As of September, I will be moving yet again, this time to Rochester, NY for a new opportunity, as the Digital Games Curator at the Strong National Museum of Play. Specifically, I will be directing the Strong’s efforts to preserve digital materials related to the collections of the museum’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games. The job description is varied, but ultimately it will be an evolution of what I’ve been working on since I started PtoPOnline in 2005, while I was still in high school. Working with the extremely talented and dedicated crew at the Strong, I truly believe that we will be a key force in guiding the future of game preservation for decades to come. This new opportunity does necessitate change for me personally, though. As of when I start at the Strong, there will be no updates on PtoPOnline for the foreseeable future, to eliminate any possible conflicts of interest that could arise. I would to make it clear: my curating of content going forward is not just for my sole interest, but rather to the Strong and the communities engaged and interested in gaming and game preservation. That doesn't mean that PtoPOnline is dead or disappearing, all the content will stay, and I think there will be an opportunity in the future, but a hiatus is necessary. One of my goals the past few years has been to get the content that I’ve been collecting into the hands of gamers and researchers alike. Working for the Strong will provide that opportunity. I have a feeling that the type of stories that I have been able to tell here will be expanded and grow through the development of onsite and online exhibits. Acquisition of new materials will change as well, as the Strong has their own procedures to make sure that everything is accounted for as needed. I’ve heard it said a million times, “That Belongs in a Museum!” Well now I will be at one, and while I’m not ready to announce the future of my own personal collection, I will continue to be thinking about the best ways to provide access to materials to those that need them. The new role will be an adjustment, but one that is beyond exciting. I'm not going anywhere. I want to continue to work with all of you, so that all of our materials can be appreciated and live on. Thank you everyone!
You've always been kind of our own local museum curator, so it's just fitting that you'd become one in Real Life™. I hope you'll still be able to contribute to the discussions here with your knowledge without being into any kind of conflict of interest. Cheers!
I will still be here. Actually one of the big things will be trying to bridge a lot of the work going on in various communities. There's a lot that I don't know, and more that I won't be able to talk about too, but it's exciting to be able to work full time on game preservation.
Weren't you moving from NY, to FL? Are you telling me you're moving back now? Regardless, good job. Let's just hope the people demanding releases tones down.
Very well deserved, congrats on the new opportunity! It is great you'll be able to work full time on your passion
Congrats on your new Job Borman, really happy for you. You are incredibly highly regarded for what you do and what you've done for the prototype preservation community, and I can't thank you enough. I'm really glad you're able to make a career in game preservation, as I believe it becomes an ever more necessary part of documenting and preserving our cultural history. Hopefully Strong will be the "louvre" of game preservation; It's the only version of the two I'd actually be interested in going to lol. I really hope you're able to make even more connections in the industry; it would be amazing if developers/publishers were willing to give you their entire library of builds and source for all their projects so that you can professionally preserve them, because we all know that they've shown their inability to do this themselves several times now haha. **On a side note, do let me know if Disney/Lucasfilm get in talks. I would honestly book a holiday over to New York if it meant I could play a later build of Battlefront 3 (obv. mixing in some of that uhhh "sightseeing" as well) hahaha
Congrats Borman, You've definitely landed a dream job I wish you the best of luck, and definitely keep us updated as much as you're allowed!
Thanks everyone. It's still settling in that this will be a full time job, and not just something I'm doing as a hobby.
So happy to see this, man. It's unfortunate that PtoPOnline will be on a hiatus but I totally understand, your day job comes before your side YouTube gig! A ton of congrats, and I hope this is something that preservers aim for.
Congratulations Borman. I'm very happy for you, good luck with everything and hope everything goes absolutely smooth.
Congrats Borman, you've been a pinnacle of the prototype and preservation community, and now with joining Strong, you will continue to be that pillar moving forward. Interested to see what comes from your new career, and we can all rest even easier knowing full well all the new material you acquire will be in the perfect hands!
