencing such relics and their lifespan. Analysis of data collected during 60 gaming sessions throughout the trio of synthetic worlds suggests that artefacts...

Among the many shifts within public archaeology and heritage during recent years is an endeavour to find new methods of engagement which has been broadly undertaken within the field. This thesis suggests one such method could be found in the use of Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs). It does so by examining the current issues in public archaeology and how an intersection between archaeology and game studies could be applied. This includes the importance of empathy and roleplaying in understanding of the past and how this could be applied to the field of public archaeology. / Under de senaste åren har det funnits en strävan av att hitta nya metoder för att presentera och engagera människor för arkeologi och kulturarv. I den här uppsatsen har en sådan metod i form av brädspel som inkluderar rollspel (TTRPGs) presenterats och analyserats. I uppsatsen tas aktuella frågor inom publik arkeologi upp och hur interaktionen mellan arkeologi och spelstudier skulle kunna tillämpas och bidra till att engagera människor i arkeologi och kulturarv.  Studien inkluderar betydelsen av empati och rollspel och hur detta skulle kunna appliceras inom området publik arkeologi.