Zulionerzy and the Polish Independent Video Games of the Early 2000s

: Felczak Mateusz, Garda Maria B

Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2023

: Studies in Eastern European Cinema

: STUDIES IN EASTERN EUROPEAN CINEMA

: STUD E EURO CINEMA

: 14

: 2040-350X

: 2040-3518

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2022.2071519

: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2040350X.2022.2071519

This article investigates the development of discourses related to a specific era of independent games and offers a close historical and cultural analysis of the freeware Polish game Zulionerzy (Ortalion Entertainment 2001). The game is positioned as a compelling cultural artefact from the often overlooked and underresearched period of the early 2000s, combining inspirations from the globally recognized TV franchise Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the emerging indie games scenes. The authors argue that Zulionerzy is a project that manages to capture young adults' perspective on the economic and cultural zeitgeist of the era. Its potential as a counter-cultural and transgressive gaming intervention is further reinforced by intertextual references and a parodistic core gameplay loop. The assessment of Zulionerzy is concluded with a call to investigate similar productions which, while produced in a national language, shared their key features with the rising wave of grassroot browser-based games.