HACS: Historical-Analytical Comparative System.
HACS has been developped over the last few years at LUDOV (Université de Montréal) and is now progressing thanks to multiple collaborators all over the world. In its final stage, this tool seeks to make it easier to explore gameplay patterns in history, with an emphasis on categories of mechanics, interface design, and modes of performance. The 2020 symposium took the shape of a workshop that brought toguether videogame creators in order to get feedback on the project, and imagine new ways of inspecting the medium’s history.
Thanks to the international expansion of the project, the HACS team will analyze 2000 games selected by expert committees in ten world regions. Ultimately, this project will make a larger part of videogame history visible, either for further scholarly analysis or inspiration for design.
More information on the project:https://www.ludov.ca/en/observation/international-history-of-videogames–hacs-
The event was organized in collaboration with Synthèse – Pôle image Québec
Photo credit: Pierre-Yves Montpetit