From the first computer and robot,
through video games, audio and visual art
At the time CER 10 was created, many held the belief that digital technologies would not be able to surpass analog technologies when it came to the speed of execution of operations. For the sake of comparison, CER 10 was 40.000 times slower than today’s home computers.
TIOSS was publicly presented in 1965 at the Zagreb Fair, where he distributed propaganda leaflets, saying: Here you go, and after the leaflet had been taken, he would repeat the same action. In 1966, the very next year, he walked around Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb.
“The Belgrade Hand” is a model of the world’s first prosthetic robotic hand and represents the precursor of all bionic prostheses.It had myoelectric control and sensory feedback and was able to perform two key actions – squeezing into a fist and rounding up with outstretched fingers.
On August 3, 1968, an exhibition of computers and visual research was opened in Zagreb, as the beginning of the international event Tendencies 4 (1968–1969), where digital works of Croatian artists were exhibited for the first time. The first digital artworks were created, mostly, in institutions, since the first computers were available there, before the personal use of computers began, when they became available at home.
Author: Zdeněk Sýkora: Black-white Structure
Fabrika računarskih mašina (Computer Factory) – FRM was founded by 1971, and this is where the first Yugoslav electronic calculator, IE-4000, was manufactured. According to engineer Dušan Senćanski, this was the first Yugoslav minicomputer.
Mathematical Grammar School was the only high school in SFRY at the time that had its own computer. Only one user could work on it at a time, but it was of great help for practical exercises and crucial for further development and training of young people in this field.
Electronic Studio III of Radio Belgrade was founded in 1972. The first musical compositions were created using a hybrid system with no computers.
The Informatics Society of Serbia (DIS) was founded in Belgrade at the School of Electrical Engineering. The aim of the association was to gather professionals in the field of Information and Communication Technologies and actively participate in the development of the information society.
Creation of the first computer composition named “Kompjutorija”. Vladan Radovanović created the composition in the following manner: the composer would input a “tendency map” into a computer, and as a result he would get accidental values within a certain range, which he later used to create a final musical flow.
A new department was introduced at the Faculty of Mathematics, called E-department, which greatly influenced and contributed to the development of the IT sector in SFRY.
Damir Boras, according to the ideas of architect Velimir Neidhardt from the Urban Planning Institute of Croatia, developed URBAN, the first computer language for urban and spatial planning in Croatia.
The first robot UMS-1 used in the domestic industry in Yugoslavia was developed. The robot was used at the Teleoptik factory for the installation of thermostat assemblies for cars.
In Slovenia one of the first notable video games for ZX Spectrum – Kontrabant was created. The publisher was youth Radio Študent, with one of the creators being Žiga Turk, who was later a Slovenian minister. The aim of this text-based adventure, presented at the Book Fair in Belgrade, was to assemble a computer.
In Zoran Modli’s show “Ventilator” on the radio channel “Beograd 202”, sound recordings of program and video game codes for the Galaksija computer were broadcast, only such occurrence in the world. The listeners of the show were supposed to record the sounds thet were played onto a cassette, and later with a few more steps, play the cassette and enjoy the game.
The first industrial robot, Goro, was created in Ljubljana. The first industrial robot Goro 1 was developed in IJS and manufactured in Gorenje, and its operation started in 1980.
In Croatia, a computer naemed Galeb (Seagull) was produced. Only 250 units of Galeb were manufactured, because Orao, a newer, cheaper and technologicaly more advanced computer was being manufactured.
In 1982, the Ivo Lola Ribar Institute created the model Lola 8, built using CNC machine components. This model is memorable for a video game that played the song “Fijaker stari” (Old Cab) if you got a certain score.
Production began in Croatia of the computer named Orao (Eagle). Miroslav Kocijan, was responsible for the development of the Orao model which was used in Croatian schools during the 80s. Orao is also the “main culprit” for the fact that only 250 units of Galeb were manufactured, as Orao was more technologically advanced and cheaper to manufacture.
The first computers for domestic use in Serbia were created - models EI Pecom 32 and EI Pecom 64.
Zagreb company Suzy Soft published 15 video games among some were the popular Ali Baba, Mica spremačica, Cvećar, Pećinski heroj, Pijandura.Ali Baba from 1985 stood out – resembling Pac-Man, and Pac-Man apparently served as the basis for the game Cvećar (the Florist) in which the aim of the game was to plant flowers, while being distracted by a team of hooligans.
The game named Na Balkanu Ništa Novo (Nothing New in the Balkans) was created. The aim was to save the Lake Dojran. The game dealt with the political events in Yugoslavia in 1988 and the characters were real individuals from that period (Fikret Abdić, Janez Janša, Slobodan Milošević, Đorđe Balašević), as well as pop-culture characters (Đekna) and local mythical creatures (fairies of Neum) of that time.
This home computer which was developed by Voja Antonić gained immense popularity because Voja published diagrams and instructions necessary to build this home computer in the magazine “Računari u vašoj kući”. As a result, over 8000 people managed to build their own Galaksija computer.
Vladan Radovanović, the album Fanoverzum, which includes the composition "Kompjutorija"
During this event, Miša Savić’s composition “Mala lična muzika” (A Little Personal Music) was performed. This composition married the world of the computers and classical music, alluding to the “personal” part of “personal computers” and Mozart’s composition “A Little Night Music”. This highlighted the position of personal computers as devices suitable for the creation of music, but also the particular “privacy” of such a creative process where works are created in an intimate/home atmosphere, in the relationship between the composer and the virtual studio.
Sezam, as it was originally called, this BBS worked on the principle of message exchange, as the forerunner of the forums. In the first five years, from November 1989 to November 1994, users wrote 394,000 messages or 418 megabytes of text on a variety of topics, ranging from computer to politics, culture, music and others. Sezam users called themselves “Sezamovci” and represented a forerunner of sorts of social networks.
During the sanctions and until the complete liberalization of the market, computers in Serbia were generally built in the following manner: users could select the individual components for their computer, including the processor, motherboard, graphics card, memory unit, hard drive, power supply, the case and other peripherals.
The festival Music in Serbia ended after 14 iterations and various changes in finances and organization. The final festival was held in 1991.
The distinctive characteristic of this movement was that artists exclusively used the Internet as a medium for creating artistic work and that its production was only possible via the Internet.
On November 1, 1996, Sezam Pro offered full access to the Internet, which officially included Serbia in the global network of all networks – and the Internet era began in the region.
The goal of this Internet café was to make it a place where people who did not have a computer would be able to get acquainted with the possibilities provided by the Internet, contact their friends around the world or collect and transmit information.
Computer Art – the first computer art exhibition in Serbia was held. The exhibition featured different approaches to computer technology, live computer music concerts and various events with artists from Slovenia and Serbia. The goal, according to the artist Gordana Novaković, who was one of the organizers of the exhibition, was to present the computer as an artistic tool and medium.
A short history of electronic art – a symposium that brought together leading digital artists from Yugoslavia. With the aim to initiate the establishment of the national collection and archive of Yugoslav new media practice, in June 1998 at the Cultural Center Rex in Belgrade, artists Miroslav Miša Savić and Gordana Novaković organized a symposium entitled “A Brief History of Electronic Art” which brought together leading digital artists from the region.
In October 1998, a digital laboratory was opened in Rex – Cyberex, within which there were various programs, including the more prominent Update and Cyber School programs, which included various courses and short seminars where participants learned how to use certain programs.
“Moj Mikro” is a Slovenian magazine about computers. The first issue in Slovenian was published in June 1984, while the first edition in Serbo-Croatian (in Latin script) was published a year later, in January 1985. At first, this magazine was dedicated to technology and reported on various fields and topics – from details about home computers to descriptions of new computer systems and computer games. For a certain period of time it printed type-in program source codes for various computers. The magazine changed over time, keeping up with the developments in the computer market. “Moj Mikro” is still in print. In the present day it is only published in Slovenian and is available online.
“Svet kompjutera” is a computer magazine which covers topics such as home computers and the ways they can be used for business and entertainment. The first issue of the magazine was published in October 1984 as a special edition of the magazine Svet, which was published by “Politika”. The content for the first issue was created almost entirely by four men: Stanko Stojiljković, Stanko Popović, Voja Antonić and Andrija Kolundžić. From its inception up to the present day, the magazine has covered home and personal computers, from ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 to Amiga and Atari ST, all the way to PCs, tablets, “smart” phones and gaming consoles. Throughout its entire history, it has consistently been one of the most popular magazines about computers and IT industry trends in Serbia.
The “Galaksija” magazine was created as the new periodical of the BIGZ publishing house, filling the gap left behind by the “Kosmoplov” magazine in March 1972. The magazine was published monthly until the 1990s, when its distribution ceased due to the crisis that troubled the society at the time. “Galaksija” was the most important magazine that contributed to the popularization of science in SFRY. “Galaksija” also helped create the first domestic home computer, which was built by Voja Antonić and named “Galaksija”, after the magazine. Voja Antonić and Dejan Ristanović described in detail how to build this exact home computer, which went on to sell dozens of units, in one of the issues of the magazine. The magazine “Računari u vašoj kući” (later shortened to “Računari”) was initially a part of “Galaksija”. The cult magazine returned seventeen years later, in 2018, under the name “Galaksija Nova.” It is now available online and, next to technology, it mainly reports on science.
The project “Računari u vašoj kući” began in the summer of 1983, building upon two and a half years of continuous reporting on pocket computers done by “Galaksija”, the magazine for the popularization of science. The first issue was published in December 1983, and it was soon followed by two special issues, “Računari u vašoj kući 2 and 3”. The special editions soon became a full-fledged magazine, which was initially published on a bimonthly, and later on a monthly basis. It ceased its operations sixteen years later, in the year 2000.
“MR Revija za mala računala” was a Croatian magazine. Its first issue was published in 1985 by “NNRO Sportska Tribina” from Zagreb. The magazine aimed to explain computer technology to their readers, which was still a novelty for most people at the time, through articles which showed the practical use for computers.
“Amiga style”, founded by a group of enthusiasts, appeared on the scene in 1992. The magazine was published in Novi Sad and it was the first domestic magazine created for Amiga fans (Amiga was a computer family manufactured by the American company Commodore). Amiga computers were incredibly popular at the time, particularly due to their affordable price. Additionally, the “Amiga Svet” newsletter came out in 1995 and it also provided coverage on Amiga computers, hardware and utilities, as well as descriptions of the latest video games for this model.
“Club Nintendo” was established in 1993, in Slovenia. Initially published in 1989 in Germany, this magazine later became available in majority of the European countries such as Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and soon after in Slovenia, where it was published on a monthly basis in the Slovenian language.
“Pilot Video” was a Croatian magazine whose first issue was published in March 1985. This magazine’s audience were the “less ambitious” computer fans, and it set itself apart from other specialized magazines of this kind by primarily focusing on video games, i.e. “piloting” on the screen. Only three issues of “Pilot Video” were ever published, all in the year 1985, and the production and printing of the magazine ceased after the third issue.
The Croatian magazine “Master” thoroughly showcased and described video games. The first and only issue of this specialized magazine was published in 1994.
The “PLAYJOY” magazine appeared on the scene in October 1995 and its aim was to showcase a different side of the computing world to their readers and video game fans in a more engaging way. As it name suggests this magazine was created to portray the “more interesting side” of computers through its articles and to show the readers how to entertain themselves with games.
At that time, the matches in Top Eleven were purely text based. 2D graphics were implemented in 2015 as a natural consequence of technological advancement. Top Eleven’s development peaked with the implementation of 3D graphics, as players started sharing 3D clips of their matches on social media every day.
The study programs currently available in Serbia primarily focus on video game development, which is the response to the growing gaming industry in our country currently employing over 2,100 people.
The game was developed by Tummy Games from Novi Sad who launched it on the Apple Arcade platform in 2021. Video game enthusiasts will recognize Tummy Games by the titles they developed for some of the most successful global publishers such as Voodoo and Homa Games, as many of these games have reached tens of millions of downloads.
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