Animation x Gamedev Lab Zagreb

11-13/06 THU-SAT 11:00–19:00 Studio-galerija KLET

Animafest Zagreb, in collaboration with CEE Animation Workshop and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre produces the first edition of Animation x Gamedev Lab Zagreb. The two day Lab is aimed at discovering intersections and points of cross-disciplinary collaboration between animation and game industry professionals. The event is formatted to offer concrete insight into the animation and game industry specifics through masterclasses and panels by leading experts and also providing portfolio review sessions to selected participants. The aim is to provide valuable information and facilitate collaboration between professionals from both sectors.

Central to the industry programme is a showcase exhibition of five video games competing for the Best Video Game Art Direction Award, while selected games will remain available for professionals and festival audiences to experience firsthand.

 

Selection Committee

Admir Elezović is the co-founder and art director of the Croteam studio based in Zagreb, one of the best-known and longest-running Croatian video game development studios. In the autumn of 1993, he joined Davor Hunski, Alen Ladavac, Tomislav Pongrac, and Marko Sekulić as a co-founder of Croteam. All of them were already well known from the Amiga demo scene, where they had won numerous awards. Over nearly three decades at the studio, he has served as art director and has been one of the key founders responsible for shaping the visual identity of all Croteam titles. His role has been especially important in the Serious Sam franchise. Elezović is also active as a speaker within the regional gaming community.

Aleksandar Gavrilović is the owner of Gamechuck, a small Croatian studio focused on developing retro-style games. He is a programmer, writer, and producer of numerous adventure games, including Viktor, a Steampunk Adventure, All You Can Eat, and the upcoming project Trip the Ark Fantastic. From 2021 to 2025, he served as secretary general of the Croatian Game Developers Cluster, where he represented the Croatian video game industry.

Sara Jurić is an animator with many years of experience in the video game and animated film industries. She began her formal education by enrolling in the undergraduate programme in Multimedia Design in Koprivnica and later continued her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, where she earned a master’s degree in animation. She also completed studies at The Animation Workshop in Denmark and worked on the animated feature film Cricket & Antoinette. She currently works as an animator at the Gamepires game studio in Zagreb. Founded in 2010, the studio is best known for the highly successful multiplayer survival game Scum, which has sold more than 3 million copies since entering early access in 2018 and regularly ranks among the 100 most popular games on Steam.

 

Lectures, panels

12/06 FRI Studio-galerija KLET
10:30 – 12:30 Portfolio reviews (for selected participants only)
13:00 – 14:00 OUTFIT7: Transforming Game Characters into Your Friends, Loris Timotej Vodeb & Vladimir Mikaelian
14:15 – 15:15 How to make video games and animated short films by mistake, Michael Frei, Playables
15:45 – 16:45 If Content Is King, Then Who Are We?, Jörg Tittel
17:00 – 18:00 Panel: Strategic Synergies Between Animation and Game Development Public Funding

13/06 SAT Studio-galerija KLET
09:00 – 11:00 Seminar Creative Europe: Development of Videogames (for selected participants only)
11:00 – 12:00 Adapting Stories into Videogames: Professor Baltazar, Aleksandar Gavrilović, Gamechuck
12:15 – 13:15 Games in Showcase Presentation: All Living Things, Goki’s Dream, The Dunkers
13:45 – 14:45 Team work in game dev studio, Admir Elezović, Croteam
15:00 – 16:00 Panel: The Power and Potential of Intellectual Property Between Animation and Games