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The video game industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although still in its infancy, has already produced notable results - What are the possibilities and perspectives of future development?

Source: eKapija

Sunday, 26.11.2023.

23:52

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(Photo: AI Intreactive)

While the entire IT industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina has recorded significant and accelerated growth in recent years, with revenues estimated at close to one billion KM in 2022, the video game industry achieves modest financial and operating results, with a relatively conservative growth rate. Taking into account the capacities of the national IT industry, broader market trends and the enormous growth of global revenues achieved in this sector in the past five years, there is an obvious scope for further development and expansion of this activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

This is emphasized in the recently published study "Analysis of the video game industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina" authored by Prof. Dr. Belma Ramić Brkić, chief researcher and MSc. Bojan Mijatović, assistant expert from SSST University.

The biggest challenge is qualified labor

There are currently only 10 companies, one team and one association operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are either directly engaged in the development of video games or offer their services in one of the segments of the development process related to this type of product.

Along with the smaller number of registered business entities, there is also an active freelance community that mainly works for international clients, as is usually the case with jobs within the IT industry, the aforementioned analysis states.

Considering the small number of active companies, revenue-wise, the BH video game industry seems modest not only on a global but also on a regional scale. In Serbia, for example, the 15 most successful domestic video game development companies generated revenues of approximately EUR 150 million in 2022. The market there consists of about 140 companies, teams and studios that employ over 2,500 professionals of various profiles, from information technology to the creative industry. The situation is similar in Croatia, where the top 15 companies earned approximately EUR 64 million in 2021.

By comparison, the income reported by BiH companies in this sector is slightly more than 1.2 million KM (600,000 EUR), while the total profit realized in the same period is less than 30,000 KM (15,000 EUR).

- It is to be expected that in the following period the surveyed companies will generate more significant income, considering the early development phase of most of the economic entities in question. Bh gaming companies are mostly engaged in the development of products for the PC platform, and the most common genres are action and adventure.

From an infrastructure perspective, limited access to hardware and software, as well as limited Internet bandwidth and connectivity, can hinder the development of video games in the country.

Investments in appropriate infrastructure can support companies and individuals in the industry and encourage its further growth. The lack of qualified labor is probably the biggest challenge to the further development of the video game industry, it is stated, among other things, in the published study that was created within the project "Innovations and digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina", which also includes the EU4DigitalSME project,

which is co-financed by the European Union, and aims to create a favorable environment for small and medium-sized enterprises in order to successfully implement digitization and innovation transformations.

From domestic craftsmanship to global doors

And while the data from the presented analysis show an insufficiently used potential for the development of this branch of the economy, in practice and at the global level, there are nevertheless domestic developers who record significant results. One of them is Dino Trnka, whose video game Lifespace Traveler won first place at the Game Development World Championship 2022 in April this year, in the Best Independent Video Game category by audience choice.

For eKapija, Trnka points out that it takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to create a video game, especially if you work as an indie developer.

- Of course, the distribution and amount of work of each individual depends on the number of people in the team, as well as on the budget and the amount of work that is outsourced to third parties. A video game creation project includes game flow design, game mechanics and artificial intelligence programming, level design, quests, obstacles, character modeling and animation,

writing stories and dialogues, composing and producing music and sound effects, creating cutscenes, voice acting, designing user interfaces, and merging all these components into a single whole, testing, optimization, marketing - Trnka explains for our portal.

He adds that in 2023 alone, over 12,000 games were published on Steam.

- In that bunch of games it is a challenge to rise to the surface and provide that something that keeps the players` attention. Whether you`re a large team or a stand-alone indie developer, you`re competing with, among other things, AAA titles whose budgets can exceed tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. From my experience, I can say that no matter how demanding it was to create my own video game, the most difficult part of my job was marketing. Because at the end of the day, it doesn`t matter how good the game is if no one knows about it - Dino Trnka adds.

He also believes that the lack of adequate workforce, i.e. the absence of wider education, is one of the pressing problems of the faster development of the video game industry.

Illustration (Photo: Unsplash / ELLA DON)

- We need to improve education about game development, which would cause greater community interest in this branch of the economy, and we need to unite and share knowledge instead of all acting independently and in isolation - says Trnka.

He told us that he was very happy with what he achieved after winning the GDWC and publishing the game on Steam and the Epic Store, because it opened many doors for him to further develop games and he learned useful lessons.

- Of course, I will continue developing games because I have many ideas that I want to turn into games, and I am sure that persistence will pay off and that each subsequent game will be better and more successful.

This year, another domestically produced game attracted the attention of the world audience. Legit, the only video game production studio in Banja Luka, successfully completed the world premiere of the game Pets Hero.

The world of Pets Hero provides a unique experience in which smartphone players are in the role of superheroes and protectors of pets, and part of the funds received through in-game advertising,

the company will donate to the partner Association for the Protection of Animals "Paw in the heart - Zampa nel cuore" from Banja Luka.

- Although quite simple in terms of its content compared to some world titles, we are really very proud of Pets Hero. Our first game is also the first domestic game that has integrated the products of a foreign company in such a way that these products not only do not interfere with the player, but also help him in the course of his game - Stefan Filipovic, co-founder of the Legit company, points out for eKapija.

He adds that they are currently cooperating with the company Novo Nordisk in the development of a video game.

- It is a unique experience for our team, but also for the regional video game industry, given that this is the first time in the region that a giant of the pharmaceutical industry wants to profile its messages through a domestic video game. The name of the game is Lea and Leo, and it is inspired by a picture book written by Lea Leleta. The promotion of the game is scheduled for mid-December 2023.

In addition, in the coming period, Legit is planning, in cooperation with experts, the creation of an interactive educational video game aimed at the youngest ages. The game will serve as a supplementary mechanism for learning mathematics, letters and memory techniques, and will provide facts about the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an innovative and interesting way for children.

When asked how the development of this branch of the economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be accelerated, he points out that if we raise the industry for the development of video games, which is one of the largest industries in the world in terms of revenue, the benefits for the wider society can be large and permanent.

- We are talking about hundreds, and potentially thousands of new employees with above-average personal incomes, improvement and modernization of educational programs that will adapt to this industry in accordance with its needs. All of that will be reflected in the significant new filling of the public budget - Filipović tells us.

He also explains that gamification is a broad term, as it can include loyalty programs, the transmission of company messages through video games, etc.

- Our company is currently oriented to become the most important digital bridge between the domestic video game industry and other branches of the economy - Stefan Filipović from Banja Luka`s Legit points out.

He also referred to a specific problem that the video game industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing.

- In the case that the company wants to perform exclusively the activity of video game production, there is no code for such activity within the Law on the Classification of Activities of the RS and FBiH. That problem is currently being overcome by the use of other similar codes, such as "computer programming" activities. However, it is clear that this is not a permanent solution. Amendments and additions to the legal regulations of this sector are one of the prerequisites for the growth of our company, but also of all other existing companies and those that have yet to be established in BiH.

The Sarajevo studio AI Intreactive is currently developing a project called WanderHearth, which, although in the early stages of development, has already won the main prize at the Reboot Infogamer fair in Zagreb for the best indie game 2023.

At the aforementioned fair, two of the three nominations for the best indie game were from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- WanderHearth is our second game, and it is primarily intended for the PC platform. It is a combination of tower defense, roguelike and city builder genres, where the towers are actually mobile houses on legs. The houses are inspired by Bosnian mountain huts - katuns and the house of Baba Yaga from Slavic mythology - Amar Zubcevic, an award-winning video game developer and designer, and also one of the founders of the AI Intreactive studio, explains to eKapija.

(Photo: AI Intreactive)

As he tells us, WanderHearth should be available in the early access version on the Steam platform at the end of 2024 at the earliest.

- Our first game, The Enchanted World, which was released in 2019 on the Apple Arcade platform and was presented at the Apple Event of the same year, has been downloaded more than 600,000 times so far and will soon be available on iOS and Android stores as well - Zubčević points out. ,

and adds that the process of creating a video game usually takes several years and is very iterative, so that there are frequent tests, after which the game is improved and adjusted. Even when a game is released, development on it often continues for several years.

Zubcevic also believes that a video game can always speak for itself, regardless of the great global competition. If it is sufficiently unique, creative and of high quality, it can attract the attention of players regardless of where it came from.

- First of all, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the development of video games should be recognized as a serious and potentially very profitable branch of the economy with huge growth opportunities. After that, in order to accelerate the development of this industry, it is necessary to increase investments, both from the private sector and from the government. Developing educational programs focused on video games, as well as encouraging cooperation between universities and industry, can help create a skilled workforce. Also, creating a more favorable business environment and facilitating business through subsidies and tax breaks can be a way for qualified people to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina and open video game development companies here - says Amar Zubcevic.

Regional integration of talent

Last year, Mad Head Games, one of the leading regional video game development studios, opened an office in Sarajevo. As it was said during the opening of the studio, which has its offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad, it is part of the planned strengthening of its presence in the BiH region, which is recognized as rich in talents.

Damir Halilovic, technical director of Mad Head Games for eKapija states that for faster development of the industry, among other things, it is necessary to facilitate trading with the foreign market.

- The majority of video game consumers are located in America, but Bosnia and Herzegovina still does not have an agreement with America regarding double taxation, which means that for every game you sell in America, you pay both their and our taxes. Anyone who is able to do that, opens companies abroad only for the reason of doing business with America - Halilovic says.

He describes in an illustrative way what is needed to create a video game.

- Creating video games combines all possible multimedia disciplines - from directing, acting, music, etc. Think of it in a way like making movies but with the added technical demands of programming. It is a very unique branch of art, still young, and as such very challenging. The pace of production is fast, the challenges are enormous and it requires a wide range of knowledge if you want to excel - Halilovic tells eKapija.

He reveals to us that their studio is currently developing two big projects, one of which is a horror first person shooter based on the film.

- We hope that soon we will be able to share more information with the public - Halilovic tells us and adds that for global success it is often necessary to have luck or a good marketing strategy.

S. Trivić

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