Launch Day

Game Changers Program

Unique apprenticeship program that leads to indie game company startups

Game Changers Launch Day Ceremony - 15 June 2022

News

Starvania Studio's Bahamut game was featured on different online channels

25 August, 2022

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Gamers8 AlFaisal University Gameathon

24 August, 2022

Game Changers members, in collaboration with other industry creatives and professionals, took home several prizes & grants.

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Saudi GN hackathon

02 July, 2022

Our apprentices Muslih Alzahrani and Meaad Aflah gave 2 workshops during the Game Jam.

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Launch Day

15 June, 2022

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GameBox Event

19 May, 2022

The event featured our apprentices Hanan Makki and Meaad Aflah.

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Program Brief

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, DigiPen USA, And Advanced Initiative launched the Game Changers Program in April 2021 aimed at helping Saudi entrepreneurs launch indie game companies. Located in Riyadh, this is not a school but a game studio that is staffed with Saudi apprentices who want to become game artists, game programmers, and game designers. These apprentices are immersed in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where they have been mentored by game industry veterans and incubation specialists to acquire the technical, creative, and business skills necessary to accomplish this primary goal.

Program Highlights

Video Highlights

Check out the Q&A session by Game Changer mentors

Orientation April 2021

Game Changers Business Bootcamp May 2021

Meeting our Apprentices

Program Journey

Phase 1

6 weeks

INTRODUCTION

Provides overview of game development process and introduction to the entrepreneurial path to create a viable indie game company

Phase 2

16 weeks

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Specialized training based on discipline that an apprentice is hired for. Apprentices will also research into possible business ventures and begin forming teams that will potentially evolve into viable companies

Phase 3

16 weeks

MVP PRODUCTION

The game teams focus on producing the “minimum viable product” (MVP) that will not only demonstrate their ability to apply the knowledge and skills gained during Phase 1 and 2, but it will also be evaluated by the Accelerator Selection Committee, made up of industry stakeholders to decide if the company should be accepted into the incubation phase

Phase 4

16 weeks

INCUBATION

The game companies accepted will focus on both further development of their MVP to achieve a marketable product while also working to establish their businesses

Program Tracks

Game Design

Focused on understanding the elements and process for creating highly engaging experiences for all types of games and interactive applications.

Game Art & Animation

Emphasis on creative process to develop strong visual elements including characters, environments, props, visual effects, animation, and even user interface components.

Game Programming

Prepares programmers to bring the vision of game designers to reality through the creation of optimized code to implement gameplay elements including core game logic, articial intelligence, physics, and graphics.

Gallery

Here is a collection of game demos created by Game Changers apprentices so far. Beyond just showcasing their creative and technical skills, these games exhibit their focus on the discipline, humility, ownership, and commitment to excellence needed to be successful entrepreneurs in the game development industry.

Apprentices continue to learn and will soon release their next batch of games. We hope you will be excited to see what these apprentices will come up with next!