The call to participate in the third edition of Bologna Game Farm, the project for the development of video game prototypes and plans for product development and marketing promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna, has been launched. Bologna Game Farm is coordinated by the Municipality of Bologna and implemented with Art-ER as part of the actions to support cultural and creative industries, in collaboration with IncredBOL! and with the technical support of IIDEA – Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association.
Applications can be submitted through the online form (link within the call) until September 28th.
Following the success of the two previous editions, the call again makes available grants of up to 30,000 euros each, recognized in the percentage measure of 80% of eligible expenditure, and a tailor-made acceleration program to develop video game projects and define an appropriate commercialization strategy by IIDEA professionals. The headquarters of the accelerator will continue to be at the Serre of Art-ER, an atmospheric and functional space dedicated to innovative startups and hub of the regional ecosystem supporting business creation.
The third edition of BGF is announced in conjunction with First Playable, the main business event of reference for the videogame industry in Italy, organized by IIDEA and Toscana Film Commission in collaboration with Agenzia ICE, which this year is held in Florence on July 6th and 7th. During the event, the 4 winning teams of the second edition will present their videogame prototypes for the first time to the more than 45 international publishers and investors from all over the world attending the two days of meetings at the Nana Bianca innovation hub.
Specifically, the 4 teams will bring to the attention of potential partners the 4 vertical slices-playable demos explaining the basic lines of the game created during the intensive acceleration process that ended in May. The projects are: Farafter by Giant Cog Studio, Monster Chef by Studio Pizza, Handmancers by NonStudio, Ryoko by Kodama Studio.
The participation of the winning teams of the second edition of Bologna Game Farm in First Playable is a source of great pride for all the figures involved in this project for the development of the videogame industry in the Emilia-Romagna Region. Bologna Game Farm follows the youngsters in their growth even once the acceleration program is over (in March it accompanied 3 of the 4 winning teams of the first edition to the Game Developer Conference 2023, in San Francisco, where they were guests of the Italian collective organized by IIDEA and Agenzia ICE) supporting them and creating opportunities to meet at trade fairs with gaming industry professionals. Between now and the end of the year, more appointments are planned on the agenda.
The objective of BGF is to foster the strengthening of managerial and entrepreneurial skills of the videogame industry in Emilia-Romagna, increase awareness of the importance of the sector for the economic growth of the regional production system, and develop relationships between the videogame industry and the regional innovation ecosystem by fostering cross-fertilization with other sectors. The ultimate goal aims to give life to independent and autonomous young realities that will allow the best talents to be retained in the territory, triggering a virtuous process that can also act as a lever to attract interest from foreign companies, in an extremely competitive and constantly evolving market.
To access the BGF3 public call see: www.bolognagamefarm.com, incredibol.net, culturabologna.it