The 15th edition of Global Game Jam (GGJ) was organized on February 3-5 as part of the activities of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) - Egypt Chapter. For the 11th consecutive year, GGJ 2023 was hosted by the Game Development Academy of the Information Technology Institute (ITI) at its premises in Smart Village.
GGJ is the world’s largest game creation event organized simultaneously in over 100 countries. It is a game-focused hackathon and space where talented individuals get together to work in a fun atmosphere of creativity and experimentation.
This year, the three-day event brought together 500+ participants to create video games. GGJ 2023 included several sessions that addressed game development in terms of design, programming, and animation, as well as in-depth lectures presented by Unity and Unreal, the global game engines. Lectures in marketing and how to make money as a game developer were also delivered, in addition to sessions on creating children games, the role of interactive media and game arts in visual effects, and Metaverse and its applications in game development.
The hackathon was preceded by GGJ Prep Week on January 23-27. Sponsors and community members provided content on various platforms to get participants ready to jam.
Attending GGJ 2023 closing ceremony, the ICT Minister Amr Talaat delivered a speech. He underlined that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) works to provide an enabling environment for innovation in the game development industry. He pointed to MCIT efforts to build capacity in the game development field and upskill young people in game design and development and digital arts.
During the closing ceremony, the ICT Minister met with game developers, representatives of gaming startups, ITI trainees specializing in game design and development, and owners of game studios. They discussed youth visions, ideas, and aspirations to develop game development skills, as well as MCIT efforts to create a thriving game development industry and nurture gaming startups.
ITI Chairwoman Heba Saleh also attended the closing ceremony. She showcased ITI efforts in boosting the video game industry in Egypt. ITI has an impressive track record of boosting the e-game development industry in Egypt.
The Institute offers training courses, educational seminars, and professional certificates and organizes events and competitions, all to develop young people’s skills in e-game development and create a pool of highly-qualified game developers.
