Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press
Dear colleagues, I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan. However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos! The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu Best, Jaroslav An official summary follows: ================================================ GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Jaroslav Švelch https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain ================================================ Summary ------------------ Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc. Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard. ------------------ Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/ Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain Phone: +420 773 988 425 --- Tato zpráva byla zkontrolována na viry programem Avast Antivirus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Delighted to hear, Jaroslav! I warmly recommend it and mean every bit of this blurb: “At once necessary and original, disciplined and deliberately disorienting, informative and crackling with gamer intelligence, *Gaming the Iron Curtain* expertly guides the reader through the peripheral thickets of gaming subcultures in Czechoslovak hobby computing in the 1980s. Švelch sketches the political complexities of Czechoslovak computing cultures and uncovers how unknown Central European homebrewers dreamt up new meanings of 'Hello, world!' in the Soviet bloc. A welcomed and pioneering work.” Benjamin Peters, Associate Professor, University of Tulsa; author of *How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet* On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com> wrote:
Dear colleagues,
I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan.
However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games.
The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos!
The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain
If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu
Best,
Jaroslav
An official summary follows:
================================================
GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN
How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia
Claimed the Medium of Computer Games
Jaroslav Švelch
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain
================================================
Summary
------------------
Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc.
Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard.
------------------
Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/ Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain
Phone: +420 773 988 425
<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> Bez virů. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> <#m_-2238034948909040142_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Benjamin Peters Associate Professor, Media Studies, the University of Tulsa Affiliated Fellow, the Information Society Project, Yale Law School Recent books on the (2018 Computer History Museum & 2017 Vucinich Prizes) Soviet Internet <http://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Network-Nation-Information/dp/0262034182/> and Digital Keywords <http://amzn.to/1ToHD4v> Benjaminpeters.org Tweet @bjpeters
So exciting! I very much look forward to reading, Jaroslav. Congratulations! Barbara Walker Associate Professor Department of History/308 University of Nevada, Reno Reno NV 89557 Office phone: 775-784-4303 Website: https://www.unr.edu/history/history-people/barbara-walker From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Ben Peters <bjpeters@gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:36 AM To: "jaroslav@svelch.com" <jaroslav@svelch.com> Cc: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press Delighted to hear, Jaroslav! I warmly recommend it and mean every bit of this blurb: “At once necessary and original, disciplined and deliberately disorienting, informative and crackling with gamer intelligence, Gaming the Iron Curtain expertly guides the reader through the peripheral thickets of gaming subcultures in Czechoslovak hobby computing in the 1980s. Švelch sketches the political complexities of Czechoslovak computing cultures and uncovers how unknown Central European homebrewers dreamt up new meanings of 'Hello, world!' in the Soviet bloc. A welcomed and pioneering work.” Benjamin Peters, Associate Professor, University of Tulsa; author of How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com>> wrote: Dear colleagues, I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan. However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos! The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu<mailto:dryman@mit.edu> Best, Jaroslav An official summary follows: ================================================ GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Jaroslav Švelch https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> ================================================ Summary ------------------ Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc. Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard. ------------------ Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvelch.com&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=MHUGRAafSpv19Hii1iuvkdbANGMphGfjDJSahVXCtiE%3D&reserved=0>) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgta.b.uib.no%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=LYw8bYRrlxNK6js03l3aVD0fSCmep6diUs%2FZ%2F7O5iM8%3D&reserved=0> Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> Phone: +420 773 988 425 [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif]<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> Bez virů. www.avast.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=w47KXFcurVFj5iZDSQ2m2WgSANdf6ECrTycZfqQCApY%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. 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The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=%2F43NQ1%2Fk%2FRHI3xuPVZJTrOTSIeBm4JgNOJCUk4A0asM%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=uKjFS%2BFOYHci%2FaGWNczC1z8LI0vf6W2VhgS1Jm7lzM0%3D&reserved=0> -- Benjamin Peters Associate Professor, Media Studies, the University of Tulsa Affiliated Fellow, the Information Society Project, Yale Law School Recent books on the (2018 Computer History Museum & 2017 Vucinich Prizes) Soviet Internet<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHow-Not-Network-Nation-Information%2Fdp%2F0262034182%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=D9ljjChLNq0aIdnJkxdAu1TdMvzmUUGOwxo7bJdCNBs%3D&reserved=0> and Digital Keywords<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1ToHD4v&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=u94q8AfQ8Dg3DUIIBw8Y8t2dR%2F9B8Tc8uqaBj2ofM1Q%3D&reserved=0> Benjaminpeters.org Tweet @bjpeters
Congrats, Jaro! I'm so excited this work is finally available in English. ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> Sent: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 1:02:14 PM To: jaroslav@svelch.com Cc: members@lists.sigcis.org Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press So exciting! I very much look forward to reading, Jaroslav. Congratulations! Barbara Walker Associate Professor Department of History/308 University of Nevada, Reno Reno NV 89557 Office phone: 775-784-4303 Website: https://www.unr.edu/history/history-people/barbara-walker From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Ben Peters <bjpeters@gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:36 AM To: "jaroslav@svelch.com" <jaroslav@svelch.com> Cc: "members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press Delighted to hear, Jaroslav! I warmly recommend it and mean every bit of this blurb: “At once necessary and original, disciplined and deliberately disorienting, informative and crackling with gamer intelligence, Gaming the Iron Curtain expertly guides the reader through the peripheral thickets of gaming subcultures in Czechoslovak hobby computing in the 1980s. Švelch sketches the political complexities of Czechoslovak computing cultures and uncovers how unknown Central European homebrewers dreamt up new meanings of 'Hello, world!' in the Soviet bloc. A welcomed and pioneering work.” Benjamin Peters, Associate Professor, University of Tulsa; author of How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com>> wrote: Dear colleagues, I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan. However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos! The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu<mailto:dryman@mit.edu> Best, Jaroslav An official summary follows: ================================================ GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Jaroslav Švelch https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> ================================================ Summary ------------------ Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc. Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard. ------------------ Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvelch.com&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=MHUGRAafSpv19Hii1iuvkdbANGMphGfjDJSahVXCtiE%3D&reserved=0>) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgta.b.uib.no%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=LYw8bYRrlxNK6js03l3aVD0fSCmep6diUs%2FZ%2F7O5iM8%3D&reserved=0> Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> Phone: +420 773 988 425 [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif]<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> Bez virů. www.avast.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=w47KXFcurVFj5iZDSQ2m2WgSANdf6ECrTycZfqQCApY%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=%2F43NQ1%2Fk%2FRHI3xuPVZJTrOTSIeBm4JgNOJCUk4A0asM%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=uKjFS%2BFOYHci%2FaGWNczC1z8LI0vf6W2VhgS1Jm7lzM0%3D&reserved=0> -- Benjamin Peters Associate Professor, Media Studies, the University of Tulsa Affiliated Fellow, the Information Society Project, Yale Law School Recent books on the (2018 Computer History Museum & 2017 Vucinich Prizes) Soviet Internet<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHow-Not-Network-Nation-Information%2Fdp%2F0262034182%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=D9ljjChLNq0aIdnJkxdAu1TdMvzmUUGOwxo7bJdCNBs%3D&reserved=0> and Digital Keywords<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1ToHD4v&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=u94q8AfQ8Dg3DUIIBw8Y8t2dR%2F9B8Tc8uqaBj2ofM1Q%3D&reserved=0> Benjaminpeters.org Tweet @bjpeters
Henry and me are deeply honored to have your book in our MIT Press Game Histories series. It's our first published monograph! Congratulations again and again... Raiford On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 9:37 PM Megan Finn <megfinn@uw.edu> wrote:
Congrats, Jaro! I'm so excited this work is finally available in English. ------------------------------ *From:* Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 5, 2018 1:02:14 PM *To:* jaroslav@svelch.com *Cc:* members@lists.sigcis.org *Subject:* Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press
So exciting! I very much look forward to reading, Jaroslav. Congratulations!
Barbara Walker
Associate Professor
Department of History/308
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno NV 89557
Office phone: 775-784-4303
Website: https://www.unr.edu/history/history-people/barbara-walker
*From: *Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Ben Peters <bjpeters@gmail.com> *Date: *Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:36 AM *To: *"jaroslav@svelch.com" <jaroslav@svelch.com> *Cc: *"members@lists.sigcis.org" <members@lists.sigcis.org> *Subject: *Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press
Delighted to hear, Jaroslav! I warmly recommend it and mean every bit of this blurb:
“At once necessary and original, disciplined and deliberately disorienting, informative and crackling with gamer intelligence, *Gaming the Iron Curtain* expertly guides the reader through the peripheral thickets of gaming subcultures in Czechoslovak hobby computing in the 1980s. Švelch sketches the political complexities of Czechoslovak computing cultures and uncovers how unknown Central European homebrewers dreamt up new meanings of 'Hello, world!' in the Soviet bloc. A welcomed and pioneering work.”
Benjamin Peters, Associate Professor, University of Tulsa; author of *How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet*
On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com> wrote:
Dear colleagues,
I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan.
However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games.
The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos!
The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0>
If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu
Best,
Jaroslav
An official summary follows:
================================================
GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN
How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia
Claimed the Medium of Computer Games
Jaroslav Švelch
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0>
================================================
Summary
------------------
Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc.
Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard.
------------------
Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvelch.com&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=MHUGRAafSpv19Hii1iuvkdbANGMphGfjDJSahVXCtiE%3D&reserved=0> ) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/ <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgta.b.uib.no%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=LYw8bYRrlxNK6js03l3aVD0fSCmep6diUs%2FZ%2F7O5iM8%3D&reserved=0> Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0>
Phone: +420 773 988 425
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_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=w47KXFcurVFj5iZDSQ2m2WgSANdf6ECrTycZfqQCApY%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Fpipermail%2Fmembers-sigcis.org%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=%2F43NQ1%2Fk%2FRHI3xuPVZJTrOTSIeBm4JgNOJCUk4A0asM%3D&reserved=0> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flists.sigcis.org%2Flistinfo.cgi%2Fmembers-sigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=uKjFS%2BFOYHci%2FaGWNczC1z8LI0vf6W2VhgS1Jm7lzM0%3D&reserved=0>
--
Benjamin Peters
Associate Professor, Media Studies, the University of Tulsa
Affiliated Fellow, the Information Society Project, Yale Law School
Recent books on the (2018 Computer History Museum & 2017 Vucinich Prizes) Soviet Internet <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHow-Not-Network-Nation-Information%2Fdp%2F0262034182%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=D9ljjChLNq0aIdnJkxdAu1TdMvzmUUGOwxo7bJdCNBs%3D&reserved=0> and Digital Keywords <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Famzn.to%2F1ToHD4v&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=u94q8AfQ8Dg3DUIIBw8Y8t2dR%2F9B8Tc8uqaBj2ofM1Q%3D&reserved=0>
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Tweet @bjpeters _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org
-- Raiford Guins MIT Press "Game Histories" Book Series Editor Professor of Cinema and Media Studies The Media School Indiana University Franklin Hall 601 E. Kirkwood Avenue Bloomington, IN 47405 Personal Webpage: raifordguins.com Game Histories webpage: http://www.gamehistoriesbookseries.org/ *G**ame After: A Cultural Study of Video Game Afterlife. *MIT Press, 2014. http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/game-after *Debugging Game History: A Critical Lexicon*. MIT Press, 2016. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/debugging-game-history
Indeed we are! Henry Henry Lowood, PhD Curator for History of Science & Technology and Film & Media Collections HSSG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall Stanford University Libraries Stanford CA 93405-6004 Web: https://people.stanford.edu/lowood/ Email: lowood@stanford.edu From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> On Behalf Of Raiford Guins Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2018 5:31 AM To: megfinn@uw.edu Cc: members@lists.sigcis.org Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press Henry and me are deeply honored to have your book in our MIT Press Game Histories series. It's our first published monograph! Congratulations again and again... Raiford On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 9:37 PM Megan Finn <megfinn@uw.edu<mailto:megfinn@uw.edu>> wrote: Congrats, Jaro! I'm so excited this work is finally available in English. ________________________________ From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Barbara B Walker <bbwalker@unr.edu<mailto:bbwalker@unr.edu>> Sent: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 1:02:14 PM To: jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com> Cc: members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press So exciting! I very much look forward to reading, Jaroslav. Congratulations! Barbara Walker Associate Professor Department of History/308 University of Nevada, Reno Reno NV 89557 Office phone: 775-784-4303 Website: https://www.unr.edu/history/history-people/barbara-walker From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>> on behalf of Ben Peters <bjpeters@gmail.com<mailto:bjpeters@gmail.com>> Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 10:36 AM To: "jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com>" <jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com>> Cc: "members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>" <members@lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members@lists.sigcis.org>> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press Delighted to hear, Jaroslav! I warmly recommend it and mean every bit of this blurb: “At once necessary and original, disciplined and deliberately disorienting, informative and crackling with gamer intelligence, Gaming the Iron Curtain expertly guides the reader through the peripheral thickets of gaming subcultures in Czechoslovak hobby computing in the 1980s. Švelch sketches the political complexities of Czechoslovak computing cultures and uncovers how unknown Central European homebrewers dreamt up new meanings of 'Hello, world!' in the Soviet bloc. A welcomed and pioneering work.” Benjamin Peters, Associate Professor, University of Tulsa; author of How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet On Wed, Dec 5, 2018 at 1:16 PM Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com<mailto:jaroslav@svelch.com>> wrote: Dear colleagues, I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan. However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos! The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu<mailto:dryman@mit.edu> Best, Jaroslav An official summary follows: ================================================ GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Jaroslav Švelch https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> ================================================ Summary ------------------ Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc. Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard. ------------------ Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvelch.com&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=MHUGRAafSpv19Hii1iuvkdbANGMphGfjDJSahVXCtiE%3D&reserved=0>) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fgta.b.uib.no%2F&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=LYw8bYRrlxNK6js03l3aVD0fSCmep6diUs%2FZ%2F7O5iM8%3D&reserved=0> Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmitpress.mit.edu%2Fbooks%2Fgaming-iron-curtain&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=C2IrV9Bn0dr8PauSUvCOAqiOwy3UZY0mPqBWsggZl4Y%3D&reserved=0> Phone: +420 773 988 425 [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif]<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> Bez virů. www.avast.com<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.avast.com%2Fsig-email%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dlink%26utm_campaign%3Dsig-email%26utm_content%3Demailclient&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=fOKXSlBBPtI6%2FYb779H%2FphTVgV5EWIMWiTmIT4v0OHA%3D&reserved=0> _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsigcis.org&data=01%7C01%7Cbbwalker%40unr.edu%7Cb79cae5316434663d42708d65ae08a4d%7C523b4bfc0ebd4c03b2b96f6a17fd31d8%7C1&sdata=w47KXFcurVFj5iZDSQ2m2WgSANdf6ECrTycZfqQCApY%3D&reserved=0>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. 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Dear Jaroslav, congratulations on having your book out, can't wait to read it, Gerard ________________________________ Van: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> namens Jaroslav Švelch <jaroslav@svelch.com> Verzonden: woensdag 5 december 2018 19:16 Aan: members@lists.sigcis.org Onderwerp: [SIGCIS-Members] Book announcement: GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN out Dec 18 on MIT Press Dear colleagues, I have mostly been just a lurker on this list, mainly because I have never been to a SHOT conference and don’t know most members in person. This might change next year, as I’m planning to come to Milan. However, I would like to announce the release of my book Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games. The book tells a social history of computer games in 1980s Czechoslovakia in seven chapters, starting with technology policies and hardware manufacturing, and ending with activist games about the 1988-89 demonstrations that led up to the Velvet Revolution. Along the way, I peek into paramilitary youth clubs, arcades on wheels, and bedrooms and kitchens of computer enthusiasts. I also dicuss informal software distribution, gaming fanzines, DIY joysticks, illegal arcade machine manufacturing, ports and conversions, and some very local computer game genres. I’m hoping the book will be of interest not only to game scholars, but also to historians of computing and technology in general. Also, it has cool photos! The book is coming out December 18 with MIT Press in the Game Histories series: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain If you’d like to ask for a review copy, please contact David Ryman at MIT Press: dryman@mit.edu<mailto:dryman@mit.edu> Best, Jaroslav An official summary follows: ================================================ GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Jaroslav Švelch https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain ================================================ Summary ------------------ Aside from the exceptional history of Tetris, very little is known about gaming culture behind the Iron Curtain. But despite the scarcity of home computers and the absence of hardware and software markets, Czechoslovakia hosted a remarkably active DIY microcomputer scene in the 1980s, producing more than two hundred games that were by turns creative, inventive, and politically subversive. In Gaming the Iron Curtain, Jaroslav Švelch offers the first social history of gaming and game design in 1980s Czechoslovakia, and the first book-length treatment of computer gaming in any country of the Soviet bloc. Švelch describes how amateur programmers in 1980s Czechoslovakia discovered games as a medium, using them not only for entertainment but also as a means of self-expression. Sheltered in state-supported computer clubs, local programmers fashioned games into a medium of expression that, unlike television or the press, was neither regulated nor censored. In the final years of Communist rule, Czechoslovak programmers were among the first in the world to make activist games about current political events, anticipating trends observed decades later in independent or experimental titles. Drawing from extensive interviews as well as political, economic, and social history, Gaming the Iron Curtain tells a compelling tale of gaming the system, introducing us to individuals who used their ingenuity to be active, be creative, and be heard. ------------------ Jaroslav Švelch, Ph.D. New media and digital games scholar (http://svelch.com) Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bergen Games and Transgressive Aesthetics project: http://gta.b.uib.no/ Assistant professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague (on leave) ________________________________________________________ My book GAMING THE IRON CURTAIN: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games Coming out December 2018 with MIT Press, https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/gaming-iron-curtain Phone: +420 773 988 425 [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif]<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> Bez virů. www.avast.com<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient>
participants (7)
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Alberts, Gerard -
Barbara B Walker -
Ben Peters -
Henry E Lowood -
Jaroslav Švelch -
Megan Finn -
Raiford Guins