Logo_hovers_2024
Title
World Festival of Animated Film /
short and feature film edition 9 - 14 June 2015
World Festival of Animated Film / short and feature film edition 9 - 14 June 2015
hr | en

Video games as art at Animafest Zagreb 2013 - exhibition, workshop, lecture!
05/17/2013

Video games as art – independent video game exhibition Level Up! at Forum Gallery

In the period of 3-8 June Animafest hosts an interactive exhibition at the Forum Gallery, called Level Up!, a first ever presentation of independent video game animation. Twenty recent works by renowned indie studios, such as Amanita Design, Giant Sparrow and State of Play, were selected based on the criteria of design creativity, gaming mechanics innovation and visual expression. As fitting to the exhibitions of this kind, visitors will have a chance to play the games every day from 10am to 10pm on different platforms, from personal and tablet computers to PlayStation 3.  

Video game art potential acknowledged by leading world museums

The renowned Czech studio Amanita Design participates with three hits, Samorost 2, Machinarium and Botanicul, but also worth mentioning are Journey by thatgamecompany, one of the most award-winning independent games in history, Limbo by the Danish company Playdead, Spirits by Spaces of Play, The Bridge by Ty Taylor and Mario Castañeda and The Unfinished Swan by Giant Sparrow. By including some of them in their permanent displays, the artistic potential of forty years of computer video game history was acknowledged by some of the leading world museums and galleries, such as MoMA in New York, Barbican in London and Smithsonian in Washington.  

Apply for the computer game development workshop and become part of the growing digital entertainment industry

In order to stimulate the local community of developers, animators and illustrators, Animafest Zagreb 2013 is organising a workshop of computer video game development. Applications are still open and you can apply via the following link: APPLICATION FORM. Your applications and workshop-related questions can be sent to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. Application deadline is extended to Wednesday, 22 May.   In the period of 5-8 June workshop participants will work in small teams, consisting of animators and programmers, and develop their own computer games, acquainting themselves with the limitless creative possibilities of the job. Using cutting edge technology in the laboratory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, they will explore the potentials of the transmedia connection between animation and computing, the basis of not only the growth of independently designed games in the last decade, but also of the most of digital entertainment’s rich history. Workshop facilitators are research associate Aleksandra Čereković (FEEC) and art associate Darko Masnec (Academy of Fine Arts), in coordination with professor Igor Pandžić, PhD (FEEC).   The workshop is designed for 20 participants divided into four-member teams. Everyone with software development experience (C++, Java, Unity etc.) and/or design and animation (Maya, Blender, 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, GIMP, Inkscape) are welcome to apply. Priority in the selection process will be given to senior students of FEEC and Department of Animation and New Media (AFA). The results will be announced on Animafest’s official website by 24 May 2013.  

Video games as an equal medium of aesthetic creative expression

Since indie games come with a limited budget and are very often a backdrop to exceptional expertise in the field of graphic design and narrative skills, and given the transmedia focus of this year’s programme, the World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb and its Level Up! exhibition aim to establish video games as an equal medium of aesthetic creative expression.  

Jasmina Kallay’s workshop in new creative possibilities in transmedia

In addition to the exhibition and workshop, this year’s Animafest focus on transmedia and animation will also host a valuable lecture by Jasmina Kallay, transmedia screenwriter and collaborator of one of the most successful transmedia production studios, beActive Media. After an introduction to transmedia and its influence on the film world in general, this lecture will focus on the impact of changes caused in animation by transmedia and digital technology. From examples of transmedia projects to the phenomenon of machinima and computer games and application, the purpose of this overview is to enable the audience better understanding of the changing digital scene and to highlight new creative possibilities within transmedia.