2023
Felczak, Mateusz; Garda, Maria B.
Zulionerzy and the Polish Independent Video Games of the Early 2000s Journal Article
In: Studies in Eastern European Cinema, vol. 14, iss. 1, pp. 25-38, 2023, ISSN: 2040-3518.
Abstract | Links | Tags: 2000s, Freeware games, Humour, Independent games, Parody, Poland, Who wants to be a Millionaire
@article{Felczak2023,
title = {Zulionerzy and the Polish Independent Video Games of the Early 2000s},
author = {Mateusz Felczak and Maria B. Garda},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2040350X.2022.2071519?journalCode=reec20
https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/175408353?lang=fi_FI},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2022.2071519},
issn = {2040-3518},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-02},
urldate = {2023-01-02},
journal = {Studies in Eastern European Cinema},
volume = {14},
issue = {1},
pages = {25-38},
abstract = {This article investigates the development of discourses related to a specific era of independent games and offers a close historical and cultural analysis of the freeware Polish game Żulionerzy (Ortalion Entertainment 2001). The game is positioned as a compelling cultural artefact from the often overlooked and underresearched period of the early 2000s, combining inspirations from the globally recognized TV franchise Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the emerging indie games scenes. The authors argue that Żulionerzy is a project that manages to capture young adults’ perspective on the economic and cultural zeitgeist of the era. Its potential as a counter-cultural and transgressive gaming intervention is further reinforced by intertextual references and a parodistic core gameplay loop. The assessment of Żulionerzy is concluded with a call to investigate similar productions which, while produced in a national language, shared their key features with the rising wave of grassroot browser-based games.},
keywords = {2000s, Freeware games, Humour, Independent games, Parody, Poland, Who wants to be a Millionaire},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article investigates the development of discourses related to a specific era of independent games and offers a close historical and cultural analysis of the freeware Polish game Żulionerzy (Ortalion Entertainment 2001). The game is positioned as a compelling cultural artefact from the often overlooked and underresearched period of the early 2000s, combining inspirations from the globally recognized TV franchise Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the emerging indie games scenes. The authors argue that Żulionerzy is a project that manages to capture young adults’ perspective on the economic and cultural zeitgeist of the era. Its potential as a counter-cultural and transgressive gaming intervention is further reinforced by intertextual references and a parodistic core gameplay loop. The assessment of Żulionerzy is concluded with a call to investigate similar productions which, while produced in a national language, shared their key features with the rising wave of grassroot browser-based games.
2021
Sitarski, Piotr; Garda, Maria B.; and Krzysztof Jajko,
New Media Behind the Iron Curtain: Cultural History of Video, Microcomputers and Satellite Television in Communist Poland Book
Jagiellonian University Press, 2021, ISBN: 978-8323348719.
Abstract | Tags: Media history, New media, Poland
@book{Sitarski2021,
title = {New Media Behind the Iron Curtain: Cultural History of Video, Microcomputers and Satellite Television in Communist Poland},
author = {Piotr Sitarski and Maria B. Garda and and Krzysztof Jajko},
isbn = {978-8323348719},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-08-02},
publisher = {Jagiellonian University Press},
abstract = {During the years of the Polish People’s Republic, Poles were cut off from the western world. Travel was restricted, as was access to outside culture and goods. This unique situation led to a period of great ingenuity in the realm of new media. Not only were media adapted to suit Poles’ needs, but new technology was fashioned to gain access to western television, film and video games. Bringing people together, VCRs, computers and satellite television were thus a window to the outside world and contemporary to the mobilisation of Solidarity and the end of communism. As such, their diffusion is an important but largely overlooked aspect of Poland’s history. Acutely aware of this, the authors of this book recount new media behind the Iron Curtain in a way that will appeal to scholars and non-academic readers alike. Coupling archival research with in depth interviews, they bring to life the talent and determination of the PPR’s new media pioneers, compelling others to dig further.},
keywords = {Media history, New media, Poland},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
During the years of the Polish People’s Republic, Poles were cut off from the western world. Travel was restricted, as was access to outside culture and goods. This unique situation led to a period of great ingenuity in the realm of new media. Not only were media adapted to suit Poles’ needs, but new technology was fashioned to gain access to western television, film and video games. Bringing people together, VCRs, computers and satellite television were thus a window to the outside world and contemporary to the mobilisation of Solidarity and the end of communism. As such, their diffusion is an important but largely overlooked aspect of Poland’s history. Acutely aware of this, the authors of this book recount new media behind the Iron Curtain in a way that will appeal to scholars and non-academic readers alike. Coupling archival research with in depth interviews, they bring to life the talent and determination of the PPR’s new media pioneers, compelling others to dig further.
Garda, Maria B.; Grabarczyk, Paweł
“The Last Cassette” and the Local Chronology of 8-Bit Video Games in Poland Book Section
In: Swalwell, Melanie (Ed.): Game History and the Local, pp. 37-55, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, ISBN: 9783030664213.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Demoscene, Game history, Poland, Retrogaming
@incollection{Garda2021b,
title = {“The Last Cassette” and the Local Chronology of 8-Bit Video Games in Poland},
author = {Maria B. Garda and Paweł Grabarczyk},
editor = {Melanie Swalwell},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-66422-0_3},
isbn = {9783030664213},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-25},
booktitle = {Game History and the Local},
pages = {37-55},
publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan},
abstract = {The history of digital games is often focused on the discourse of firstness and on the appreciation of pioneers. The result of this is that there is still little research on late stages of different game history phenomena. Using a case study of one of the last developers for the 8-bit Atari computers, Garda and Grabarczyk discuss this asymmetry, as they investigate the chronology of late 8-bit video games in Poland in the 1990s. The “cassette era” was for many Polish gamers a generational experience, as they were exploring the limitations and strengths of this medium. The final act of the first lifecycle of the 8-bit generation in Poland overlapped with the heyday of the demoscene and the ascent of the international retrogaming scene.},
keywords = {Demoscene, Game history, Poland, Retrogaming},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
The history of digital games is often focused on the discourse of firstness and on the appreciation of pioneers. The result of this is that there is still little research on late stages of different game history phenomena. Using a case study of one of the last developers for the 8-bit Atari computers, Garda and Grabarczyk discuss this asymmetry, as they investigate the chronology of late 8-bit video games in Poland in the 1990s. The “cassette era” was for many Polish gamers a generational experience, as they were exploring the limitations and strengths of this medium. The final act of the first lifecycle of the 8-bit generation in Poland overlapped with the heyday of the demoscene and the ascent of the international retrogaming scene.
2020
Sitarski, Piotr; Garda, Maria B.; Jajko, Krzysztof
Nowe media w PRL Book
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego, 2020, ISBN: 978-8381429474.
Abstract | Tags: Media history, New media, Poland
@book{Sitarski2020,
title = {Nowe media w PRL},
author = {Piotr Sitarski and Maria B. Garda and Krzysztof Jajko },
isbn = {978-8381429474},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
publisher = {Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego},
abstract = {Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa niosła na swoich sztandarach hasła postępu. Czy udało się je realizować w czasach niespotykanego wcześniej rozwoju technik komunikacyjnych i narodzin nowych mediów, gdy polska gospodarka tonęła w kryzysie, a ustrój polityczny chylił się ku upadkowi?
Autorzy opisują wczesną historię kulturową magnetowidów, mikrokomputerów i telewizji satelitarnej w Polsce. Przedmiotem ich zainteresowania jest nie tylko technika, lecz przede wszystkim jej miejsce w społeczeństwie i zmiany, które przyniosła. Przedstawiają działania instytucji państwowych, inicjatywy społeczne, samotnych pomysłodawców oraz organizatorów – wszystko, co stworzyło znany dzisiaj świat mediów.},
keywords = {Media history, New media, Poland},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {book}
}
Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa niosła na swoich sztandarach hasła postępu. Czy udało się je realizować w czasach niespotykanego wcześniej rozwoju technik komunikacyjnych i narodzin nowych mediów, gdy polska gospodarka tonęła w kryzysie, a ustrój polityczny chylił się ku upadkowi?
Autorzy opisują wczesną historię kulturową magnetowidów, mikrokomputerów i telewizji satelitarnej w Polsce. Przedmiotem ich zainteresowania jest nie tylko technika, lecz przede wszystkim jej miejsce w społeczeństwie i zmiany, które przyniosła. Przedstawiają działania instytucji państwowych, inicjatywy społeczne, samotnych pomysłodawców oraz organizatorów – wszystko, co stworzyło znany dzisiaj świat mediów.
Autorzy opisują wczesną historię kulturową magnetowidów, mikrokomputerów i telewizji satelitarnej w Polsce. Przedmiotem ich zainteresowania jest nie tylko technika, lecz przede wszystkim jej miejsce w społeczeństwie i zmiany, które przyniosła. Przedstawiają działania instytucji państwowych, inicjatywy społeczne, samotnych pomysłodawców oraz organizatorów – wszystko, co stworzyło znany dzisiaj świat mediów.
2019
Swalwell, Melanie; Garda, Maria B.
Art, Maths, Electronics and Micros: The Late Work of Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski Journal Article
In: Arts, vol. 8, iss. 1, no. 23, pp. 25, 2019, ISSN: 2076-0752.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Australia, Computer graphics, Electronics, Hybrid arts, Landscape, Laser art, Mandelbrot, Micro-computers, Photography, Poland
@article{Swalwell2019,
title = {Art, Maths, Electronics and Micros: The Late Work of Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski},
author = {Melanie Swalwell and Maria B. Garda},
url = {https://mdpi-res.com/arts/arts-08-00023/article_deploy/arts-08-00023.pdf},
doi = {10.3390/arts8010023},
issn = {2076-0752},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-02-15},
urldate = {2019-02-15},
journal = {Arts},
volume = {8},
number = {23},
issue = {1},
pages = {25},
abstract = {: To date, most work on computers in art has focused on the Algorists (1960s–) and on later cyber arts (1990s–). The use of microcomputers is an underexplored area, with the 1980s constituting a particular gap in the knowledge. This article considers the case of Polish-Australian artist, Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski (b. 1922, d. 1994), who after early exposure to computers at the Bell Labs (1967), returned to microcomputers late in his life. He was not a programmer yet used micros in his practice from the early 1980s, first a BBC in his BP Christmas Star commission, and later a 32-bit Archimedes. This he used from 1989 until his death to produce still images with a fractal generator and the ‘paintbox’ program, “Photodesk”. Drawing on archival research and interviews, we focus on three examples of how Ostoja deployed his micro, highlighting the convergence of art, maths, electronics, and a ‘hands-on’ tinkering ethic in his practice. We argue that when considering the history of creative microcomputing, it is imperative to go beyond the field of art itself. In this case, electronics and the hobbyist computing scenes provide crucial contexts.},
keywords = {Australia, Computer graphics, Electronics, Hybrid arts, Landscape, Laser art, Mandelbrot, Micro-computers, Photography, Poland},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
: To date, most work on computers in art has focused on the Algorists (1960s–) and on later cyber arts (1990s–). The use of microcomputers is an underexplored area, with the 1980s constituting a particular gap in the knowledge. This article considers the case of Polish-Australian artist, Stan Ostoja-Kotkowski (b. 1922, d. 1994), who after early exposure to computers at the Bell Labs (1967), returned to microcomputers late in his life. He was not a programmer yet used micros in his practice from the early 1980s, first a BBC in his BP Christmas Star commission, and later a 32-bit Archimedes. This he used from 1989 until his death to produce still images with a fractal generator and the ‘paintbox’ program, “Photodesk”. Drawing on archival research and interviews, we focus on three examples of how Ostoja deployed his micro, highlighting the convergence of art, maths, electronics, and a ‘hands-on’ tinkering ethic in his practice. We argue that when considering the history of creative microcomputing, it is imperative to go beyond the field of art itself. In this case, electronics and the hobbyist computing scenes provide crucial contexts.