Vietnamese students and game designers, in Hanoi, as well as in Ho Chi Minh, had the opportunity in March to meet with the hottest Swedish teachers in game design.
In an interactive learning experience and via exercises those attending the workshops on 22 – 23 March got to learn how to avoid mistakes and tips for successful marketing of one’s game.
Sweden has an outstanding record in game development with successes such as Minecraft, Battlefield, World in Conflict, Candy Crush Saga etc.
Furthermore and experience exchange took place within the seminar ‘Develop and Market Computer Games Successfully: Sharing Experiences between Sweden and Vietnam’ hosted by the Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi in collaboration with Uppsala University and Vietnam’s Digital Communication Association, writes Vietnamnet.net.
Swedish Ambassador Camilla Mellander delivered an introduction about Sweden, where gaming has become a major social activity like TV and music.
“The country has firmly established itself as one of the world’s epicenters for developing and producing innovative and mass-market computer games,” she said, adding that the turnover in the Swedish gaming industry was 930 million euros (US$1.05 billion) in 2014 – an increase of 35 per cent from the previous year.
Swedish game products Minecraft and the Battlefield series have sold over 80 million copies around the world. In addition, Payday 2, Candy Crush Saga and Need for Speed: Rivals have become massively popular game titles.
The Swedish gaming industry is ranked one of the top computer game exporters of the world, reaching a growth of 215 per cent between 2010 and 2014.
The ambassador also explained the reasons why her country had become such a gaming hub.
According to her, some might say it starts with long and cold winters that keep people indoors and working on computers. “Playing games and the making of games then becomes a more attractive and comfortable alternative for gamers,” she said.
But it is not all about the weather. Other important factors include technology and solid technical expertise.
Education also plays a significant role because the Swedish gaming industry invests greatly in game research and game development education.
Gaming was also introduced as a university subject.
The ambassador also said that Vietnam was a potential game market because it has a large and young population as well as a growing number of Internet users.
“With the significant success of the mobile game Flappy Bird,developed by a Vietnamese developer, I believe that VN’s game industry can grow rapidly, becoming a regional game hub in future,” she said.
Former Vietnamese Minister of Information Communications Le Doan Hop also sexpressed optimism about the development of the country’s gaming industry, especially after the Government loosened some game management policies and after Vietnam joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
In addition, Adam Mayes, a key lecturer of the Department of Game Design of Uppsala University, which is on the list of the World’s 100 Best Universities, discussed how he and his colleagues teach game design. Uppsala University is the only university in Sweden that offers BA programmes and short courses on game design.
The university looks forward to enrolling Vietnamese students to study in Sweden, as well as sending its experienced lecturers to teach in Vietnam.
Source: Vietnamnet.net, Uppsala University
