培养公司需求的人才方式有很多种，而505Games选择了最不符合常规的一种。
505Games是意大利的一家电子游戏发行商和开发公司，创立于2006年，隶属于Digital Bros集团，2015年505Games正式进入中国，在深圳成立第一个办公室，随后将业务不断扩展，成立香港亚太区总部，扩展业务到东京。
多年过去，505Games在全球范围内已发行多款耳熟能详的游戏，包括《死亡搁浅（DEATH STRANDING）》的PC版本、《神力科莎：竞速（Assetto Corsa Competizione）》、《幽灵行者（Ghostrunner）》、《狂野星球之旅（Journey to the Savage Planet）》、《兄弟：双子传说》等等。在业务不断增长的同时，他们也开始注重人才的培养，与其他游戏公司选择内部培训不同的是，他们选择建立一所学校。
由505Games发行的《死亡搁浅》PC版本
Digital Bros游戏学院是由505Games母公司Digital Bros集团在意大利建立的一所专注于培养游戏人才的学校，该学校创立8年以来，累计培养游戏人才超过800名。作为一所专门培养游戏人才的学校，他们在培养方式上与传统大学有何差异，同时在面向的培养人群上，又有何要求呢？
对此，游戏日报联系到505 Games亚太区副总裁Thomas Rosenthal（罗山）与负责学院业务相关的总经理Geoff Davis，详细交流了一番这所“特别”的大学的故事。
505 Games亚太区副总裁Thomas Rosenthal（罗山）
采访过程中，Geoff Davis不仅详细的对Digital Bros游戏学院的人才培养体系，以及设立初衷进行了介绍，同时还对意大利的游戏环境进行了概括。他告诉游戏日报，在意大利不管是机构还是家长，同样对游戏存在一定程度的误解，但随着行业不断发展，这种现象得到了一定的缓解，最近当地政府还为电子游戏研发者引入了税收减免政策。
总经理Geoff Davis
游戏日报【高校游戏专业专题报道】旨在打造一本链接考生、高校与企业之间的“红宝书”。欢迎更多游戏企业与院校负责人联系我们，共建这一系列报道。
本期嘉宾为505 Games亚太区副总裁Thomas Rosenthal（罗山）与负责学院业务相关的总经理Geoff Davis。
具体采访内容整理如下（附带英文原版）：
Q：感谢接受游戏日报采访，首先还是麻烦您先做一个介绍，包括公司业务与个人经历。
Thomas Rosenthal ：谢谢游戏日报的邀请，我的名字是Thomas Rosenthal ，中文名罗山，目前担任505 Games亚太区副总裁。505 Games自2015年进入中国，我们在亚太的第一个办公室于2015年在深圳成立，然后我们于2018年在香港成立了区域总部，2020年我们通过开设东京办公室进一步扩大了在亚太地区的业务。亚洲，特别是中国，是Dgital Bros集团的关键市场和公司未来重要的增长助力，我们旨在签约能够全球发行的优质游戏，并将公司旗下的IP和游戏直接或通过授权合作伙伴带入中国市场。
我目前旅居中国香港，也是意大利一所大学中国经济专业的客座教授，我一直认为，对中国社会环境所产生的特有法律、社会、政治和经济特征的理解，对任何公司和任何在中国做生意的高管都是至关重要的。
学生们很喜欢我分享我的商业经验，另外商业实践也可以用来补足理论，另外我的学术研究工作和我在505 Games的工作也很匹配。我特别自豪的是，我们公司通过Digital Bros游戏学院，致力于培育意大利的游戏生态系统，发展对我们行业至关重要的高级专业人才。为了更深入探讨关于Digital Bros游戏学院（简称DBGA）以及意大利游戏教育相关的话题，公司负责学院业务相关的总经理Geoff Davis将回答接下来的几个问题。
Q：据了解，505 Games创办了一所游戏学院，是出于什么样的考虑去创办这样一所学院？目前规模如何？
Geoff Davis：我们在2014年创建了DBGA，其使命是为电子游戏行业发现和培养新的人才，为我们的学生做好专业知识积累，以及就业相关的技能储备，以便他们能够顺利的开始他们在游戏行业的职业生涯。希望借此能够缩小专业培训和就业市场之间巨大的差距。
一方面，作为一家全球知名的游戏发行公司，我们认为505 Games有责任支持电子游戏行业的发展和演化，而我们行业的基础是人才。没有优秀的人才，我们就无法创造出有创意且令人惊喜的游戏，无论是手游或单机游戏。另一方面我们知道有许多潜在的人才在寻找专业的培训课程，以便为将来在这个行业中的求职或发展做准备，我们的工作是发现这些潜在的人才，并与他们紧密合作，令他们能够发挥自己的潜能。
我们的生态系统中有四个不同的培训领域，其中三个是专业培训项目。
- DBGA Campus：为期2年的实践培训项目，包括游戏设计、游戏编程、概念艺术、游戏美术（3D方向)
- DBGA Online Blended：自学和课程/辅导，着重于游戏设计和游戏编程的直播授课
- DBGA Plug-N-Learn：深入培训课程，利用线上授课技术，主题包括产品和项目管理、电子游戏空间创建、电子游戏UI/UX设计、虚幻引擎的世界架构、过程生成、构建工具等等。
- DBGA Kids：这是我们为8-16岁的青少年提供的早期课程，意大利是很缺乏针对这个年龄段的相关课程的，我们希望从小就让孩子们对电子游戏行业感兴趣。我们坚信早期的启蒙和开发是很重要的。学习开发电子游戏不仅有趣，而且可以培养孩子一些重要的品性，如批判性思维、决策、有效沟通和倾听、计划和时间管理。这些都是我们在整个职业生涯和个人生活中所需要的技能，无论我们是否成为游戏开发者，这些都是获得成功的必备素养。
自从我们在2015年推出第一批课程，我们已经培训了800多名学生，他们中的许多人现在已经成功地在游戏行业工作。
Q：这所游戏学院主要培养的学生都来自于哪些渠道？除了自家公司的员工培训之外，还会招收哪些学生？
Geoff Davis：我们的学生拥有完全不同的身份背景和专业领域，他们中的大多数人是游戏行业的新人，从未接受过任何正式的培训，学生的平均年龄是26岁，至少需有高中学历（这是申请课程的最低要求）。我们也有很多30-40岁年龄段的学生，他们拥有计算机科学、物理学、哲学、政治学等方面的学士学位或博士学位，想要专门从事电子游戏开发，他们中的一些人也面临着家庭、现实生活等困扰，但他们中的很多人决定放弃稳定的工作，追求自己的激情和梦想，成为游戏行业的从业人士。
Q：学院主要招收哪方面的学生？有地域限制或者国籍限制吗？想要加入学院进行学习的条件是什么样的？
Geoff Davis：目前我们的课程仅在意大利开放，但我们正计划在明年初推出国际课程。DBGA Campus相关课程使用意大利语，而DBGA Online Blended课程则使用英语，我们的在线课程对所有国籍的人开放。
我们正在开发越来越多的英语内容，也不断认识到不仅要在游戏开发的技术方面培训我们的人才，而且要帮助他们磨练英语技能。我们处在一个全球化的环境中，处在一个以英语为基础的行业中。如果你不是英语为母语的人，或者只在学生生涯中学过英语，你可能需要磨练你的专业英语，我们希望帮助我们的学生做到这一点，以便他们能够有效地沟通和工作。
我们有一个选拔过程，以帮助我们筛选相关的人才。这包括一份调查问卷，其中包括调查他们的受教育情况、工作经验、语言等方面的各种问题，入学自荐信，个人面试，如果可能的话，还有一份他们的个人作品展示，我们的遴选委员会审查每个候选人，并共同讨论并决定谁会被录取。
Q：该学院目前的师资规模如何？都有哪些导师在学院常驻授课？
Geoff Davis：我们有三种类型的讲师，核心讲师是学生们主对接人并执教大部分课程，专家讲师负责在专业课程的教授，而客座讲师则就各种主题进行演讲，并举办定期研讨会。我们所有的讲师都来自业界，并长期从事游戏开发。我们聘请了许多讲师，如很多特邀讲师，目的之一是帮助我们的学生在学习期间构建他们的专业体系。
我们通过我们生态系统中的讲师为我们的学生创造多重学习体验，在培训项目中与超过100位行业内专业人士合作。作为一家全球游戏公司的一部分，我们与505 Games、Hook以及属于Digital Bros集团的不同开发工作室的许多同事进行合作，当然我们还与集团外的许多行业专业人士合作。（部分讲师信息可查看英文原版）
Q：学院整体的人才培养体系是怎样的？主要培养学生哪些方面的能力？
Geoff Davis：我们采用教学、实践和合作的学习方法。我们相信学习游戏开发的最有效方式，无论是游戏设计、编程还是游戏美术，都是一系列的创造、分析、迭代和打磨。事实上，我们模拟了一个真实的软件开发环境和项目流程环境，学生们在个人和团队项目中应用他们所学的知识，并且反馈他们从事研发工作时可能会面临的多种项目问题。
此外，我们的培训是结构“T ”型的，在纵轴上，他们学习硬性职业技能（例如，游戏编程、原型设计、编写C#或C++代码、使用Unity或Unreal 引擎、Maya教学建模、装配、使用Zbrush等），在横轴上他们要适应团队中工作的基本人际关系技能、有效沟通、身体语言、展示自我、解决冲突、给予和接受反馈等。我们希望学生们能够平稳的处于两轴交界处，真正的人才需要在这两者之间创造一种平衡。当然，这是一个终生学习的过程，但我们希望从一开始就协助他们走上正确的轨道。
另外，同行间互相了解促进是十分必要的，我们创建了一个 “伙伴系统”，学生们在课程中并肩工作，相互指导。我们所有课程的核心理念是，需要提供一个人在游戏行业中获得工作和开始职业生涯所需的所有工具。
Q：学院对学员的考核主要是从哪些方面进行？需要完成哪些要求才能从学院毕业？
Geoff Davis：我们有一个严格的评估系统，在整个课程中，我们通过考试来验证他们的知识完整性，这些考试可能是书面考试或个人项目测试。是否牢固掌握了相关知识，对学生和学院来说都很重要，这样我们就可以在正确的方向上指导和辅导他们。
我们还对学生们做的每个项目进行评估，就像一个游戏研发工作室一样，从技术和落地的角度进行评估，这也是对项目中每个关键部分和细节的深入分析。在每个团队项目发布后，学生和核心讲师一起做一次完整的项目总结。
我们每年会对所有的学生举行两次1对1的访谈，这是一个让我们的学生收到关于他们学习进展、改进方向以及专业和个人发展详细反馈的机会，以及可能的职业道路。作为学院，我们也可以由此更多的了解学生的想法，对课程体系的感受，同时也可以反馈对学院改进和发展的意见。最后如果涉及课程毕业相关，学生需要成功完成考试和项目，他们还需要保持85%的出勤率。
Q：意大利的学校有开设专门的游戏设计专业吗？当地学校的游戏人才培养上，大概是怎样一个体系？
Geoff Davis：在意大利，没有专门的大学有游戏设计课程。一些大学，在计算机专业中会有游戏开发、编程相关的课程。另外在小学到高中阶段，意大利也没有专注于游戏设计、编程或游戏艺术相关的课程。
Q：对游戏人才的培养上，您觉得目前东西方的差异点在哪？哪些方面是国内高校需要补充的点。
Geoff Davis：当培养电子游戏行业的专业人才时，我们认为关键是要学生与从业者在一起，并让自己沉浸在一个提供真正技能培训和体验（硬性技能和软性技能）的环境中，当你在这个行业中找到工作时，你将需要这些技能。我们的行业正变得越来越有竞争力，并不断寻找合格且专业的人才。任何专业行业培训学院的目标之一，都应该是为学生创造 "有竞争力的人才优势"。
当然，这意味着在学习理论的同时，也要注意实践落地。然而，最根本的还在于培训项目给你充分的机会来应用你学到的技能。这一切都会帮助学生建立一个发展方向套组，提供行业内的长效沟通，指导释放潜能，并引领学生走上正确的轨道。
根据Newzoo的数据，基于消费者支出排序，意大利在游戏收入方面排名第9。在电子游戏开发和相关收入方面，意大利仍在努力尝试与其他主要国际市场竞争。在意大利无论是机构还是普通百姓，通常会对游戏有所偏见，这造成了对该行业的误解和误读，并且从历史上看抑制了行业增长。
而实际上，也有很多人看轻以游戏为职业的想法，这并不罕见。然而意大利的电子游戏产业已经取得了喜人的进展，并且也从一个小众行业，逐渐转变为国家文化产业发展方向的一部分。每年都有新的研发工作室成立，并与意大利发行商达成发行协议。随着大型游戏公司收购意大利工作室或为其发展投资，并购等行为也在递增。据估计，2022年意大利国家收入达19.5亿美元，电子游戏行业在数字媒体收入中占了绝大部分份额。
与英国、法国、德国或波兰等成熟的欧洲市场相比，我们依然处于孵化期，但政府对电子游戏研发的支持力度很大，有许多激励措施。这主要是由于普罗大众对游戏看法的转变和意大利政府的大力支持，例如政府最近为电子游戏研发者引入了税收减免政策。
我们的希望是，像其他国际市场一样，电子游戏成为意大利经济的一个重要组成部分，为市场增加真正的价值并创造大量的就业机会。
Q：意大利整体的游戏环境（包括研发、发行、市场）与中国相比，有哪些有着明显差异的地方？
Thomas Rosenthal ：虽然我们的公司的业务范围是全球发行，并自诩为全球化公司，但我们发源在意大利也是不争的事实。在我个人看来，意大利和中国之间最关键的区别是行业规模。在游戏行业中国可以拥有一个庞大的绝对市场，而意大利在游戏人群和从事该行业的企业数量方面都是有限的，意大利的人口只比中国的广东省的一半多一点。虽然游戏和游戏相关产业在中国逐渐成为主流，但我们不能说意大利也是如此乐观。尽管意大利在其他文化创意产业表现很出色，而且意大利人在任何行业包括制造业中， 都充满了创意色彩。
中国也展示了非常发达的资本市场用以投资当地的项目和工作室，行业投资者对游戏的了解比意大利投资者深入的多。因此中国的优质项目总能快速的找到投资，成功的游戏可以达到巨大的体量，而不需要求助于国际市场。意大利的小开发商则可能不得不自筹资金，或求助于传统的发行行业，目前意大利只有少量投资者或发行商关注该行业。
虽然市场规模巨大，但中国更严格的法规和监管促使许多工作室把目光投向中国市场以外的地方，这实际上可以让中国的研发团队学习如何研发和创作更能够吸引全球观众的游戏，而非让创意受限，以此以更可持续的方式成长。鉴于国内市场规模较小，意大利的游戏研发者从一开始就不得不将目光投向海外，这让他们在全球市场上占得先机，但当然大多数本地研发团队确实对中国和广大亚洲市场的了解有限。
当然，意大利在开发方面与中国相比处于劣势的一个原因与教育有关。计算机科学，即所谓的STEM课程缺乏普及，此外以电子游戏为重点的职业研究提供有限，这限制了意大利的电子游戏内容供应。但意大利一直是一个主要的电子游戏消费市场，DBGA也是以私立学院形式采取行动，解决当地人力市场需求的一个很好的例子。
英文原文采访如下：
Q：Thank you for accepting the interview with Games Daily. First of all, please make an introduction, including 505 Games APAC business and personal experience ( Especially the experience of being a visiting professor in Italian universities).
Thomas Rosenthal ：Thanks for having me. My name is Thomas Rosenthal and I am the VP in Asia at 505 Games. 505 Games is in China since 2015 with our first office set up in Shenzhen in 2015, we then set up our regional headquarters in Hong Kong in 2018, in 2020 we further expanded in Asia by opening our Tokyo office. Asia, and China in particular, are key markets and growth drivers for our Group to acquire quality content for global publishing and to bring our IPs and game to the domestic market, directly or via licensed partners.
As an adjunct and now - since residing in China - visiting professor of Chinese economy in an Italian University I always believed that the understanding of the specific legal, social, political and economic traits unique to China are critical for any company and any executive doing business in China.
At the same time, sharing my business experience is always something students love to hear and complements theory with action in the real world. So, my academic work and my job at 505 Games are a good match. I am particularly proud that our company is dedicated, through the Digital Bros Game Academy, to nurturing the Italian game ecosystem, growing a skilled professional pool of resources that are essential to our industry. To discuss about the DBGA, the Genera Manager of our academy, Geoff Davis, will respond to the next few questions.
Q：Far from I understanding that 505 Games has founded a game academy, what is the reason for founding such an academy? What is the current size of the academy?
Geoff Davis：We created the Academy in 2014 with the mission to identify and train new talent for the video games industry, preparing our students professionally and helping them to become job ready so they can get start a career in the industry. Our objective is close the gap between professional training and the jobs market.
On one side, as a leading global gaming company we feel we have a responsibility to support the growth and evolution of the video games industry and at the base of our industry is Talent. Without great talent, we wouldn’t have the video games we love, i.e. the ones we play on our smartphones or on our consoles. On the other side, we know there are many hidden gems out there searching for a professional training course geared to prepare for a future in the industry. Our job is to discover these hidden gems and work closely with them in developing and expressing their potential.
We have four different areas of training in our ecosystem, 3 of which are professional training programs:
• DBGA Campus: a 2-year on-site training program for Game Design, Game Programming, Concept Art, Game Art 3D)
• DBGA Online Blended: hybrid self-directed learning and lessons/mentoring in live streaming for Game Design and Game Programming)
• DBGA Plug-N-Learn: vertical training courses, using the online blended methodology, on topics like Product & Project Management, creation of video game spaces, UI/UX for video games, World Building in Unreal Engine, Procedural Generation, Tools Building and many more
• DBGA Kids: this is our early stage program for ages 8 – 16. Italy is lacking programs for this age group and we want to get them excited and interested in the video games industry. We strongly believe it’s important to start and motivate early. Learning to develop video games is not only fun, but can stimulate important skills like critical thinking, decision making, effective communication and listening, planning and time management. These are all skills that we need throughout our professional and personal lives to be successful regardless of whether we become game devs.
Since our the launch of our first courses in 2015, we have trained over 800 students. Many of them are now successfully working in the industry.
Q：Where do the students trained by this game academy come from ? Besides the training of 505 games staff, what other students will be enrolled in?
Geoff Davis：Our students come from very diverse backgrounds and fields of study. Most of them are new to game development and have never had any formal training. To give you an idea of their profile, the average age of our students is 26 years old with at least a high school degree (this is the minimum requirement to apply for one of our courses). However, we also have students in the 30 – 40 age bracket with a university degree or a doctorate in computer science, physics, philosophy, political science, etc. who want to specialize in video games development. Some of them have families and decide to leave a stable job to pursue their passion and dream to become a professional in the industry.
What is incredibly special is the students’ drive and motivation. It’s tangible and you see it grow and flourish during the program. They all have a strong conviction to transform their passion into something concrete, something that is a real life-changer.
Q：What kind of students are mainly enrolled in the academy? Are there any limits such as territories or nationality? What are the requirements to join the academy?
Geoff Davis：Currently, we are running our programs in Italy but we are planning our international launch early next year.
The DBGA Campus courses are in Italian, while the DBGA Online Blended programs are in English. Our online programs are open to all nationalities.
We are developing more and more content in English. W believe it’s important to train our students not only in the technical aspects of game development, but also help them hone their English skills. We are in a global environment and in an industry that runs in the English language. If you’re not a native English speaker or have only taken English at a scholastic level, you probably need to sharpen your professional English and we want to help our students do that so they can communicate and work effectively.
We have a selection process to help us identify budding talent. This is composed of a questionnaire with various questions about their education; work experience; languages; etc., motivational letters, a personal interview and, if possible, a portfolio of their work. Our selection committee reviews each candidate and we collectively discuss and decide who gets accepted.
Q：What is the current size of the faculty? Could you give us some examples of instructors in the academy?
Geoff Davis：We have three types of training faculty. Core Trainers are the main contact point for students and hold the majority of the lessons, Specialist Trainers lead vertical modules within each course and Guest Trainers give lectures on a wide variety of topics and hold workshops.
All of our trainers are from the industry and are active in developing games.
One of our goals in engaging many trainers, like the Guest Trainers, is to help our students build their professional network while they’re still studying.
We create multiple touch points for our students through the trainers in our ecosystem and we work with over 100 industry professionals in our training programs. Being part of a global gaming company is definitely an advantage for us, as we collaborate with many of our colleagues in 505 Games, Hook and in the different development studios which are part of the Digital Bros Group. We also collaborate with many industry professionals outside of the Group.
Here are a few examples:
- Lisa Gobbi – Avalanche Studios Group – Experienced Generalist Artist
- Daniele Pergola – AvantGarden Games – Lead 3D Animator
- Rachele Doimo – Square Enix – Art Director – Work with all external studios of Square Enix West
- Mauro Gentile – Ubisoft Milan – Lead Gameplay Programmer – Worked on Mario+Rabbids, Ghostrecon
- Simone Magni – Miniclip – Product Manager
- Ming Tregonning – Splash Damage – Lead Gameplay Programmer – Worked on Dirty Bomb
- Marco Ponte – Nacon Studio Milan – CEO & Creative Director – Worked on RiMS Racing, Terminator
- Marco Minoli – Slitherine – Marketing Director
- Gero Miccichè – Electronic Arts [Criterion] – Development Director – Worked on GRID Legends, Need for Speed
- Claudia Manenti – Rockstar Games – Worked on Grand Theft Auto Series
- Mauro Notarberardino – Supernova Game Studios – Studio Manager
- Federico Mattioli – Milestone – Art Director – Worked on Hotwheels Unleashed, MotoGP
- Chiara Pasquini – 505 Games – Global Release Director – Worked on Control, Death Stranding
- Pierfrancesco Andresini – Reply Game Studios – UX/UI Designer – Worked on Soulstice
- Riccardo Landi – Xplored – Head of Design – Worked on Teburu, Rabbids series, Rayman series
- Alberto Barbati – Nacon Studio Milan – Game Programmer –– Worked on Theseus, Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Beyond Good & Evil
- Enric Alvarez – Mercury Steam – Owner & Game Director – Worked on Metroid Dread, Castelvania Series
Q：What is the talent training system of the academy? What are the main abilities students needs learn?
Geoff Davis：We use a hands-on, practical and collaborative approach to learning. We believe the most effective way to learn to game development, whether it’s game design, programming or game art, is to create, analyze, iterate and polish. In fact, we simulate a real software house environment where the students apply what they have learned in individual and team projects. We apply the same dynamics and production pipelines they will face when they start working in a development studio.
Moreover, we train to a “T” in which on the vertical axis they learn the hard skills (e.g. writing game design documents, prototyping, coding in C# or C++, using Unity or Unreal Engine, working in Maya to model, rigging, using Zbrush, etc.) and on the horizontal axis they delve into the interpersonal skills that are fundamental for working in a team, effective communication, body language, presenting oneself, resolving conflict, giving and receiving feedback, etc. We strive to get them to sit comfortably at the juncture between the two axis’s. We firmly believe that true talent is able to create a balance between the two. Of course, this is a life long process, but we want to assist them in getting on the right track from the beginning.
We also believe in peer-to-peer learning. We created a “buddy system” where students work side-by-side and mentor each other during the courses.
At the core of all our programs is the idea that we need to provide all the tools a person will need to get a job and start a career in the industry.
Q：How does the academy appraise students and what are the graduation requirements ?
Geoff Davis：We have a rigorous appraisal system. Throughout the courses we verify their knowledge through exams. These can be written exams or individual project tests. Awareness if you have consolidated your knowledge is important for the students and for us so we can mentor and coach them in the right direction.
We also appraise each project, much like a development studio would, from a technical standpoint. This is an in-depth analysis of each component of each area of the project.
After the release of each team project the students, together with the Core Trainers, do a post-mortem.
We hold two 1-to-1 interviews each year with all the students. This is an excellent opportunity for our students to receive detailed feedback on their progress, areas of improvement and suggestions for professional and personal growth, for example, possible career paths. It’s also a time when, as the Academy, we can learn more about the individual students, how they feel about their progress, receive ideas and feedback on where we can improve and evolve.
To graduate, the students need to have successfully completed the exams and projects. They also need to maintain an 85% attendance rate.
Q：Does the university in Italy have a game design program? What is the system of game talent training in local schools?
Geoff Davis：There are no specific university game design programs in Italy. Some of the universities, within computer science, teach modules on game development.
Unfortunately, at the elementary through high school levels there are no programs focused on game design, programming or game art.
Q：What's the differences between China and overseas in the development of game talents? What program do you think should pay attention to？
Geoff Davis：When training to become a professional for the video game industry, we believe it’s crucial to surround oneself with industry professionals and immerse yourself in an environment that provides the real skills (hard and soft skills) you’ll need when landing a job in the industry. Our industry is becoming more and more competitive and there is constant search for qualified talent. One of the objectives of any professional industry training academy should be creating “competitive talent advantage” for the students.
Of course, this means paying attention to the practical and hands-on elements of learning, together with the theory. However, it’s also fundamental the training program gives you ample opportunities to apply your learning, that they help you build a portfolio, provide you with contacts in the industry and coach you towards unlocking your potential and getting you on the right track.
According to Newzoo, Italy ranks number 9 in terms of game revenues, based on consumer spending. In terms of video games development and related revenues, Italy is still trying to get it’s foot in the door to compete with other major international markets. There has typically been a backlash in the country against video games, both by institutions. This has caused misunderstandings and misinterpretations regarding the sector and, historically, has thwarted growth. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to view the idea of pursuing a career in video games as puerile and frivolous.
However, Italy’s video game industry has taken positive strides forward and is moving from being considered a niche sector, into an integral part of the country’s creative landscape. Each year, new development studios are being founded and more publishing deals are being made with Italian studios. There is also an uptick of M&A activity with big video game companies acquiring Italian studios or investing in their growth. There is an estimated US$1.95 billion in revenue in 2022 in Italy and the video game industry accounts for the lion‘s share of digital media revenue.
We’re still the very small elephant in the room respect to markets like the UK, France, Germany or Poland where there are many incentives and where government support is strong for video game development studies, but we are making important progress. This is mainly due to a shift in the pubic perception of video games and new support from the Italian government. For example, the government recently introduced tax credits for video game developers.
Our hope is that, like in other international markets, video games will become an integral part of the economy, adding real value to the market and creating numerous job opportunities.
Q：What are the obvious differences between the overall game industry(including R&D, publishing and marketing) in Italy and China?
Thomas Rosenthal ：Although our company is global in reach and defines itself as global, our roots are in Italy. In my personal view, the most critical difference between Italy and China is size. China, in the game industry can boast a huge market in absolute terms, while Italy is smaller in terms of both gamer population and number of enterprises engaged in the industry. Italy’s population is a little more than half of Guangdong’s. While games and gamification went mainstream in China, we can’t say the same of Italy, despite the excellence of other creative industries and the touch of creativity that Italians add to any industry, including manufacturing.
China also displays very well-developed capital market to fund local projects and studios and the understanding of the games industry by qualified investors is much higher than Italy. As such, good projects in China always find money for their ventures and successful games can reach a huge scale without resorting to international markets, while small developers in Italy may have to self-fund or resort to traditional development and publishing agreements with only few publishers currently active in the country.
While market size is huge, stricter regulations in China have pushed many content providers to look beyond the Chinese market now and this could actually allow Chinese developers to grow in a more sustainable manner by learning how to produce games that can appeal to a global audience instead of limiting . Italian content providers have had to look overseas from the very beginning given the small size of the domestic market, this has given them a head start in global markets but of course most local developers have limited knowledge of China and Asian markets.
Certainly, a reason for Italy’s disadvantage versus China on the development side has to do with education. The lack of popularity of computer sciences, so-called STEM courses, in addition to limited offering of vocational studies with a focus on videogaming have limited the supply of videogaming content from Italy, but Italy has always been a major consumption market. The DBGA is a good example of the private sector taking action to address local market needs.