Time To Get A Library Card (April 20, 2007)

[Bandit LOAF]

The Austin-American Statesman has an article of interest to would-be Wing Commander historians: Origin veterans Warren Spector, Richard Garriott and George "Fatman" Sanger are teaming up with the University of Texas' Center for American history to archive material relating to the history of game development!

Composer Sanger, also known as "The Fat Man," will donate almost 30 boxes with items including his first demo cassette tape from 1983, in which he pleads with game companies to hire him. Sanger has composed songs for games such as the "Wing Commander" series and "NASCAR Racing."

Sanger said he threw away several items the day he met with history center officials.

"They told me, 'You put what in what? Take it out!' " Sanger said. He dug it out of the trash.

Garriott, the developer of the "Ultima" series, has been particularly meticulous in saving documents and memorabilia from his development career, dating back to 1979.

For every game he developed, he saved and labeled the first 10 copies. He will also donate several now-defunct Apple II computers and framed posters from every game he helped develop.

It's great to see this getting some professional attention. I've done research using UT's archives before and can say with confidence that this is the best possible way to both preserve and present this material. It's amazing to think that the original Wing Commander pitch document will now be kept alongside the likes of LBJ's White House papers and D.H. Lawrence's original manuscripts.

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Original update published on April 20, 2007