He collaborates with students on projects related to game development, e-sports, gaming festivals, and university e-sports leagues. Besides digital games, virtual reality, and e-sports, he also focuses on the local history of gaming and the gaming experience.

Source: Atteliér/ Simona Sarvašová

In an interview with educator Michal Kabát from the Department of Digital Games at FMK UCM in Trnava, you will learn:

Why did you start recording the gaming history in Slovakia?

Even at our school, we learn about the history of games and gaming, but we learn about global or at best European history. However, there is a big difference between Scandinavia, the Balkans, or any other region that has its own specificities. Therefore, we decided that mapping our local gaming makes sense.

How do you currently operate?

We do not yet have the status of an organization that deals with gaming history. For now, we communicate through the Herní Historie association, of which we are a partner. Unfortunately, there is a misconception that everything Czechoslovak disappeared in '93. Even today, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether something is Slovak or Czech, and which ministry should finance research.

Is there a museum in Slovakia that deals with this?

Not yet. As for state-supported activities, there is the Slovak Design Centre, which also deals with games. They have a few artifacts, but mainly they have a collection of software. They collect games that originated in Slovakia and are connected to the Slovak game development association. They recently selected several Slovak cult 8-bit games, translated them into English, and opened them up to the world. This is museum activity that organizations should be doing.

You can read more on the Ateliér website (in Slovak language).

Author: Monika Cihlářová
Photographer: Simona Sarvašová