Digital resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities OpenEdition Our platforms OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypotheses Calenda Libraries OpenEdition Freemium Follow us

”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.

Continue reading ”Und es läuft heute noch perfekt!”

“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.

Continue reading “And it is still running perfectly today!”

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 2: Collaborations and Unreleased Games

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 – Working for LINEL – is in progress

The following text originally appeared here. (First published on CH Ludens on 19.10.2023, now in a new, significally extended version from 10.06.2024.)

LINEL was a software developer and publisher based in Switzerland. The label was active from 1987 to 1995. Part 1 of this essay tried to establish 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.

Continue reading LINEL – a Swiss Game Publisher 2: Collaborations and Unreleased Games