Unreal Engine (UE) is the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D tool, used to produce video games of all sizes and genres. Over the last years, it has increasingly found application in other, related fields, such as animation, VR/XR design, real-time 3D graphics, architectural visualization, simulations or even the increasingly popular virtual production in the film industry. All of these topics have been represented at the UNREAL DAY (UED) conference since 2022, which was initiated by the Serbian Games Association, with the support of 3Lateral and Epic Games, as well as numerous other partners.
Unreal Day is a one-day event that presents the most interesting projects that use UE, or Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). With UEFN, creators can build and publish games and experiences in Fortnite, one of the most popular online games. The event gathers lecturers and creative professionals from Serbia and the region, but also increasingly from other countries, considering that thanks to the local presence of Epic Games in Novi Sad, the local ecosystem related to these tools is rapidly developing – with new talent, interesting projects and unique educational initiatives. Serbia is slowly but surely becoming a hotspot for this type of creative-tech production, and is attracting the attention of the global community.
This year, the UED program truly occupies the entire 24th of October in the mts Dvorana, with a handful of different programs aimed at both professionals and advanced creators, as well as beginners and those interested in getting to know the possibilities of UE. In addition to the keynote and showcase lectures, there will also be a series of two-room workshops, an expo zone with demonstrations of interesting 3D scanning technologies, a mini-conference dedicated to the creators’ economy phenomenon, a space where creators of 3D assets can receive feedback on their portfolios – and a lot more.
For beginners, four parallel workshops will be held the previous day (October 23), when a workshop for future certified UE trainers will also be held in Novi Sad. If you are an advanced user of UE and want to be an authorized lecturer, contact SGA. And as if all that wasn’t enough, two game jams were announced! Unreal Jam invites teams from nine countries of the region to apply and get the opportunity to present their projects in front of the audience at the conference after two weeks of online jamming, while the two-day UEFN Game Jam will be held in Novi Sad, open to teams and individuals from Serbia.
As of this year, Unreal Day has a separate website, and at UNREALDAY.COM you can find the first information about the program and speakers, and you can already register for free programs (half-day program), or buy a ticket for a full-day program for professionals. Capacities are limited, and early bird tickets at a discounted price of 80 EUR are available until September 24 (and while the supplies last – limited to 150 tickets).
As for the first announced speakers, we have a lot to look forward to. Alex Coulombe, VR/XR expert and famous UE lecturer is coming straight from New York; Attila Szigeti from the Hungarian studio DIGIC will talk about cinematic production; Jakub Vanko is bringing RealityCapture and RealityScan technologies that visitors will be able to try throughout the day; Joan da Silva from France will talk about how studios can migrate to UE from other platforms; David Garcia from Spain will talk about virtual production, along with numerous participants from Serbia, including director Sava Živković, who is returning to UED after two years.
And that’s just the beginning! Speakers are added weekly, and the complete program will be available until October 1st. Follow the SGA channels for more information.
All things UNREAL. All day long.