The first “Game & Iranian Business Style” event took place at Tehran’s Azad University of Science and Research from February 18th to 19th. The aim of the 30 hour event was to educate the young entrepreneurial enthusiasts on running an online business related to the gaming industry.
The event resembled many of Startup Weekend’s elements but with a few twists regarding to the circumstances of running a business in Iran. Game & Iranian Business Style event was facilitated by Mohammad Solouki, TV producer and the CEO of Farahang management consulting firm. The event was backed and organized by the team of iCheetah, the first startup accelerator focusing on game and animation design.
Starting the morning of Thursday, February 18th the event got kicked off at Tehran’s Azad University of Science and Research with dozens of developers, designers, business managers and marketers who attended the event to get a chance to learn more about entrepreneurship and the world of game design. At the beginning of the event 30 individuals pitched their ideas for games, targeting the Iranian market. The attendees then voted for the best ideas which 10 of them were selected to form teams.
The two day event consisted of a couple of workshops related to game design and business planning. Some of the best game developers in Iran were gathered for this event as mentors to guide the teams. On Friday evening the teams pitched their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to the judges and were evaluated by them.
Winners:
First: Apocalypse – with 78 point out of 100.
Apocalypse is about a man who has lost his wife in a family conflict. One day the man wakes up from coma and finds himself in an apocalyptic world and decides to go and find his daughter. The character must use his various weapons to protect himself and move around with a wheelchair. Apocalypse is designed for PC and the developers said they are planning to release the game for the Steam client with a price of at least 15 dollars.
Second: Metroban – with 68 points out of 100.
Metroban literally translated to English as “Subway Watchman” depicted a pixel art design similar to Minecraft’s graphics. The player must control the surroundings in the metro station and prevent any kind of unconventional events. In-app purchase and in-app advertisements are two of the revenue models for Metroban.
Third: Sanjo – with 62 points out of 100.
Sanjo is a 2d platformer/jump and run game for smartphones. The game depicts a cartoonish atmosphere of Iran in the 90s where the player controls a rebel kid named Sanjo. The developers aim to employ in-app purchase and have plans to bring a couple of sponsors on board for the in-game ads.
The first three teams will receive all the required production equipments as awards. 3 million, 2 million and 1 million Toman for server expenses is also awarded to the first three teams by one of the sponsors of the event. All the members of the first team and the leaders of the second and third team will also get a chance to attend e-ACT’s online business course for free as a prize.
Game developments for smartphones is currently a hot topic in Iran. There are dozens of games developed by Iranians targeting both the audience inside and outside the country. Initiatives such as the “Game and Iranian Business Style” could definitely help to educate the new generation of enthusiasts in Iran.
Leave a Reply