Candidates from Charles University recently clinched a total of five ERC Consolidator Grants, gamechangers when it comes to supporting cutting edge research. One of the recipients is Associate Professor Jaroslav Švelch, who received funds for GAMEINDEX.

Jaroslav Švelch is an expert in media studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University and the author of a fascinating social history titled Gaming the Iron Curtain from MIT Press. Feb 7 sees the release of a new book from the same publisher called Player vs. Monster: The Making and Breaking of Video Game Monstrosity.

PCs were almost impossible to get in 1980s Czechoslovakia but microcomputers proved a different matter. As so-called micros were slowly smuggled into the country and hobby programming quickly caught on, enthusiasts soon coded all manner of computer games. Under the radar of the authorities, some subtly - and others rather daringly – mocked the socialist regime.