The video game industry in the Balkans is undergoing a significant transformation, thanks to regional collaborations and new initiatives aimed at empowering local talents. In a conversation with Lorena Gjana, a representative of the Albanian Gaming Community, we explore how ambitious projects like “Playing Narratives” and “Shift2Games” are paving the way for a new generation of Albanian creators. With these initiatives, the Balkans are becoming a new hub for video game development, with Albania poised to be at the center of this change. Discover more about these efforts and their potential impact on the local gaming community.
Could you tell us a bit about the recent meeting of gaming communities in the Balkans? What was the main objective of this event?
Representatives of video game developer communities from Balkan countries such as Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been exploring various opportunities for regional collaboration for about a year. These communities are rapidly developing and bring together a large number of talented young people from diverse fields who are already engaged in the global video game development industry. While countries like Serbia and Croatia have made significant strides in developing their local industries, other Balkan countries are still in the early stages. The collaboration between different communities aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences, mutual capacity development, and support for new game development studios in accessing the global industry market.
The recent meeting, organized by the Serbian Games Association (SGA) and Montegames (the video game developers’ community in Montenegro), brought together representatives from across the Balkans to consolidate their readiness to develop two highly important initiatives: “Playing Narratives” and “Shift2Games.”
What inspired the creation of initiatives like the “Playing Narratives” incubator and the localization of the “Shift2Games” platform for the Western Balkans?
The Albanian Gaming Community has consistently worked on raising awareness at the institutional level and introducing various programs to enhance the capacities of young people. “Playing Narratives” is an 8-month game design incubation program. In the industry, this refers to the entire process of game design, not just the graphic design of video games. The program helps participants develop skills in all aspects of game design, from narrative and music to game mechanics, character design, and more. This program has been piloted by SGA with the support of the Reconomy Program for four consecutive years, attracting many young people to the community and involving them in the global industry.
“Shift2Games” is a platform dedicated to equipping young people with skills in the video game industry. The localization of this platform will be carried out for all the languages spoken by the communities in the Balkans, to enable the sharing and access to information for as many young people as possible. Considering that the youth communities in this industry are generally driven by passion and lack educational institutions focused on the industry in the region, the platform will be an excellent opportunity to guide these young people on the skills needed to enter the industry, various information resources, and different employment opportunities in the industry.
How do you foresee the impact of these initiatives on the gaming community in Albania?
The community in Albania has tremendous potential for development. The engagement observed over the past year shows that, despite the lack of educational institutions or mass employment opportunities within Albania, these young people have self-taught themselves to build video games. What is needed is guidance towards building a career in the industry. Both initiatives aim to help with this. The first, “Playing Narratives,” will introduce the industry to young people who are not necessarily developers but come from different creative industry profiles. Musicians, writers, architects, and digital creators will have the opportunity to learn about the processes of ideating and designing a video game and be trained to adapt their skills for the industry.
On the other hand, through the Shift2Games platform adapted into Albanian, these young people will have access to concrete information about the industry, regional employment opportunities, and preparation for applying for these jobs.
Why is it important for creators from different fields to be involved in developing narrative games?
Talented young people in the creative industries in Albania often face significant obstacles in monetizing their art. It is difficult for them to reach the global market by applying their skills within the different traditional sectors of the creative industry. Meanwhile, the video game development industry, being one of the largest industries globally and entirely decentralized, offers opportunities for anyone to build their career in it. The industry’s growing trends are also among the highest compared to other industries, and the interconnection of video games with other industries is becoming increasingly inevitable. This will enable these young people to have more and more employment opportunities and access to the global market.
What kind of support or resources will the “Playing Narratives” incubator provide to participants?
“Playing Narratives” will be a multi-month program where different teams will receive intensive training from local and regional field experts on all components and processes of video game development. The program will bring together young people from various fields such as music, design, or creative writing to work together to present a prototype video game idea at the end of the program. Additionally, during the incubation, they will have the opportunity to connect with other regional communities and become part of a broader network of participants since the program has regional reach.
How will the Shift2Games platform be tailored to the needs of the gaming community in Albania?
Considering that the community in Albania is still in the early stages of engagement, the Shift2Games platform will play an important awareness-raising role. It will contain detailed information for anyone passionate about taking their first steps in the industry, about the tools and skills needed, how they can get involved, and potentially learn about employment opportunities in the region. Currently, there is a limited number of studios developing video games in Albania, but the platform will be a digital space to promote these studios and various initiatives undertaken for the industry.
Looking to the future, what other collaborative efforts or projects can we expect from the gaming communities in the Balkans?
The Shift2Games platform is expected to be launched in all Balkan languages by the end of the year. Meanwhile, “Playing Narratives” is planned for implementation in 2025. The Albanian Gaming Community is continually seeking different collaborations at both institutional and regional levels with various communities. There is a broad plan for the coming months, which includes a series of meetings within the community on various topics, technical workshops on different game development and design tools, etc. Meanwhile, at the institutional level, the Albanian Gaming Community aims to consolidate communication bridges with relevant institutions in Albania and help promote new studios and individual game developers.
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