For participation in the program, prior knowledge of game development is not required, only the desire to learn and progress in the fields that these young digital and analog artists are already involved in.
During the program, students will work in teams. Through a series of hands-on workshops, mentoring sessions and lectures, each team will develop an original concept for a game. Support is provided by leading gaming experts from Serbia, as well as guest lecturers from France, Germany, and other European countries with a strong gaming scene. The teams are also expected to visit big local gaming companies.
The teams present the final projects to an international jury, which will select the best concept. Concepts are then ready for the next stage of game development, in which the teams will also have full support.
During the previous two cycles, over 50 participants have gone through the Playing Narratives program so far, half of them found a place in the gaming industry, and the rest continued to work on their personal projects.
This program is organized and managed by SGA (Serbian Games Association), but it would not be possible without the support of the RECONOMY project, as well as dedicated partners from the industry – the company 3Lateral / Epic Games, Ubisoft Belgrade, and Two Desperados. In addition to them, the platform and the A Maze festival also participate in the project. / Berlin, as well as the Goethe-Institut and the French Institute in Serbia.
RECONOMY is a regional inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in partnership with Help-Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V and others in the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan countries.