Game Hub’s first cohort came to a close with a special exhibition! The event showcased the five games created in the Hub, together with some of the best and most important Israeli indie games from the last few years: Lost in Play, Toodee and Topdee, Blind Drive, Of Bird and Cage, In Sound Mind, Dream Engines: Nomad Cities, Aztec Ride, Froglike, Racket NX, and more.

In addition, we showcased around 20 student games, created as part of the game design and development programs in the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and the Hebrew University.

The exhibition was followed up by a Gamedev Drinkup at the Beer Bazaar.

A huge thank you to all of the guests who showed up to meet, play, discuss and have fun, and a HUGE thanks to everyone who showcased their games!

How do you design a sound based game? What does the graphic interface look like when the player relies on audio? What does it take to market a game that takes place inside a dark car? And will our hero make it in time to save grandma?

Giori Politi and Doron Assayas Terre from the Lo-Fi People team, came to the Hub to talk about Blind Drive, which won awards at IndieCade, the Tokyo Game Show, Apple Design Awards, and more. Giori and Doron will discuss the idea behind the game, its creation process, and the Blind Drive’s marketing and business aspects.

Check out Blind Drive’s Steam page >

We were delighted to host a group of senior international guests from the cinema, television, and toys industries. The event was part of Jerusalem’s 1st International Content Tech Assembly, organized by the Jerusalem Film and Television Fund.

A big thank you to all of the guests who came to see the Hub, meet the teams, and play the games: 

‍

Vince Gerardis — Emmy award winning producer and executive producer, for HBO’s Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and many others.

Craig Sims — Vice President Business Development and talent sourcing.

Amanda Lorber — Director of Development at Walt Disney Television Animation.

David M. Stern — Senior television screenwriter, for shows such as The Simpsons, The Wonder Years, Ugly Americans, and more.

We were proud to host the final presentation of the Games Lab course, a unique collaboration between design students at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, and computer science students from the Hebrew University making games together as part of a shared academic program.

Dozens of students, professors, and game industry professionals arrived to play the nine wonderful games created during the semester.

Check out the games >

Gonen Gutholtz shared his insights from making and releasing Toodee and Topdee: a unique interdimensional puzzle game!

Gonen, who is working on his new game as part of the Hub’s launch cycle, told us about the lessons he learned and what it means to be an indie developer working on a single game for over two years.

Check out Toodee and Topdee on Steam >

How do you start designing without design conventions? How can you make a game for a new platform? And do Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spongebob have to do with it?

Dan Krasenti and Alon Avrami, lead designers at Rimon Studio, will tell us about the NickWatch - Nickelodeon’s new smart watch for kids, just before the project hits the international stage.

Rimon Studio’s website >

First in a new series of case studies of (Israeli!) indie teams: We were very pleased to host the team that developed The Secret of Retropolis – a duo of brothers, Asaf and Eyal Geva who came over to tell about the “behind the scenes” process of creating their game -- the wonderful VR point and click film noir.

View on Steam >

It’s kickoff time for the Game Hub - with a festive opening!

The exhibit includes a display of students’ games, with game developers from the industry, company representatives, faculty and students, snacks and drinks, and a huge sense of excitement. Thanks to all of you who showed up to support us, with special thanks to our distinguished guest speakers who participated in the event: Ze’ev Elkin, Minister of Jerusalem and Heritage Affairs; Dr. Yoaz Hendel, Minister of Communications; Eyal Haimovsky, CEO, Jerusalem Development Authority; Prof. Adi Stern, President, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem; Tamir Carmi, Co-founder, ironSource; and Peter Vesterbaka, “Mighty Eagle” at Angry Birds – who made a special trip here from Finland.

We’re opening the first game hub of its kind in Israel for indie game developers with the first cohort beginning by this April! The incubator, which will operate in Jerusalem, will assist indie game developers to realize their dreams and develop a computer game. The three month program includes financial support (!), a workspace, mentors, business development, and much, much more. Stay tuned for more updates!