Sam Shahrani and Mario Gerosa have completed a Convention for the Protection of Virtual Architectural Heritage.

The document aims to lay a foundation for the conservation of our “virtual architecture”, the environments and places that make up the synthetic worlds of video games. More commonly referred to as “levels”, “maps” or “worlds”, these environments are the stage for players’ experiences in video games. Unfortunately, little has been done to protect, catalogue and analyze these game spaces, but such conservation is necessary in order to provide reference material for study. The goal of the Convention is to provide a framework for this vital preservation work, and to encourage further academic study of the principles of level design and the architecture of synthetic worlds.

Via videoludica and terra nova.