One of the objectives of the GAME-ER project is to understand the historical evolution of different successful video games ecosystems across European cities outside of capital cities. Hence, finding adequate historical sources to reconstruct these histories was essential. To achieve this, the teams identified a few relevant repositories in each one of the cities analysed, here we present some reflections on the historical research conducted in Dundee, Scotland.
For the Dundee case study, we identified and made use of academic, journalistic, and historical collections. Six archives were chosen: Abertay University, DC Thompson, Dundee University, the McManus, the Local History Archive and Dundee City Council’s Archive.
The different archives provided academic insights on the industrial history of the city, journalistic perspectives on its multiple transformative events, as well as local socio-historical stories and symbols.
We were interested in how Abertay’s video games degrees were developed, a topic of high importance as when launched the first one became one of the first if not the first video games focused degree offered across the world. The research confirmed the collaboration between industry and the University that proved key to the emergence of the video games degrees, as well as formalizing the local industry, and impacting video games education across the globe.
Photos and articles from various newspapers within the United Kingdom, but largely Scotland, gathered by DC Thompson’s archivists provided journalistic perspectives. These were enriched by interviews with local legends such as David Jones; the documents we found guided us from his first game being published all the way through
DMA Design’s growth and development. Accompanying photos not only provided visual content for written work but also gave leads on inquiring who else may have been involved within DMA Design. Likewise, documents illuminating the technological history of Dundee, both for specific companies such as Timex and National Cash Register (NCR) and broader business interests such as the Dundee Technology Park, as well as social interest in Abertay’s activities such as DARE Academy.
The remaining archives provided a rich social context. For example, the archival research highlighted licence appeals for gaming machines in public spaces as well as an extensive interview with Chris van der Kuyl, another key figure in Dundee’s gaming cluster. A further visit to the McManus’ collections provided physical artefacts such as computers, floppy disks, and design documents that could visually contextualise the changing tides. A concluding visit to the Dundee City Council archives contributed insights on Timex and NCR from within the companies, through brief memoir accounts and business reports celebrating successes, as well as newspaper articles on industrial turbulence.
Thus, from making use of many of Dundee’s archives the research was enriched and deepened. This was only possible because of the dedicated efforts of local archivists and the openness of Archives, pointing us in the right direction and making accessible key documents and artefacts such as hardware as well as interviews with local figures of interest like Mike Dailly and Chris Van der Kuyle. From archival work, researchers can find, value and communicate information that may have otherwise been lost or difficult to find.
