About Sofia Game Night
What is Sofia Game Night?
Sofia Game Night is an open initiative. Companies working in the game industry and digital entertainment, independent organizations, game clubs, independent developers, artists etc. are invited to participate.
About the initiative
Sofia Game Night is a joint initiative by Goethe-Institut Bulgaria and Game Dev Summit which aims to put the diverse aspects of games and game development in the spotlight: from the game developing process and the economic role of the gaming industry and e-sports, to the user experience and the pure pleasure of gaming.
More than a night of gaming pleasures, the initiative’s goal is to become a broad forum for discussing the social, political, theoretical, educational and economic aspects of games.
Sofia Game Night is open both for professionals (developers, designers, story-tellers, composers, coders etc.) and the general public – regardless of whether you are a hardcore gamer or someone who encounters games for the first time. In a single night, the event will create an opportunity for various audiences to meet and mix, and offer diverse routers in the vast on- and offline world of gaming.
The “night” format also aims to highlight the diversity of the gaming scene, from the industry to the independent developers and players.
Context
In the end of the 20th century the computer and the Internet offered a new endless playground for homo ludens - the playing man. For only a couple of decades video and computer games have become one of the biggest industries worldwide. Though they might not have the glitter of Hollywood, they may well surpass it in terms of scale and financial turnover.
Games also have an important educational aspect. They are often stigmatized as provoking aggression in children and young people. But what if games simply reflect our own political and social situation?
Nowadays e-sports are gaining such popularity that it is quite possible to have new digital disciplines in the next Olympics. Similar to football, basketball or tennis, e-sports are a million-dollar industry, featuring championships with millions of fans worldwide and superstar gamers, for whom gaming is not merely pleasure but a profession and calling.
Bulgaria is one of the fastest developing hubs for game developing in the region. In Sofia only, there are over 50 companies working in the game industry. Some of the biggest world companies such as Ubisoft, Creative Assembly and Gameloft have their branches in Sofia. Some of the pioneers of Bulgarian gaming industry are Haemimont and Imperia Online. At the same time Sofia also has one of the liveliest and fastest developing independent scenes.
While the market for digital games evolves more and more, the board game industry is also flourishing. In recent years we have witnessed a true boom in board games. In addition to the rising number of internationally renowned games are translated and distributed in Bulgaria, a new generation of creatives is developing their own games – both commercially and not-for-profit.
Sofia Game Night aims to highlight all these aspects of gaming and more, and we want to create the program with the help of the local “players”.
Format
Sofia Game Night is a night which welcomes anyone and everyone who would like to hold a special event dedicated to games in all of their forms. Game dev companies, NGOs, clubs, sport teams, bars and independent games, developers and artists can participate by organizing:
- Showcase of games
- Lectures, discussions and presentations
- Experimental formats
- Music events
- Exhibitions