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1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

if50.substack.com

31–40 of 66 posts

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#31
post #14

That is such an amazing title

The submitted title was "Teens in '80s Czechoslovakia swapped tapes of text adventure protest games". We changed it that of the article. Not sure which one you mean :)

The article title is obscure, but in the best way—the way that invites exactly the sort of interest this site exists for ("I wonder what that is"...)

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#32

That was the amazing thing about being a kid in the late 70's and early 80's. Cheap computers existed that had the tools to allow you to pass programs to others like a mix tape. Now with iDevices, you need permission from a corporation to pass programs to others. I would guess this might be problematic with protest games.

It’s so tragic. We all have these supercomputers in our pocket and we’re not allowed to really use them. Imagine what kids would make if they could code apps on device and Airdrop them to their friends.

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#33
post #3

This isn't loading for me(mobile or wifi), which I find weird since it's hosted on substack. Edit: seems like all substack pages are down for me (except home). Not a good look for a service that hosts something so simple to get right. And too bad for this guy who is missing out on the HN subscriber wave.

It's working for me now but https://archive.is/XnAFC also has it.

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#34

For non CZ/SK people reading this. This story is an extremely niche example of "anti" communist games. For example, transgoogle this article https://gaudeo.sk/jaro-filip-online/ and watch the video posted there, which is from 1986 and it was airtimed in the state television as an 8-episode-long series. Jaro Filip, the guy from the '86 video is openly saying that he is playing Alien 8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch…

He’s not a USD millionaire, only CZK millionaire.

> od roku 2013 jste od svých přispěvatelů v 75 transakcích vybral 112 bitcoinů.

He still has some more, didn't cash out everything this year ;)

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty fascinating niche. On one of my trips over there a Czech cousin told me how they had to be careful even dubbing Michael Jackson tapes in the 80s since American media was not allowed at all. These games seem a lot riskier. Edit: Thanks to the comments on this it seems things weren't so dire in the 80s. My cousin was a kid then--perhaps he was recounting more 70s era stories from his older sister or something! I…

50s yes, 60s maybe, But in the 80's? Nah. 80s especially were the very best, my friend ;). Think of it like a more prosperous Cuba of 2021. Check this out: Gumení chlapci (Rubber Boys) 1984 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFnmy6q9d8M 1987 Diskopríbeh (Disco story) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pac_Uabo-hY 1988 Kamarát do dešte (A friend through the rain) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b-DC7GJIe8 I mean, unl…

Don’t forget 1987’s Bony a klid which had Frankie goes to Hollywood’s "Relax" as a main music theme (legaly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg2w5uE-814

And then there are also Návštěvníci (The visitors) which is basically Daft Punk, just 30 years earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjda4QF9wI

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn’t you say it is easier now? Just create a web based adventure game (you can export HTML/CSS with Twine for text based adventure games), encode the URL as a QR code and simply swap those with people?

You'd still need to host it, which involves money, a way to pay for it (credit card), which includes proving/disclosing your identity (which would be dangerous if you're speaking out against an authoritarian government), sometimes you legally have to be over 18 or 21 to enter into contracts (so if the service provider finds out you're underage they can shut down your account even if you otherwise pay the bill), and h…

Every desktop browser comes with a development environment far more capable than any 8-bitter BASIC. You can paste your code in an email or an IM and send it to whomever you like. Teens interested in swapping 'subversive' code today would have a vastly easier time than they did in 80s Czechoslovakia.

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#37
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

50s yes, 60s maybe, But in the 80's? Nah. 80s especially were the very best, my friend ;). Think of it like a more prosperous Cuba of 2021. Check this out: Gumení chlapci (Rubber Boys) 1984 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFnmy6q9d8M 1987 Diskopríbeh (Disco story) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pac_Uabo-hY 1988 Kamarát do dešte (A friend through the rain) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b-DC7GJIe8 I mean, unl…

Don’t forget 1987’s Bony a klid which had Frankie goes to Hollywood’s "Relax" as a main music theme (legaly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg2w5uE-814 And then there are also Návštěvníci (The visitors) which is basically Daft Punk, just 30 years earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjda4QF9wI

Yeah, of course: https://youtu.be/BxIxvQgdR7Q?t=62

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#38
There is a lot left of the 1980s spirit in Czechia.

* Willingness to do things by hand (such as sewing improvised masks in spring of 2020 at home).

* General distrust towards authorities.

* Caustic, dark sense of humor.

* Readiness to be cynical/heretical about every Sacred Cause pushed by the media or activists. Americans would probably be genuinely shocked at the reception of the BLM movement here.

* Corruption, unfortunately. Or at least high perception of corruption. Reality may not be as bad anymore, but we refuse to believe that things have gotten better.

* And, yes, the latent fear of Russian tanks rolling through the country again.

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#39
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

50s yes, 60s maybe, But in the 80's? Nah. 80s especially were the very best, my friend ;). Think of it like a more prosperous Cuba of 2021. Check this out: Gumení chlapci (Rubber Boys) 1984 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFnmy6q9d8M 1987 Diskopríbeh (Disco story) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pac_Uabo-hY 1988 Kamarát do dešte (A friend through the rain) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b-DC7GJIe8 I mean, unl…

Don’t forget 1987’s Bony a klid which had Frankie goes to Hollywood’s "Relax" as a main music theme (legaly) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg2w5uE-814 And then there are also Návštěvníci (The visitors) which is basically Daft Punk, just 30 years earlier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjda4QF9wI

The visitors soundtrack was done by Karel Svoboda, my favorite piece from him is this: https://youtu.be/TexUnMWTk04

Re: 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.

#40
post #10
post #4

"Rylek dryly remembers a then-typical experience with magazine program listings" Ahh, yep. I remember the fun of typing lots of BASIC DATA line entries from a magazine into my C64, and getting something very unexpected, and no obvious way to find/fix the typo. Getting a VicModem was a godsend, so I could just download things and go.

You used VicModem from behind the Iron Curtain?

I was commenting on solely the "typing in code from a magazine" experience.
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