Will Egypt be the Mideast's gaming capital?

Egyptian Game Jam is the first “Center of Excellence” for video game developers in Egypt. It is a product of the first “Forum for Video Game Developers” hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, which was attended by major international figures, notably Nordic Game Jam. During the forum, participants expressed their desire for the Egyptian Center of Excellence to become the cornerstone for video game development in the Middle East. The forum will pave the way for a favorable environment for this industry, thus keeping pace with the rapid developments in the world of video games. The Center is expected to enrich Egyptian and Arab markets in terms of video games and entertainment, and will help maintain Arab cultural presence in this field.

The first game jam between Egyptian video game developers included games that had deep implications, such as building pyramids, crossing the Suez Canal, Egyptian resistance again the French campaign, the January 25 Revolution, and others, announced Engineer Heba Saleh, Chief Executive of the Information Technology Institute in Egypt. One hundred gaming ideas will be chosen in early July, giving developers the opportunity to train freely until August. Training will include two programs that cover game application development techniques, support for entrepreneurs in the video gaming industry, how to train and produce teams capable of competing at the global level. In October, the jury will select five ideas, and the developers of those ideas will receive an award, as well as the opportunity to market their ideas regionally.