I have played these games before. The persistence and permanence of video game ruins.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7494/human.2026.25.1.8015Keywords:
digital games, ruins, permanence and persistence, digital archivingAbstract
This article analyses how digital games incorporate older content and remnants of previous versions as elements of their narrative and aesthetic continuity. Digital game spaces function as living ruins – cultural layers that are subject to both preservation and recycling. The main thesis is the assumption that digital ruins in games operate on a spectrum between two poles: persistence, referring to the changing existence of systems and data within an active game environment, and permanence, meaning the stable, archival persistence of content as an artefact. In conclusion, it is noted that ruins of games create various forms of cultural archaeology: from ritual abandonment, through digital palimpsest, to graceful degradation. Ultimately, the discussed framework aims to contribute to understanding digital heritage as a process rather than a product.
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