Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
@chludens.bsky.social
SNF-Sinergia-Project "Swiss History of Games, Play and Game Design 1968-2000." (HKB /UNIBE/UNIL/ZHDK) Posts by Eugen Pfister
chludens.hypotheses.org
chludens.ch
chludens.hypotheses.org
chludens.ch
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
We have been working intensively on the historical case study for GATE, a game that was released in 1991 on the then "ancient" #AppleIIgs. The game was less an attempt to make a lot of money than a journeyman's piece by three young men and one woman in and around Basel.
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1
by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter At the end of the 1980s, four young people met...
chludens.hypotheses.org
October 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
We have been working intensively on the historical case study for GATE, a game that was released in 1991 on the then "ancient" #AppleIIgs. The game was less an attempt to make a lot of money than a journeyman's piece by three young men and one woman in and around Basel.
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is "Boingmaster" (Matthias Hillebrand, 1991), an arcade game in which intergalactic bouncing championships take place on the planet Tech-Tech. You get to use your DyspKogel to try and pick up as many Plexo credits as possible. Have you played it? ➡️ gb64.com/game.php?id...
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is "Boingmaster" (Matthias Hillebrand, 1991), an arcade game in which intergalactic bouncing championships take place on the planet Tech-Tech. You get to use your DyspKogel to try and pick up as many Plexo credits as possible. Have you played it? ➡️ gb64.com/game.php?id...
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
The second part then concerned how emulation influences playing old games and, of course, the game itself, its reception, the role of fantasy as a genre and how digital games often served as an intro for young men into the world of computer science. #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4331
chludens.hypotheses.org/4331
Emulators and Fantasy Villains: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #2
by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter GATE (Bright Software 1991 / Apple IIgs) is a ...
chludens.hypotheses.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:18 AM
The second part then concerned how emulation influences playing old games and, of course, the game itself, its reception, the role of fantasy as a genre and how digital games often served as an intro for young men into the world of computer science. #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4331
chludens.hypotheses.org/4331
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
In the first part, we investigated the production of the game and how computer stores and curiosity brought four young people from the Basel area together at the end of the 1980s and how they then went on to develop their own game together #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1
by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter At the end of the 1980s, four young people met...
chludens.hypotheses.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 AM
In the first part, we investigated the production of the game and how computer stores and curiosity brought four young people from the Basel area together at the end of the 1980s and how they then went on to develop their own game together #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
This one's been in the making for a while & now it's fully out! In our new case study, my Bern colleagues and me had a look at GATE (1991), a Swiss Gauntlet-inspired action game that tells a lot of interesting things about early digitalisation #GameStudies
👉 chludens.hypotheses.org/tag/series-c...
👉 chludens.hypotheses.org/tag/series-c...
Series: Case Study GATE – Confoederatio Ludens
chludens.hypotheses.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:13 AM
This one's been in the making for a while & now it's fully out! In our new case study, my Bern colleagues and me had a look at GATE (1991), a Swiss Gauntlet-inspired action game that tells a lot of interesting things about early digitalisation #GameStudies
👉 chludens.hypotheses.org/tag/series-c...
👉 chludens.hypotheses.org/tag/series-c...
#Repost #FromTheBlog #Archive 📖 A few weeks ago, we re-shared the first part of 'The "Computer" Exhibition of Lausanne' by Pierre-Yves Hurel. Part 2 is about 'Esprit Romand' and the 'Röstigraben', and can be found on our blog: ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM
#Repost #FromTheBlog #Archive 📖 A few weeks ago, we re-shared the first part of 'The "Computer" Exhibition of Lausanne' by Pierre-Yves Hurel. Part 2 is about 'Esprit Romand' and the 'Röstigraben', and can be found on our blog: ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is „Locomotion“ (Prestige Softwareentwicklung, 1992), a puzzle game in which players must navigate trains to their destination. The game becomes increasingly challenging with each level, as the game layouts become more complex. Have you played it? ➡️ www.myabandonware.co...
November 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is „Locomotion“ (Prestige Softwareentwicklung, 1992), a puzzle game in which players must navigate trains to their destination. The game becomes increasingly challenging with each level, as the game layouts become more complex. Have you played it? ➡️ www.myabandonware.co...
#Repost #FromTheBlog #Archive 📖 From June 28–30, 2023, the German Literature Archive Marbach hosted a conference on 'Games & Literature', and we were honored that four of our colleagues represented our projects at CH-Ludens. Read more about it on our blog ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
October 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM
#Repost #FromTheBlog #Archive 📖 From June 28–30, 2023, the German Literature Archive Marbach hosted a conference on 'Games & Literature', and we were honored that four of our colleagues represented our projects at CH-Ludens. Read more about it on our blog ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is „Toyballs“ (ABC Department, 1992), a puzzle/brain game that challenges you to roll colourful orbs through shifting mazes, avoiding traps and clearing each level’s grid-puzzle to reach the goal. Have you played it? ➡️ www.lemon64.com/game...
October 27, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is „Toyballs“ (ABC Department, 1992), a puzzle/brain game that challenges you to roll colourful orbs through shifting mazes, avoiding traps and clearing each level’s grid-puzzle to reach the goal. Have you played it? ➡️ www.lemon64.com/game...
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Four young Swiss people in and around Basel, professional figure skating, French crackers, an 18-year-old personal computer platform and an uncle in Germany who is an amateur radio operator. Surely that must lead to a computer game in 1991, right? Exactly. #GameStudies for @chludens.bsky.social
We have been working intensively on the historical case study for GATE, a game that was released in 1991 on the then "ancient" #AppleIIgs. The game was less an attempt to make a lot of money than a journeyman's piece by three young men and one woman in and around Basel.
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1
by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter At the end of the 1980s, four young people met...
chludens.hypotheses.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Four young Swiss people in and around Basel, professional figure skating, French crackers, an 18-year-old personal computer platform and an uncle in Germany who is an amateur radio operator. Surely that must lead to a computer game in 1991, right? Exactly. #GameStudies for @chludens.bsky.social
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
New case study on the @chludens.bsky.social blog! This time, our Bern team had a look at GATE, an unlikely reinterpretation of Gauntlet for the Apple II. In this part, we're analysing the production, including the role of computer stores and their networks. #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Curiosity and Computer Stores: Case Study on GATE (Bright Software 1991) #1
by Eugen Pfister, Aurelia Brandenburg, Adrian Demleitner, Arno Görgen, Addrich Mauch, and Kevin Negele. Additional research and editing by Corinne Hirter At the end of the 1980s, four young people met...
chludens.hypotheses.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
New case study on the @chludens.bsky.social blog! This time, our Bern team had a look at GATE, an unlikely reinterpretation of Gauntlet for the Apple II. In this part, we're analysing the production, including the role of computer stores and their networks. #GameStudies
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
chludens.hypotheses.org/4223
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Auf unserem @chludens.bsky.social Blog veröffentlichen wir gerade in zwei Teilen die bisher unfassendste Fallstudie zu einem Schweizer Spiel. „GATE“, das ausgerechnet für den 1991 schon uralten Apple IIgs entwickelt wurde. #GameStudies
October 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Auf unserem @chludens.bsky.social Blog veröffentlichen wir gerade in zwei Teilen die bisher unfassendste Fallstudie zu einem Schweizer Spiel. „GATE“, das ausgerechnet für den 1991 schon uralten Apple IIgs entwickelt wurde. #GameStudies
#Repost #FromTheBlog 📖 „Chunky Game Booklets – Part 1: A Serious Manual“ — Beat Suter explores the charm of old game manuals: once essential, now forgotten treasures. Check out his blogpost ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
October 23, 2025 at 8:00 AM
#Repost #FromTheBlog 📖 „Chunky Game Booklets – Part 1: A Serious Manual“ — Beat Suter explores the charm of old game manuals: once essential, now forgotten treasures. Check out his blogpost ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is "Toto (Blupi) apprend le vocabulaire." Blupi is an iconic video game character from Smaky Computers. He is the protagonist of around ten games, which differ from each other in genre. Which Blupi games have you played? ➡️ fr.wikipedia.org/wik...
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Our #SwissGameOfTheWeek is "Toto (Blupi) apprend le vocabulaire." Blupi is an iconic video game character from Smaky Computers. He is the protagonist of around ten games, which differ from each other in genre. Which Blupi games have you played? ➡️ fr.wikipedia.org/wik...
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Rückblick auf unsere Demokratie-Bar zum Thema "KI in Games und Popkultur - ein Reality Check?" am 10. September🔮🎮
Ein anregender Abend zwischen Realität und Fiktion mit Arno Görgen (Ideen- und Kulturhistoriker an der HKB) und Eugen Pfister (Ideen- und Politikhistoriker an der HKB). Vielen Dank!
Ein anregender Abend zwischen Realität und Fiktion mit Arno Görgen (Ideen- und Kulturhistoriker an der HKB) und Eugen Pfister (Ideen- und Politikhistoriker an der HKB). Vielen Dank!
September 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Rückblick auf unsere Demokratie-Bar zum Thema "KI in Games und Popkultur - ein Reality Check?" am 10. September🔮🎮
Ein anregender Abend zwischen Realität und Fiktion mit Arno Görgen (Ideen- und Kulturhistoriker an der HKB) und Eugen Pfister (Ideen- und Politikhistoriker an der HKB). Vielen Dank!
Ein anregender Abend zwischen Realität und Fiktion mit Arno Görgen (Ideen- und Kulturhistoriker an der HKB) und Eugen Pfister (Ideen- und Politikhistoriker an der HKB). Vielen Dank!
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Warum spielen wir digitale Horrorspiele? Der @rainersigl.bsky.social hat dazu mich und den @gamepsychologe.bsky.social interviewt und wir haben etwas über die Funktionen des Horror gesprochen. #GameStudies #HorrorStudies
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
Was macht Horrorgames so erfolgreich? - fm4.ORF.at
Horrorvideospiele sind von der Nische zum Mainstream für Millionen geworden. Warum eigentlich?
fm4.orf.at
October 16, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Warum spielen wir digitale Horrorspiele? Der @rainersigl.bsky.social hat dazu mich und den @gamepsychologe.bsky.social interviewt und wir haben etwas über die Funktionen des Horror gesprochen. #GameStudies #HorrorStudies
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
#Repost #FromTheBlog 💻👾 Adrian Diemleitner discusses 'Working with Amiga Floppy Disks in Historical Video Game Research' in his blog post, and we're happy to share his process again. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
October 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM
#Repost #FromTheBlog 💻👾 Adrian Diemleitner discusses 'Working with Amiga Floppy Disks in Historical Video Game Research' in his blog post, and we're happy to share his process again. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Warum spielen wir digitale Horrorspiele? Der @rainersigl hat dazu mich und den @gamepsychologe.bsky.social interviewt und wir haben etwas über die Funktionen des Horror gesprochen. #GameStudies #HorroStudies
Was macht Horrorgames eigentlich so erfolgreich?
Hab für FM4 Grundsätzliches über Horror-Games geschrieben:
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
Hab für FM4 Grundsätzliches über Horror-Games geschrieben:
fm4.orf.at/stories/3050...
Was macht Horrorgames so erfolgreich? - fm4.ORF.at
Horrorvideospiele sind von der Nische zum Mainstream für Millionen geworden. Warum eigentlich?
fm4.orf.at
October 13, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Warum spielen wir digitale Horrorspiele? Der @rainersigl hat dazu mich und den @gamepsychologe.bsky.social interviewt und wir haben etwas über die Funktionen des Horror gesprochen. #GameStudies #HorroStudies
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Und hier ist sie, unsere neue Folge "Kritische Controller", in der @eugenpfister.bsky.social und ich über Catan, KI und Konferenzen parlieren. Fazit: nichts ist schöner, als mit Freunden zu arbeiten!
kritische-controller.letscast.fm/episode/cata...
kritische-controller.letscast.fm/episode/cata...
Catan, KI und Konferenzen
Ein Tag im September. Diesmal rekapitulieren Arno und Eugen einen gemeinsamen Tag im Leben der zwei Spieleforscher in Bern. Wenn die beiden einander endlich wieder im wahren Leben für 24 Stunden sehen...
kritische-controller.letscast.fm
October 10, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Und hier ist sie, unsere neue Folge "Kritische Controller", in der @eugenpfister.bsky.social und ich über Catan, KI und Konferenzen parlieren. Fazit: nichts ist schöner, als mit Freunden zu arbeiten!
kritische-controller.letscast.fm/episode/cata...
kritische-controller.letscast.fm/episode/cata...
#Repost #FromTheBlog In what specific cultural and technological environment did video games emerge in French-speaking Switzerland? Pierre-Yves Hurel asks this and other questions in his blog post, 'The "Computer" exhibition of Lausanne 1978–2004'. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
October 9, 2025 at 8:00 AM
#Repost #FromTheBlog In what specific cultural and technological environment did video games emerge in French-speaking Switzerland? Pierre-Yves Hurel asks this and other questions in his blog post, 'The "Computer" exhibition of Lausanne 1978–2004'. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
Wir planen das Format in naher Zukunft übrigens um unser Team in Bern zu erweitern. Geplant ist u.a. ein Format in welchem wir die Zeitschriften aus dem Gamelab mit @hekabeohnename.bsky.social besprechen
Huch und gleich noch ein Jubiläum verpasst: Vor einem Jahr haben der @pachuki.bsky.social und ich unseren #KritischeController Podcast gestartet. 12 Folgen gemütlichster #GameStudies mit meinem liebsten Kollegen. kritische-controller.letscast.fm/index
Alle Episoden | Kritische Controller
Ein Game-Studies-Podcast von zwei Spiele-Historikern. Arno Görgen und Eugen Pfister arbeiten seit 2018 in mehreren Game-Studies-Forschungsprojekten eng zusammen. Gemeinsam erforschen Sie die die Ideen...
kritische-controller.letscast.fm
October 8, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Wir planen das Format in naher Zukunft übrigens um unser Team in Bern zu erweitern. Geplant ist u.a. ein Format in welchem wir die Zeitschriften aus dem Gamelab mit @hekabeohnename.bsky.social besprechen
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
The 7. PlayBern Festival from 31 October to 2 November features game music as a spotlight. Apart from game concerts and composers on stage, accessibility in music takes center stage. Research collective @chludens.bsky.social will also be part of the program.
www.gamesmarket.global/en/business/...
www.gamesmarket.global/en/business/...
October 6, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The 7. PlayBern Festival from 31 October to 2 November features game music as a spotlight. Apart from game concerts and composers on stage, accessibility in music takes center stage. Research collective @chludens.bsky.social will also be part of the program.
www.gamesmarket.global/en/business/...
www.gamesmarket.global/en/business/...
#fromtheblog 💻👾 After over 2,5 years of research, interviews, exchanges, events, workshops, and lots of fun at CH-Ludens, we have written over 50 blog posts! Over the next few weeks, we will #repost some of our #archive posts for you to (re-)discover. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
October 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM
#fromtheblog 💻👾 After over 2,5 years of research, interviews, exchanges, events, workshops, and lots of fun at CH-Ludens, we have written over 50 blog posts! Over the next few weeks, we will #repost some of our #archive posts for you to (re-)discover. ➡️ chludens.hypotheses....
Reposted by Confoederatio Ludens (SNF Sinergia)
What I forgot to tell you: Mehr als ein Drittel sind Gastbeiträge von geliebten grossartigen Kolleg*innen wie @gamestudies.bsky.social, @pachuki.bsky.social, @hekabeohnename.bsky.social, @dejanlukovic.bsky.social und vielen vielen klugen Geistern, deren Bluesky Namen mir gerade nicht einfällt.
So und jetzt wird noch ordentlich nachgefeiert! 🥂 ZEHN JAHRE! gibt es jetzt meinen Forschungsblog „Spiel - Kultur - Wissenschaft“. ZEHN JAHRE!! Knapp 150 Beiträge zu #GameStudies Huzzah!
spielkult.hypotheses.org
spielkult.hypotheses.org
October 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
What I forgot to tell you: Mehr als ein Drittel sind Gastbeiträge von geliebten grossartigen Kolleg*innen wie @gamestudies.bsky.social, @pachuki.bsky.social, @hekabeohnename.bsky.social, @dejanlukovic.bsky.social und vielen vielen klugen Geistern, deren Bluesky Namen mir gerade nicht einfällt.