How to Archaeologically Record a Video Game

I made a zine about my research using Nathalie Lawhead's Electric Zine Maker for GDC 2025! I promised to upload a digital version so here it is!

It's a little crunchy as I had to reconstruct the zine from the foldable pdf in order to export it in a more readable form, but making a digital copy of a copy, with all its attendant flaws, kind of seems in the spirit of the medium.

I also decided to share it as an exportable pdf because that's a more stable file long-term.

I have also added the printable PDF if you want to print and fold the zine as it was originally shared. Print it in black and white for the intended aesthetic! Then, add a seed number of your choice on the back (I hand wrote these sequentially originally).

Here's a guide for how to fold and cut an 8 page zine: https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/how%20to%20fold%20a%20zine.pdf

Read the accompanying blog post about my time at GDC: https://florencesmithnicholls.com/2025/04/09/how-to-create-a-video-game-archaeol...

Here are links to the three papers associated with QR codes in the zine:

• The Dark Souls of Archaeology: Recording Elden Ring
• How To Save A World: The Go-Along Interview as Game Preservation Methodology in Wurm Online
• Archaeological Gameworld Affordances: A Grounded Theory of How Players Interpret Environmental Storytelling

If you have any questions about the zine or my research, please comment or get in contact!