Game Journalism in Post-socialist Czechoslovakia
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Game journalism, whether in the form of printed magazines, websites or TV shows, is a permanent part of the progressively growing digital games industry, which has competed with the traditional media for audiences' attention since the eighties of the last century. After the revolutionary events in 1989 the social, political and economic order changed in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia and conditions for the development of gaming journalism up to the way we know it today were created. This period is characterized by turbulent changes in the field of publishing of game magazines, which at that time began to spread periodically. This contribution is based on a research drawing from witness testimonies, articles by professional game journalists, and diploma theses either directly or partially focused on the topic at hand. The aim is to map out the successes and pitfalls with which emerging editors have been struggling within the emerging digital games market and how they overcame these problems. It also captures a gradual shift in the perception of the digital game players' culture from a form of youth hobby associated with the discourse of computer technology to a mass media that provides entertainment to several generations, regardless of age. It is game journalism that to a certain degree helped digital games to be accepted as a legitimate part of the free time of families in the capitalist economies of then separate Czech Republic and Slovakia. Indeed, today, the gaming industry even surpasses the classical branches of the cultural industry, such as music or film production. Our probe into the beginnings of game journalism will help us to reveal its specificities not only in the regional but also in the global context. |
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