The Student Games Archive was started in 2019 with the goal of preserving and sharing the works that students create as part of the Certificate in Computer Game Development at the University of Alberta. We currently archive standalone artifacts from CMPUT 250, INT D 350, STS 350, and INT D 450.
The archive is hosted in part by the Education and Research Archive at the University of Alberta Library. They have made it possible to maintain a long-term archive of student works and the archive would not be possible without their assistance.
How to Submit to the Archive
Submissions to the archive occur in three stages: game submission, consent forms, and artifact delivery.
Game Submission
In order to begin the archival process, a single representative from the team submitting the game must fill out the Student Games Archive – Game Submission Form. This form captures the information required to archive and display the game, including a short description of the game, some keywords for genre and theme, potential triggers, and estimated rating. This form may take 10 – 20 minutes to complete; a PDF export of the form is available here which includes all of the fields to be filled out and specific instructions, so that the submission information can be prepared with the team ahead of time.
Consent Forms
Once the Game Submission Form is submitted, each member of the team must fill out a Student Games Archive – Consent Form (including the person who submitted the Game Submission Form). Any game on the archive must have unanimous consent from all team members, and this is the mechanism by which we capture that consent. This form may take 1 – 2 minutes to complete and a PDF export is available here. This is also the form that can be used to revoke consent to display a game, should you wish to do so at any time after submission.
Artifact Delivery
Once the Game Submission Form and all team members’ Consent Forms are collected, the point of contact listed on the Game Submission Form will receive an email requesting artifact delivery – that is, all of the game files and items to be archived. Specific instructions for how to set up the game and associated files are given after the submission of the Game Submission Form, and these instructions must be followed closely in order to avoid delays in processing.
Archiving and Uploading
Once all the forms are filled out and the artifacts are received, they will be processed, archived, and added to the website in the order that they were received. The archival portions are uploaded to the Education and Research Archive Collection for student-created works in the Certificate in Computer Game Development, and the game page is added to the Student Games Archive website. Once the game is processed and archived, all team members will receive a confirmation email with the link to the game’s archive page.