Gaming is hot and the world games market, a billion dollar industry, is steadily growing. At the end of 2020 Newzoo reported there 2.69 billion gamers and growth has been steady with an average of 5.6% year-on-year (YoY) increase. 2021 figures are forecast to reach 2.81 billion gamers that will earn the global games market an estimated $189.3 billion. This is an industry worth getting in to, and this April Animation SA and Adanian Labs are proudly collaborating to host their first Game Jam in South Africa from 8 to 10 April 2022 at the ASA Incubation Hub at Constitution Hill.
The aim of the Game Jam is to get graduate game developers, or individuals interested in game design and development to explore the world of gaming as a career prospect. This year’s event will host approximately 20 aspiring game developer interns, giving them an opportunity to showcase their ability to design games within the context of gamification. The event hopes to arm them with ‘survival skills’ to consider outsourcing gamification work whilst they develop their main game or passion.
“It is hoped that events such as the Game Jam will encourage graduates and young game developers to consider the prospects to earn a living working in their dream job as a game developer. The event aims to highlight the various career opportunities that exist within the space,” said event organiser Xolile Vundla of Animation SA.
Each participant will be challenged to create an educational game with various techniques adopted to create fun ways to engage younger players. Participation in the event will enable the aspiring interns to gather additional info on working in the video game and gamification market, learning where they would like to position themselves in the market and finally get support that helps them develop or sharpen the game development skills required for their chosen speciality. The participants will be judged on their ability to balance principles of game design and the needs of the non-entertainment clients in the process of making a gamification product.
Adanian Labs is committed to growing the Gaming ecosystem because it will allow young Africans to build games that will compete globally Create and inform edutainment. The Game Jam is also part of collective efforts to allow African developers to participate in the new digital world of tokenisation, game metaverse and tech ecosystem,” says Bendon Murgor co-founder of Adanian Labs who are intentional about positioning the lab to be a catalyst to support start-up incubators.
The five SMMEs in the ASA Incubator currently ongoing will each receive four or five interns from this Game Jam and the event is an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate their level of skills and will be used as a final assessment before placement on the internship programme. The Game Jam will happening at a later date in Cape Town for Western Cape Graduates.
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