Abstract:

How can video game studies and digital humanities mutually enrich the study of digital-born cultural artifacts? This paper presents findings from Confoederatio Ludens, a research project exploring Swiss video game culture from 1968 until 2000 through interdisciplinary methodologies. By applying computational approaches such as distant viewing of visual corpora, critical source code analysis, and metadata modeling among others, we reveal previously overlooked aspects of Switzerland's video game history, such as local adaptations of global gaming trends and the distinctive technological practices of Swiss developers. Furthermore, our project demonstrates how concepts of locality and regional history contribute critically to digital humanities scholarship, challenging established narratives dominated by U.S.-and Japan-centric histories. Reflecting on our initial findings, we discuss both methodological challenges and opportunities emerging from the intersection of these two fields, emphasizing the importance of preservation, computational analysis, and local historical inquiry. Ultimately, our approach highlights the value of interdisciplinary methods for understanding digital artifacts not just as technological objects, but as culturally embedded historical sources.

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