Game designers, software developers, digital cinema and animation film producers and screenwriters, who make up the digital content world, camped in Bilişim Vadisi, Turkey's technology and innovation base. Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank met with 51 young people from 600 countries at the Digital Animation and Game Clustering Center (DIGIAGE) Game Development Summer Camp in the valley.
Stating that Turkey has achieved a great momentum in technology-based businesses, Minister Varank said, "The momentum we have achieved with the interest of young people in this field will carry Turkey to a different dimension." said. Minister Varank emphasized that value-added production is a must in order to be one of the 10 largest economies in the world and said, “Here are the fields such as game development and software where this added value is the highest. Hopefully, we would like to host 600 young people here, not 6." he said.
THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP THE ECOSYSTEM
DIGIAGE, which was established to develop the Turkish game ecosystem, aims to bring human resources to the sector, to be a bridge between the public and the sector, and to contribute to the development of game studios with the camps it organizes. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the DIGIAGE summer camp, which started on September 1 in Informatics Valley, will last until September 11. A team of 30 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway and Lithuania participated in DIGIAGE, which is within the scope of the European Union this year.
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
The last guest of the camp, where the participants spent sleepless nights and designed a game in groups, was Varank, the Minister of Industry and Technology. During his visit to the camp, Minister Varank was accompanied by Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz and Informatics Valley General Manager A. Serdar İbrahimcioğlu.
EXPERIENCED GAMES
Teams formed by students from different countries sohbet Minister Varank tried the designed games. Varank's game performance received applause from the participants. Varank, who took selfies with the students and signed his name on the game camp wall, also had a game experience in the Planetary tent. Minister Varank also offered ice cream to the participants during his visit.
Minister Varank said the following in his evaluations about the camp:
AWESOME ACCELERATION
Turkey has gained tremendous momentum in technology-based businesses. Three years ago, there was no unicorn, that is, a billion-dollar company in Turkey, but now we have 6 unicorns. 3 of them are game and software companies. The momentum we have achieved with the interest of young people in this field will carry Turkey to a different dimension.
THEY PROVIDE ADVANTAGE
We have physically invited 5 young people out of approximately 600 thousand applications. Some of our young people who come here stay outside in tents, while others stay in dormitories. But by coming here, they get information about what you need and what information you need to have when developing a game, from rendering to writing different scenarios. They learn how to translate these into their games. Afterwards, if they are going to establish their companies, how they can benefit from the support, by getting all the information about them here, we actually provide a significant advantage to our young friends in their careers.
VALUE ADDED CONDITION
We will continue to provide this support. Because we believe this. If we want to raise Turkey to the level of contemporary civilizations, if we want to make it one of the 10 largest economies in the world, we must produce added value. Here are areas such as game development and software where this added value is the highest. I am very pleased with the enthusiasm and effort of our friends here. We will invite more of our youth to this work. Hopefully, we would like to host 6 thousand young people here, not 6 hundred, next year.
HORIZONS TOO WIDE
There are really innovative solutions. Young people already have a wide horizon. I was impressed by the work I saw here. When we started this business, the games we call HyperCasual were more common. But today we see that the industry is going to a different area. Our companies are also successful in this field. Hopefully, the initiatives that will emerge from here will be very successful.
NIGHT DAY WORKING
Around 51 participants from 600 countries took part in the camp where young people stayed in tents, where they both had fun and learned. One of them, Saladin Mohammed Mesud from Tanzania, said, “He is very excited for me. Because I've never been in such an environment before. Sometimes when I play a game, I see a flaw, like if I can do something new for him, I think it would be great for me.” said. Tanzanian Adem Buhrani also stated that he has been living in Turkey for 4 years and said that they worked day and night on a game as a team and they had a lot of fun.
I DISCOVER MY PERSONAL POTENTIAL
Beyzanur Altınok, a graduate of Fırat University Computer Engineering, noted that she worked on 3D Art on the computer and said, “I draw the designs of objects. We are in a fun camp. We are learning about teamwork. When I worked together with the team, I saw that I could get something out. I started to discover my personal potential here.” said.
ATMOSPHERE PERFECT
Karoline Sputaite, one of the Lithuanian participants, mentioned that she did not have any knowledge about the game industry when she came to the camp, “The atmosphere is really perfect. I am very lucky to have such a team. My team is also learning with me. We teach each other. Our friends are improving their English.” made its assessment.
IN ALL CONTINENTS EXCEPT ANTARCTICA
19-year-old Barkın Anayurt stated that they both developed and played games in the camp and said, “I have been developing games for 8 years. I have a game on Steam. We have delivered to all continents except Antarctica. We have sold over 5 copies. Now we are working on our second game. Here we can meet with investors. We can meet people who can take part in our company.” he said.
I RECOMMEND EVERYONE
Lithuanian Marius Baroness underlined that he learned new things about game development and crypto at the camp and said, “I want to become a professional game developer. I recommend this camp to anyone who is interested in this field.” used the phrases.
WE ESTABLISHED NETWORK
Gebze Technical University Electronics Engineering Student Ayşegül Yılmaz explained that she attended the camp to gain information about the sector and said, “We are very pleased. We made very good friendships and established networks.” said.
I LEARNED TO WRITE A GAME SCENARIO
Kazak Gülnur Dosbolova said that she is a doctoral student in the Department of Journalism at Selçuk University and said, “I actually write series scripts, but after coming here, I learned how to write a game script. I am thinking of starting an animation company.” he said.
I COME TO DISCOVER
Mustafa Bukhari Mohamed Ahmed from Sudan stated that he is a Computer Engineering student at Kırıkkale University and that he came to explore the sector and said, “Actually, I work in the web field. When people who try and aim to improve themselves come together, they do great things.” said.
A GREAT CHANCE
Lithuanian Justas Petrulis emphasized that he participated in the camp with the Erasmus Project and said, “I am happy that the people here are warm, friendly and helpful. There is no gaming industry in Lithuania, but I am interested in gaming and this camp is a great opportunity.” expressed himself in his own words.
THERE ARE RACES IN 3 CATEGORIES
About 600 software developers, designers, screenwriters, publishers, students, advertisers and executives in the game ecosystem take part in the camp. The designers, who came together physically and online with the understanding of global cooperation, will design their projects and present them to the international jury at the end of the 10-day camp. He will try to get his projects to be appreciated by the jury by producing in three categories: Game Scenario-Text, Game Character Design-Graphic Animation and Game Mechanics-Software.
NEW GENERATION CONTENT IDEAS
Midcore and console projects, especially HyperCasual games, and new generation content ideas such as metaverse, blockchain, NFT and VR game projects will also come to life at the camp. Some of the new game ideas that the teams come up with in the camp where nearly 50 teams designed over 70 games will be supported by DIGIAGE. Thanks to these opportunities, international connection and workforce sharing will be ensured. The game production power that Turkey offers to the world will grow. It will allow new studios to emerge.
25 GAME START'UPS ESTABLISHED
DIGIAGE camps are held twice a year, in summer and winter. While the winter camp is a camp where more experienced people participate, the summer camp is designed as a camp where only those who are interested in this sector participate. To date, more than 6 thousand applications have been made to the camp, which was held for the 15th time this year, and nearly 2 thousand young people were hosted in the valley. More than 25 game start-ups have been established in DIGIAGE camps to date, and 100s of young people have started working in the game ecosystem.
GREAT SUPPORT FROM EU
During the camp, the participants receive not only basic game development trainings, but also trainings such as incorporation, law and financial management. DIGIAGE Game Development Camp is organized by the Turkish National Agency as part of the Erasmus+ project of the European Union.
Be the first to comment