“We play games and talk about them the way people in book clubs talk about books."

At the LJ Games Club, they first agree on playing a specific game, and then they discuss it at monthly meetings. They play games that are critical of their own medium. Among the games they have chosen so far are non-commercial works by artists and small teams, critiques of imperialism and capitalism, interactive poetry, critiques of games themselves, and works that explore interactivity in unique ways.

They analyze games both through their design and their anthropological significance. Occasionally, they also read — creators’ manifestos or, for example, academic articles published in game studies journals. They play short games (under 2 hours), affordable games, and those that don’t demand too much from players. They’re not interested in commercial standards aimed at profit. They’re interested in games as an art medium.

If you're interested in games and would like to discuss them, you can join the meetings every second Tuesday of the month from 18:00 to 20:00 on the ground floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (+MSUM)!

LJ Games Club #24: New, Vintage, Retro

It is said history repeats itself, trends must die to be reborn, and what's old is new again. This has never been more true than in recent years, with retro trends well and truly breaking through into the mainstream in everything from music to games, as well as fashion. Vintage and retro movements are usually happy to accept newcomers, but they simultaneously struggle with several problems: the pressures of a software industry trying to prevent the reuse of old software, while at the same time attempting to profit off it, the difficulty of maintaining old systems, which were never intended to be used this long, and an alarming rise in market scalping, attempting to profit off hype.

Discussion topics will revolve around nostalgia, retro movements in technological and culture spaces, and emulation as a means of preserving cultural heritage.

Participants should choose a game which does not natively run on modern computers or phones (due to age, having been made for a console, etc.), get it to work, and play the intro or the first chapter of the game. Choose based on your personal preferences, the game's reputation, or simply because it looks cool.