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Tag: CH Ludens
”Und es läuft heute noch perfekt!”
Galactic Empires for Networks (GEn) – ein Schweizer Multiplayer Spiel (1984-2000)
von Beat Suter
Kann ein Strategiespiel 40 Jahre später noch gleichviel Spannung und Spielspass generieren? Kann ein Netzwerk-Spiel 25 bis 30 Jahre später auf neuen Systemen noch genauso gut funktionieren wie damals? Was unmöglich oder unwahrscheinlich klingt, schaffen drei Schweizer Entwickler mit ihrem Spiel Galactic Empires. Alle drei gehören zu der ersten Generation von Informatik Studierenden der ETH Zürich. Sie haben die Digitalisierung in der Schweiz von Anfang an mitgeprägt. Ihr Multiplayer Spiel hat eine Spieldauer von 4 – 8 Stunden und kann heute noch im gleichen Rahmen gespielt werden, wie damals, als sie mit Freunden ganze Nächte durchgezockt haben.
Der Hinweis kam von einem guten Freund, der in den frühen neunziger Jahren regelmässig Freitag- oder Samstagnacht ein Science-Fiction Strategiespiel in seinem Freundeskreis aus Informatik und Ökonomie gespielt hatte, meist in den Wohnungen und Büroräumen seiner Freunde. Dabei handelte es sich um ein Multiplayer Spiel, das über Jahre immer wieder weiterentwickelt und immer wieder gespielt wurde bis etwa ins Jahr 2008. Die Entwickler und Spieler bezeichneten das Spiel mit GalEmp oder Galactic Empires, später auch GEn, Galactic Empires for Networks.
“And it is still running perfectly today!”
Galactic Empires for Networks (GEn) – a Swiss multiplayer game (1984-2000)
by Beat Suter
Can a strategy game still provide the same excitement and fun 40 years later? Can a network game work as well on new systems 25 to 30 years later as it did back then? What sounds impossible or unlikely has been achieved by three Swiss developers with their game Galactic Empires. All three belong to the first generation of computer science students at ETH Zurich. They have helped shape digitalization in Switzerland from the very beginning. Their multiplayer game has a playing time of 4 to 8 hours and can still be played today in the same way as it was played all night long with friends.
The tip came from a good friend who, in the early 1990s, regularly played a science fiction strategy game on Friday or Saturday nights with his circle of friends from the IT and business departments, mostly in the homes and offices of his friends. It was a multiplayer game that was developed over the years and played again and again until about 2008. The developers and players called the game GalEmp or Galactic Empires, later also GEn, Galactic Empires for Networks.
Richard M. Holmes and the high-price island of Switzerland
by Beat Suter
The video game publisher Black Legend was founded in Switzerland in 1992 by Richard M. Holmes. Holmes lived in Uster in the Canton of Zurich, had grown up here and had just graduated from KZO Wetzikon. The 20-year-old young entrepreneur wanted to produce games for Amiga computers and launch them on the market. He looked around in Switzerland for fellow campaigners, but soon found good contacts in England and finally emigrated to produce some well-performing games for Amiga and PC with his label Black Legend for the Kompart distribution company in the following years. Continue reading Richard M. Holmes and the high-price island of Switzerland
Richard M. Holmes und die Hochpreisinsel Schweiz
von Beat Suter
Der Video Game Publisher Black Legend wurde 1992 in der Schweiz von Richard M. Holmes gegründet. Holmes lebte in Uster, war hier aufgewachsen und hatte gerade die KZO Wetzikon abgeschlossen. Der 20jährige Jungunternehmer wollte Spiele für Amiga Computer produzieren und auf den Markt bringen. Er sah sich in der Schweiz nach Mitstreitern um, fand aber bald gute Kontakte in England und wanderte schliesslich aus, um in den folgenden Jahren mit Black Legend für die Vertriebsgesellschaft Kompart einige gut laufende Spiele für Amiga und PC zu produzieren. Continue reading Richard M. Holmes und die Hochpreisinsel Schweiz
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.
Continue reading LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 4: The Publishing Business
LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 3: From Eureka! to the Neverending Story – People and Work at LINEL
by Beat Suter
LINEL – 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 – Publishing and Marketing (expected)
The following text originally appeared here.
LINEL was a software developer and game 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.
CH Ludens Starts Collecting Historical Gaming Magazines
by Aurelia Brandenburg
Researching the history of digital games means, among other things, researching the discourses about games in gaming magazines. For that, the Bern Team of CH Ludens is starting a collection of physical copies of gaming magazines in German (primarily) published in the 1980s and 1990s. This post serves as a living document for this collection, and we will update the list below as we start acquiring individual magazine issues.
There also is a German version of this post which can be found here. Continue reading CH Ludens Starts Collecting Historical Gaming Magazines
CH Ludens beginnt mit der Sammlung von historischen Spielemagazinen
von Aurelia Brandenburg
Die Geschichte digitaler Spiele zu erforschen bedeutet, neben anderen Dingen, auch, die Diskurse über Spiele in Gaming Magazinen zu erforschen. Um diese Forschung zu intensivieren, will das Berner Team von CH Ludens eine (physische) Sammlung von Ausgaben von deutschsprachigen Gaming Magazinen anlegen, die (primär) in den 1980ern und 1990ern veröffentlicht wurden. Dieser Blogpost dient dabei als eine Art Living Document, das wir regelmässig entsprechend unserer aktuellen Anschaffungen aktualisieren werden.
Es gibt ausserdem auch eine englische Version dieses Posts, die hier gefunden werden kann. Continue reading CH Ludens beginnt mit der Sammlung von historischen Spielemagazinen
Chunky Game Booklets – Part 3: From Strategy Guides to Downsizing the printed matter
by Beat Suter
Instruction Manuals – accessible and for everyone, but now obsolete
Most games in the 80s and 90s came on discs or CD-ROMs in artful cardboard boxes and contained an insightful instruction manual. The printed booklet was essential for teaching how to play the game, telling a story or prologue and making a player familiar with the computer system the game was made for. Instruction manuals were clear and detailed, often even extensive. The Swiss games of the 80s and 90s relied on them as much as any other game. These instruction manuals showed an interesting diversity of approaches from story booklets over cartoons to extensive strategy guides.
Part 1 — A Serious Manual
Part 2 — Story Booklets
Part 3 — From Strategy Guides to Downsizing the printed matter