The academics at Nottingham Trent University in the UK seem to have found a way to keep student types coming to the library -- by launching its own video gaming archive. The archive will be launched on October 30th at public gaming event GameCity 3 in Nottingham. Dr James Newman, of Nottingham Trent University’s Centre for Contemporary Play, has said that it’s not just for academics and boffins. No, it’s "something the general public can fully engage with."

In partnership with the National Media Museum in Bradford, the archive will include video games, consoles, and will even document the likes of advertising campaigns, magazine reviews, artworks, and even gaming communities.

GameCity 3 is a weekend of games, industry talks, and world record-breaking attempts. A day ticket will set you back £20 ($35 USD) while a three-day pass will burn your pocket for £50 ($88 USD). A small student discount will apply as well.

Newman further added:

"The National Videogame Archive is an important resource for preserving elements of our national cultural heritage... We don’t just want to create a virtual museum full of code or screenshots that you could see online."

While this is the most complete project, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of archiving the history of video games. In August, the University of Texas announced their intention to chronicle the history of MMOs.

Gaming never sounded so... smart.