GAME CARAVAN takes local video game creators to France

France is one of the leading European countries when it comes to the production of games, as well as expertise in other complementary creative-technological fields, such as video effects, computer graphics or animation. As many as 18,000 people are employed in the industry, and regional centers, associations, accelerator programs and events are held across the country. The French video game industry generated revenue of 5.65 billion euros in 2021, which is a record level. Creative technology education is another stronghold of France, with major public and private colleges and training centers attracting professionals from around the world.

A mobility program that would offer established and new professionals from Serbia the opportunity to meet their colleagues from France and to establish cooperation between promising independent studios from both sides is a natural path in creating mutually beneficial synergies. Representatives of the domestic creative-tech sector can greatly benefit from this type of visit, while French pioneers and future leaders of the industry will get to know the perspectives and market in the Serbian gaming community, as a valuable partner for joint future ventures.

The first, pilot edition of the GAME CARAVAN mobility program for game makers will take place between November 4th and 8th 2024. The caravan from Serbia will visit Lyon and Montpellier and participants will get to know the key actors of the local gaming communities in these cities and their associated regions.

During five days, the participants of the caravan will visit faculties, informal training centers and studios dealing with game development, animation, computer graphics and related disciplines. The group of eight passengers of this caravan will also consist of four selected representatives of the local game dev community, and those interested can apply via this link. The deadline for applications is October 11th at midnight.

The call is open to game creators who meet the following conditions:

• That the application is individual (only one person can represent one studio);
• That the candidate is a citizen of Serbia;
• That the candidate has a passport that does not expire before April 2025;
• That the candidate is between 20 and 40 years old;
• That the candidate is a founder or holds a lead position in a studio that is formally registered (d.o.o. or PR);
• That the applicant / studio has at least one published game;
• That the candidate / studio is currently working on at least one project;
• That the candidate undertakes to join the caravan within the announced dates and follow the program as a whole.

The competition is open to all developers, regardless of which platform they develop games for (mobile / PC / consoles / web). All costs of travel, accommodation and local transfers will be covered by the project organizer. The committee composed of representatives of the French Institute and SGA will select the registered candidates who are able to use the potential of such a visit in the best way, especially when it comes to establishing cooperation, co-production or new joint projects.

Academic institutions are also an important part of linking the French and domestic gaming communities. That is why the Game Caravan will connect educators from the two countries and open opportunities for future cooperation projects. France will be visited by representatives of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, the Metropolitan University and the Faculty of Electronic Engineering in Niš.

The cooperation is not one-way, so a number of French professionals will also visit Serbia, and the arrival of Joan da Silva at the Unreal Day conference in October, as well as Julien Millet at the academic conference of Video Game Studies in December has already been announced. The results of this visit will be presented at different faculties in Serbia at the beginning of next year.

The SGA will also have a series of studio visits and meetings in France to lay the groundwork for future collaborations, following highly successful programs such as Playing Narratives and numerous guest appearances by French experts at various SGA conferences and events. Game Caravan will therefore last longer than the visit to France itself and will end at the next FTW! conference, which is scheduled for May 28th and 29th 2025.