Technology

The definition of videogames as artifacts is an abstract one. The game itself is a conceptual object, made up of different intangible components, that are very hard to preserve (Winget, 1870). However, a physical medium is required for a game to be displayed and access. Ultimately, the technology in which the videogame is publish determines crucial aspects as the coding, player interaction, and the gaming community the game creates. Unfortunately, this makes the technology the game was produced a primal element in conservation, yet it is one of the most fragile aspects. Q*bert is a prime example of this fragility. The game was originally designed to be played in arcade machines, and the game dynamics were chosen according with the machine’s mechanism. The arcade cabinets require pre-game settings via a meta-interface of buttons and switches explained by the manual, because a correct set up ensures an adequate translation of player input to the onscreen output (Hodges, 1589). Furthermore, there are unique characteristic that accompany the arcade cabinet game. For instance, the first edition of Q*bert features a forced-feedback lever that in not included in any other version of the game. This was an essential part of gameplay as it produced a tactile and audible effect when a player loses a level, thus creating a round up experience of sight sound and tough in the player (Hodges, 1591). This is an example of the level of fragility gaming technology experience. Merely a year after the debut of the game the lever was no longer installed in the arcade machines (Hodges, 1591). Therefore, the original player game relationship lacked a noticeable characteristic even when the game and the device were still the same. Without a doubt, this endangers the data of the original artifact, and as technology develops the game struggles to remain true to its primal characteristic.