About us

The people behind BGF
Bologna Game Farm is the project for videogame prototype development and product development and marketing promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna.
Bologna Game Farm is coordinated by the Municipality of Bologna with the support of Art-ER – within the scope of the actions to support the cultural and creative sector – in partnership with Incredibol! and with the technical support of IIDEA – Italian Interactive & Digital Entertainment Association.

Through a public call, Bologna Game Farm has already selected eight Emilia-Romagna companies active in the videogame field and provided them with a financial contribution and an acceleration session at Le Serre di ART-ER, an accelerator dedicated to innovative start-ups and hub of the regional business creation ecosystem. Project goals:

Facilitate the reinforcement of managerial and entrepreneurial capacities of the videogame industry in Emilia-Romagna
Increase awareness of the importance of the industry for the economic growth of the regional productive system
Develop relationships between the industry and the regional innovation ecosystem, favoring cross-over initiatives with other industries

Contacts

Municipality of Bologna Culture and Creativity Sector Representative

Sara De Martini

Sara De Martini, born in Vigevano in 1972, has lived in Bologna since 2002. A Political Science graduate from the University of Milan, after a few years working for private companies in Milan, Florence and Rome, since 2002 she has worked for the Municipality of Bologna in the area of start-ups and business creation. Since 2015, he has been on the staff of Incredibol! L'Innovazione creativa di Bologna, and since 2021 she has been project manager at Bologna Game Farm.
info@bolognagamefarm.com
incredibol@comune.bologna.it
Art-ER Startup Unit Representative

SVEVA RUGGIERO

A staff member of the ART-ER Start-up Unit since 2010, she handles the design and management of projects involving support of the innovation entrepreneurship ecosystem and of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Among the main activities she handles: co-ordination of European projects (Interreg and HE), drafting of mapping and policy documents in support of the region, co-ordination of the in-ER network (the Emilia-Romagna region's network of incubators and accelerators), strategic planning such as EIT Culture & Creativity, the vertical accelerator for videogames Bologna Game Farm, and MATCHER, the regional open innovation program.
serredeigiardini@art-er.it

The coordinator and the tutors of the acceleration pathway

Guided by the coordinator and by the tutors, and thanks to the contribution of the promoter organizations, participants receive specific training on business practices, production and international marketing of their videogames, and proceed in the development of the prototype through to its presentation at international industry trade fairs.

Support is also provided for the integration of their business activities within the context of the regional innovation ecosystem, with the goal of favoring their growth opportunities.

The coordinator

Ivan Venturi

Born in Bologna in 1970, he co-founded the first Italian videogame software house and published his first videogame in 1987. He designs, produces and develops videogames primarily for PC and CONSOLES through IV Productions, specialized in Indie games; Italian Games Factory, oriented towards next-gen "AA" games; and Operaludica, whose focus is on narrative videogames. In 2020 he was featured in the Gameindustry.biz 100 "Game Changers" for his focus on social topics – such as gender and disability – in videogames.

Luca Marchetti

Tutor

Luca Marchetti has been Game Director and CEO of Studio Evil since 2011. Coming from a background as programmer and technical director, who has always been passionate about videogames, he participated in the design and development of the studio's productions. Winner of the Future For Health Award, he has always placed a strong focus on the medical field in videogames, designing solutions dedicated to patients affected by different conditions. In the B2B environment, he designs and co-ordinates the VR and AR work. He began his career in 1996, founding his first company in the IT industry. Since then he has always worked in companies with a strong tech focus, albeit in various industries, from the web to tourism, through to analysis software for online betting markets.

Gerardo Verna

Tutor

Born in Fano, a town on the Adriatic Sea, in 1981. After studying computer engineering at the University of Bologna, he began working in the Game Development industry, initially developing educational applications and serious games until 2009. Between 2012 and 2013 he worked as programmer on the two chapters of the Nicolas Eymerich videogame, the first videogame in Latin inspired by the novels of Valerio Evangelisti. Following the success of a Kickstarter campaign, in January 2017 he co-founded the company Trinity Team srl, whose first title Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps And Beans, was published in December 2017 on PC and in 2018 on console. He subsequently worked as programmer/producer on the videogame The Darkest Tales, published in 2022. He is currently working on the production of Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps and Beans 2 with Trinity Team, where he also holds the role of managing director.

The spaces

Hosted at the Serre di ART-ER in Bologna's Giardini Margherita park, the acceleration period is key to allowing participants to have capital to invest in order to structure themselves, and time spent with tutors which favors awareness of their own path and of the industry environment.

International Trade Fairs

Participation in international trade fairs is an essential step for any videogame developer. Trade fairs are when a videogame makes contact with publishers and its potential audience, as well as an excellent opportunity for networking within the industry.

Game Connection America

Business event that takes place annually in San Francisco with the aim of bringing together developers and publishers.

Gamescom

A videogame trade fair held every year in Cologne, it is the largest European videogames event.

Game Connection Europe

A videogame trade fair held every year in Los Angeles, it is considered one of the most important consumer events in the world.

E3

A videogame trade fair held every year in Los Angeles, it is considered one of the most important consumer events in the world.

Programming

There are huge numbers of videogame trade fairs, held throughout the year. This area covers how to approach the most important and unmissable trade fairs for any developer.

DevER@BIZ

The DevER@BIZ event was created with the goal of bringing together videogame development companies with enterprise and industry in the Emilia-Romagna region.