The GameZone is a digital playground and dedicated to different formats from indie games to VR installations and game jams! As part of the 29th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, the GameZone will take place at Jugendhaus Mitte and online in the ITFS VR Hub as well as on OnlineFestival.ITFS.de. At Jugendhaus Mitte, the games nominated for the Animated Games Award Germany, various games by Stuttgart game studios and selected games from GameZone Talents will be waiting to be tested. In addition, there will be various hands-on activities and workshops for children and young people in the GameZone Kids area. At OnlineFestival.ITFS.de, Local Heroes – Kokolores & Friends will present themselves again this year. The exhibition on the topic of “Black is Back – Black & White in Computer Games” and GameZone Talents will this year be presented in the ITFS VR Hub.

GameZone @ Jugendhaus Mitte

Opening hours Jugendhaus Mitte Tue – Sun: 2:00 – 7:00 pm

Let your play instinct run free: at GameZone – supervised by media educators of ComputerSpielSchule Stuttgart, Stuttgarter Jugendhaus Gesellschaft, Mobilen Medienschule Stuttgart Ost and Merz Akademie Stuttgart – children between six and 14 years of age can play entertaining but also educational games with family and friends on a daily basis. From current consoles to VR headsets – it’s all available to be tried and tested. In addition, the media experts are available for frank discussions and creative workshops.

Edutain Me 8.0

Thu, 05. May // Jugendhaus Mitte // from 2:00 pm // also available as a live-stream

The panel discussion “Edutain Me”, which is taking place for the eighth time at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film in cooperation with the Landesanstalt für Kommunikation Baden-Württemberg (LfK), deals with the increasing importance of digitalisation and the potential of digital games in the classroom and in extracurricular education. This year, the agenda also includes the topic of inclusion and diversity.

Edutain Me 8.0 is held in German Language

MACH DICH STARK superhero*ine games workshop

Sat, 07. May // Jugendhaus Mitte // 11:00 am – 6:00 pm // ONSITE ONLY
From 12 years // Free admission

Do you like Super Mario or Lara Croft? Would you like to take a look behind the scenes and learn how a video game is made? Then the MACH DICH STARK Superhero*ine Games Workshop is just right for you. Together with the team from Spellgarden Games, you will build your first levels with Liane, Max and Tamara from “Versteckte Helden” (Hidden Heroes), which animation studio monströös has developed for MACH DICH STARK and the ITFS. After a short introduction to the software, you can get started right away!

GameZone @ OnlineFestival.ITFS.de

Kokolores is a collective and offi ce community for companies and freelancers from the creative industries. They create fi lms, web series, VR experiences and video games, among other things. As part of GameZone, several members present themselves and their projects at www.OnlineFestival.ITFS.de. And because more can be achieved together, they will also bring along a few companies from the region.
This is where the games of tomorrow are created. It is certainly worth
keeping an eye on them.

GameZone @ ITFS VR Hub

GAMEZONE TALENTS

In this area of the GameZone selected universities are presenting their student’s newly developed games. You can fi nd a detailed description of the prototypes and some video presentations on OnlineFestival.ITFS.de/gamezone or in the ITFS VR Hub. Some games are already completed and ready to play there.

MINIMALISM GAME JAM

Sat, 30. April – Sun, 01. May // ITFS VR Hub // from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm // ONLINE ONLY
Free admission!

Classics such as ” Snake” and “Pong” but also more modern titles like “Thomas Was Alone” show that a game does not necessarily have to be big or elaborate to be successful. That’s why we want to go back to the roots with the “Minimalism Game Jam” and develop minimalist games. How do I create fun gameplay without complex graphics? How can I tell an emotional story using just blocks? What does minimalist game design look like? That’s what we want to find out together on that weekend.

The Game Jam will take place on 30 April and 1 May 2022 between 10 am and 6 pm. During this time, you will develop your game prototypes in teams. Don’t worry about signing up on your own, you will have the opportunity to find a team during the event. You can participate if you are 17 or older. No previous experience is required. Both beginners and more experienced participants are welcome.

BLACK IS BACK – BLACK & WHITE

Wed, 04. May // ITFS VR Hub // 5:00 pm // ONLINE ONLY

Come by the ITFS VR HUB and check out the Black is Back – Black & White in Computer games exhibition. As the title suggests, it’s all about the colors black and white. Be curious how different these games can be anyway.

There will be a GameZone Talk with Michael Frei on the topic “What’s the difference between an animated film and a game?

VR-INSTALLATION: “Friedenskinder” – A VR installation about Vienna in the 1940s

Presentation: Thu, 05. May // ITFS VR Hub // 5:00 pm // ONLINE ONLY

“Friedenskinder” tells the story of a girl and her experiences in Vienna in the early 1940s. Originally, the project was part of the app “Die Andere Stadt” (The other city), together with two other location-based AR experiences in Vienna. Director Alireza Daryanavard created the dramaturgy for “Friedenskinder”, which was developed together with artists Magdalena Chowaniec and Nestor Hiebl from Causa Creations in Vienna. For the ITFS, “Friedenskinder” is now being adapted as a virtual exhibition in the HUBS spaces. Participants can go to the abandoned air-raid shelter underneath Yppenplatz, located at Brunnenmarkt, discover abandoned spaces with fragments of the past and listen to the narration in virtual reality or in the browser.

PERFORMANCES AND MUSIC IN VR

Tue, 03. May – Sun, 08. May // ITFS VR Hub // ONLINE ONLY

It’s worth checking out the GameZone stage in the ITFS VR Hub every now and then during the festival week. Here you can discover various performances and music.

Let yourself be surprised which DJs and artists we will bring into the virtual world for you.