Design Research

SNF Sinergia Research Project with ZHdK, UniBern, UniLausanne and HKB on Swiss videogame & videogame design history

CH LUDENS looks at a vibrant game design and development scene in the pre-Internet age. For decades, digital games were programmed in Switzerland in niches, but also with commercial success. They bear witness to many sub-scenes and a society changing through digitization.

The CONFOEDERATIO LUDENS team explores this largely ignored games industry from 1968 to 2000 and takes a step towards the broader preservation of a highly ephemeral and disappearing cultural heritage.

Project Lead:
Mela Kocher, Game Design

Team:
René Bauer, Game Design
Noemi Chow, Knowledge Visualization
Hiloko Kato, Game Design
David Krummenacher, PhD, Game Design
Beat Suter, Game Design
Larissa Wild, PhD, Game Design
Addrich Mauch, Hochschule der Künste Bern
Arno Görgen, Universität Bern

Cooperation:
Hochschulde der Künste Bern, Institute of Design Research
Universität Lausanne
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Institut für Geschichtswissenschaften und Institut für Medien- und Kulturwissenschaft
Charles University Prague, Czech Republic , Faculty of Social Sciences

Duration:
01.02.2023 – 31.01.2027

Financing:
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds SNF, SINERGIA