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All known Swiss C64 Games

by Beat Suter

The research team CH-Ludens specialises in researching Swiss computer games from the 1980s and 1990s. While searching for Commodore C64 games developed in Switzerland, CH-Ludens discovered several interesting titles. Robox (1986), for example, is a graphic adventure game developed by Laro Schatzer and Marc Pilloud (fig. 1).  Adrian Demleitner, PhD candidate of the HKB researched it in depth and made two interviews with the developers. The German-language game features numerous locations, a good parser and challenging puzzles. It was released in 1986 by the German publisher Markt & Technik and is well documented.

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LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 4: The Publishing Business

by Beat Suter

LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher:
Part 1 – A comprehensive list of LINEL’S games
Part 2 – Collaborations and unreleased games
Part 3 – People and Work at LINEL
Part 4 – The Publishing Business

The following text originally appeared here.

LINEL was a software developer and publisher based in Switzerland. The label was active from 1987 to 1995. Part 1 of this essay established a complete list of all games that were published and distributed by the Swiss company LINEL. Part 2 pieces together LINEL’s international collaborations with other publishers and developers and uncovers the games that were never released. Part 3 takes a closer look at founder Markus Grimmer and the developers, studios, and distributors Grimmer’s LINEL worked with in those years.

Part 4 will focus on the publishing business with the physical production of the commercial games, distribution and marketing strategies and communication efforts by LINEL.

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Le salon “Computer” de Lausanne. Partie 4 : Aux marges : le grand public et la culture

by Pierre-Yves Hurel


Contexte : Cet article fait partie du dossier à propos du salon lausannois “Computer”

  • Dans le premier article de cette serie (lien), j’ai présenté mes choix méthodologiques, le corpus étudié et les principales périodes du salon d’exhibition.
  • Dans le second article (lien), je relate comment cette foire était intégrée dans un contexte de rivalité régionale.
  • Dans le troisième article (lien), j’étudie les entreprises présentes sur le salon.
  • De ce quatrième article, je relate les ambiguités de Computer dans son adresse au grand public, ainsi que l’ouverture relative au domaine culturel.
  • De nouveaux articles seront publiés dans les prochaines semaines.
  •  

A qui s’adresse le salon lausannois de l’informatique « Computer » ? A première vue, pour qui a lu les articles précédents, la réponse semble entendue : aux professionnels. Plus surprenants sont alors la récurrence et la vigueur avec laquelle les organisateurs doivent le répéter. C’est que, pendant des années, la foule, le tout-venant, les amateurs, le public familial doivent être explicitement rejetés… avant un revirement tardif.

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