7 days, 5 locations, 1 city. During 18 and 24 November we turned Breda into the international capital of Game Art & Design!
Throughout artist talks, tournaments, bootcamps, workshops, demos, expos and industry meet-ups we took a deep dive in everything connected to game design, esports and serious gaming. We had a close look at the current state of the gaming world but also established connections between possible investors and local community representatives regarding the future of the industry. Read below a very brief overview of some of the activities happening during Breda Game Week. And if you prefer a video recap instead, do check out our aftermovie created by Jochem de Vet.
Ahead of Game Week we knew that Breda is home to over 4,000 students studying video games, immersive content, esports, digital art, and related areas. Notably, BUas’s Creative Media and Game Technologies program is globally recognised and ranked in the top three for video game education. What we did not know, but we certainly hoped for, was that the city also hosted a large number of regular people curious about games.
It was so heart-warming to see parents bringing their children and teenagers to explore the exhibitions we had set in the Nieuwe Veste, letting them give a try to the arcade games brought by Beeld & Geluid from their archives, give a try and play Space Invaders XL as well as register them for the workshops provided by the Cardboarders and Post Neon. Much in the spirit of Willeke Machiels’ exquisite photography exhibition, we saw that the Breda Gamers really do come in all sort of forms, ages and with various backgrounds.
Game Week also provided opportunities for key players connected to the gaming industry to meet-up and discuss further developments. In our Serious about Games expert session we explored how gaming can drive real-world impact in fields like education, healthcare and beyond. During the Political Relations Program, part of our Conference on Game Art & Design, we also made sure investors, developers and political representatives get a chance to meet and discuss how to further ensure the growth of Breda‘s impact in the local, national and international level within the gaming industry.
And then there was also the inspiration for students, young professionals and gaming enthusiasts in general, throughout artist talks, demos, panels and portfolio reviews. We took a peek behind the scenes for upcoming games such as Monument Valley III and Microtopia, we gathered insights about the creative process of artists like Alina Bulavina from CD Projekt RED and Arjan Brussee from Epic Games, we better understood how indie games created by Twirlbound or Pip Williamson became hugely popular, and also enjoyed a walk-thorugh the career highlights of game artist like Rex Crowle, Steve Morris, Erwin Kho and Nils Slijkerman.
“Play is nature’s school” mentioned Monobanda’s Niki Smit in his presentation. Seeing the organic connection formed between education and the gaming industry brewing right under our eyes, we couldn’t agree more!
Game Week was powered by Playgrounds in collaboration with BUas, Avans Creative Innovation, De Rooi Pannen, Dynasty Esports, and Nieuwe Veste and is made possible by the city of Breda, the province of Noord-Brabant, and The Creative Industries Fund NL.
Program partners include Breda Game City, Breda Robotics, Bredata, the city of Breda, BrabantSport, Dutch Games Association, DEN, De Nassau, Newmancollege, the province of Noord-Brabant, OOMPH!, Sound & Vision, The Code Club, and TURF.
