Bologna, May 12th 2023 – The 4 video game prototypes created by the 4 teams of developers from Emilia-Romagna that won the second edition of Bologna Game Farm, a project for the development of the videogame industry promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna, were presented this morning at the evocative Farnese Chapel of Palazzo d’Accursio in Bologna. The initiative is coordinated by the Municipality of Bologna and implemented with Art-ER as part of its actions to support cultural and creative industries, in collaboration with IncrediBOL! and with the technical support of IIDEA, Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association.
The 4 projects are: Farafter by Giant Cog Studio, an open-world single-player RPG videogame with a turn-based combat system. The game, whose graphics are based on pixel art, focuses on the player’s ability to influence events in the game world with different choice trees and complex morality systems; Monster Chef by Studio Pizza, a roguelike hack and slash videogame with management components. Players impersonate Pranzo, a novice in the Order of the Good Fork, a prestigious organization of warrior chefs. The aim of the game is to help the protagonist run an inn and satisfy the palates (refined and otherwise) of the inhabitants of the world of Delizia by creating dishes using fantasy monsters as ingredients; NonStudio’s Handmancers, a humorous roguelike deckbuilder videogame that takes the player to the original world of Zirria where, after centuries of peace, something is changing and it is up to the player to investigate: exploring, creating his small empire, increasing his power and defeating his enemies with rock, paper and scissors; Ryoko by Kodama Studio, a scrolling adventure puzzle videogame with platforming parts. The protagonist is Ryoko, an apprentice priestess of light capable of using torii gates to reach a parallel reality: the spirit world.
The 4 teams, which were each awarded a grant of 30,000 euros as in the 2021 pilot edition, shared with the attending audience and the press their achievements at the end of the first part of the 5 and a half month acceleration program (from January to May) that saw them engaged at the Serre Dei Giardini Margherita – a hub of the regional ecosystem supporting business creation – in the creation of 4 vertical videogame slices ready to be presented at trade fairs where they would identify publishers interested in their commercialization.
The event was attended by Rosa Grimaldi, Mayor’s Delegate to ICCs, Lucia de Siervo, Head of the Culture Economy and Youth Policies Area of the RER, Sveva Ruggiero Start-up Unit and ICC Presidium of ART-ER and Thalita Malagò, Director General of IIDEA, Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association, with moderation by Giorgia Boldrini, Director of Culture and Creativity Sector of the Municipality of Bologna.
The morning session focused on policies and actions for the videogame sector in Emilia-Romagna, a point of excellence in Italy and in the local territory, aimed at consolidating and professionalizing the videogame industry within the region, confirming the relevance of this sector as a cultural factor and an element of economic growth for the regional production system, as well as socialization and inclusion.
Rosa Grimaldi, Mayor’s Delegate to CCI said, “BGF is an innovative program was born in Bologna where there is thought and vision on innovative projects with spin-offs on the city and the local territory. In this specific case, supporting entrepreneurial initiatives in the videogame industry allows us to be part of a trend of initiatives that are moving both in the national and international panorama on the videogame front and to do so with a leading role“.
Mauro Felicori, Councillor for Culture and Landscape of the Emilia-Romagna Region commented, “I am convinced that when Emilia-Romagna and Bologna act together, they produce enormous strength. In fact, Bologna is at the very least a national platform for communications, research, and innovation, a hub that operates in service of everyone. If all the municipalities that have always been associated contribute, as is the case with policies for cultural and creative enterprises, the “Emilia-Romagna system” can really set itself ambitious goals, such as becoming the capital of GAME. And this is for me a formula that goes far beyond this field. So let’s get it right, GAME is serious!“
The morning continued with the speech by Orbital Games, among the winning teams of the first edition of Bologna Game Farm, which presented the new orientation service “BGF@Mobile” dedicated to supporting companies that develop mobile video games and ended with the official presentation of the 4 games introduced by Ivan Venturi, coordinator of the Bologna Game Farm acceleration program, who together with tutors Luca Marchetti and Gerardo Verna in recent months has managed the coaching and mentorship of the acceleration program.
Bologna Game Farm is a constantly evolving reality, able to constantly create new and interesting synergies with other productive sectors in the area and to forge excellent partnerships with universities as well (Academy of Fine Arts, Conservatory, Faculty of Computer Science, to name a few), always with a view to boosting economic growth and fostering innovation in the cultural and creative fields.