The Amazing Story of Game Zanga 12: How Arab Game Developers Created Games That Changed The Rules in Only 3 Days

A game development event that challenges the participants to create games that break the rules

Salama Productions, an independent video game developer based in Cairo, Egypt, has announced its participation as one of the supporters of Game Zanga 12 زنقة الالعاب , a game development event that gathers Arab game enthusiasts and developers in a workshop to create games based on a specific theme in only three days.

The event is organized by Danar Kayfi , a passionate game developer who has been selected as one of the GI 100 Game Changers of 2020 , and hosted by itch.io . The theme of the event is “Change The Rules”, which challenges the participants to create games that break the conventions or expectations of the genre, mechanics, or narrative.

Salama Productions Supports Game Zanga 12 Participants on SaudiGN Discord Server

Salama Productions were part of a consulting team that provided exclusive consultation and feedback to the participants on SaudiGN discord server , a platform that supports game development in the Arab region, especially Saudi Arabia, by providing a cooperative environment, services, events, and opportunities for game developers at all levels.

Salama Productions is also cooperating with SaudiGN to promote its indie games, such as its upcoming title Off The Grid: Bad Dream , a cinematic and story-driven mystery and thriller game that follows the story of a survivor of a car accident whose life becomes a strange dream. The game explores the blurred line between fiction and reality in an immersive and captivating way.

A great opportunity for learning, experimenting, and collaborating in game development

Game Zanga 12 started on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 7 pm Saudi time, and will end on Sunday, July 16, 2023 at 7 pm Saudi time. The participants will be able to submit their games on itch.io , and rate other games based on their use of the theme, fun factor, creativity, and aesthetics.

The theme of Change The Rules encourages the participants to explore new possibilities and solutions in game development. It also reflects the growing demand and competition in the game market, as many players are looking for games that offer unique and diverse experiences.

Some of the participants shared their feedback and experience with Game Zanga 12. For example, some people said: “Game Zanga 12 was a great opportunity for me to learn new skills and collaborate with other game developers. I enjoyed working on the theme of Change The Rules and creating a game that challenges the players’ expectations.” Some others said: “I loved participating in Game Zanga 12. It was fun and rewarding to create a game in only three days with the help of SaudiGN. I learned a lot from their consultation and feedback.

Now is the time to test the games and rate … Rating ends in a week!


Resources:

For more information about Game Zanga 12 زنقة الالعاب ,

visit the official website: https://www.gamezanga.net

or follow the official Twitter account: Game Zanga (زنقة الالعاب) (@GameZanga) / Twitter

For more information about SaudiGN and its services,

visit the official website: Saudi game news

or follow the official Twitter account: سعودي جي إن (@SaudiGN_sa) / Twitter

More articles: /news/

Game Zanga 12 Arab game developers

How We Are Creating a Game That Reverses the Horror Side Effects of Horror Games: Our Interview on Arcade Podcast

Meet Doa, the Host of Arcade Podcast, and Her Guests: Marwan Imam and Salama Productions

Doa is a passionate video game enthusiast, content creator and show producer who runs a YouTube channel called Arcade – أركيد, where she produces and hosts a show with the same name. With her extraordinary sense of humor and charisma, she can easily put a smile on the viewers’ faces as she talks about various topics in the video game industry such as reverse horror game. Her talent has attracted thousands of people who are interested in content that discusses video games from different perspectives. Some of her episodes are podcasts where she interviews influential people in the video game industry in Egypt.

We were lucky enough to be invited as guests on her podcast show to talk about our indie game project, Off The Grid: Bad Dream, which is currently in development. We are Salama Productions, an indie game developer that aims to reverse the horror side effects of horror games by creating games that promote positivity, harmony, and healing effects for players. Off The Grid: Bad Dream is a mystery thriller game that tells the story of a car accident survivor whose life becomes a strange dream blurred line between fiction and reality. Doa also invited Marwan Imam to co-host the episode with her, so he could also ask us questions and share his insights. Marwan Imam is an influential and talented content creator known for Peace Cake, a YouTube channel that makes various shows, programs, episodes, music, sketches, and more. They love to do something delicious and light on the heart. We were very delighted to meet Marwan, who is a very humble and knowledgeable personality. He knows a lot about the video game industry, genres, and history, and he asked us very interesting questions that helped us showcase our game to the viewers.

What We Talked About in the Episode

Here are some of the points we talked about in the episode:

  • After introducing ourselves to the audience, Doa gave a brief explanation of what an indie game is and referred to her previous episode on indie games for more information.
  • We shared how we found our love for games and what games or indie studios inspired us the most with our work.
  • We discussed the crunch policy as a harmful business practice adopted by many big publishers and how it affects the industry negatively. We also touched on the issue of microtransactions and how they can ruin the gaming experience for some players.
  • We expressed our admiration for studios like Remedy which made the games Control and Alan Wake, as well as Firewatch by Campo Santo and Beyond: Two Souls by Quantic Dream, who have created amazing games with unique art styles, stories, and gameplay mechanics.
  • We discussed how our lives became almost dystopian when the modern way of living as society forced us to abandon our relationship with nature as individuals. We explained how Off The Grid: Bad Dream explores or addresses these themes in its story and setting, and how it encourages or inspires players to reconnect with nature in their own lives.
  • Mohamed talked about how he came up with the idea of being an indie developer here in Egypt and what challenges he faced along the way.
  • We explored the psychological aspects of horror video games versus games that promote harmony and positivity, and how they relate to anxiety disorders and stress. We also shared our personal preferences and experiences with different genres of games.
  • We discussed how we use the concept of episodic games that consist of episodes like a TV series to be efficient as an indie developer. We explained some of the benefits and challenges of creating episodic games as an indie developer, how we use small scale environments like the Silent Hill demo PT to create immersive and engaging experiences for players, and how we focus on doing only what each episode needs to cut down on production time and cost.

Conclusion

We concluded by emphasizing the importance of video games as a form of art and entertainment that can enrich our lives and challenge our minds. We also encouraged people who think otherwise to give video games a try and see for themselves how fun and rewarding they can be.

We had a great time talking to Doa and Marwan on Arcade – أركيد, and we hope you enjoyed watching or listening to the episode. If you want to know more about Doa’s channel or support her amazing work, you can follow her on these links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@arcade-5954

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Doulicious

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/douliciouse/

The Podcast Episode: https://youtu.be/xAZSh3jYCZc

More articles: /news/

Thank you for your attention and interest!

P.T. Demo

P.T. game demo cover

P.T. gameplay screenshot



Control

Remedy Control gameplay screenshot

Remedy Control cinematic screenshot



Alan Wake

Remedy Alan Wake cinematic screenshot

Remedy Alan Wake gameplay screenshot



Firewatch

Firewatch game cover

Firewatch gameplay screenshot



Beyond: Two Souls

reverse horror game

reverse horror game

reverse horror game

reverse horror game

reverse horror game

Salama Productions and SaudiGN agree on a new cooperation to promote indie games

Salama Productions, an independent video game developer based in Cairo, Egypt, and SaudiGN, a platform that supports game development in the Arab region, especially Saudi Arabia, have agreed on a new cooperation to boost communication and interaction between indie game developers and the audience interested in game news.

The cooperation, which was reached on June 13, 2023, aims to deliver unique and exclusive content about indie games produced or supervised by Salama Productions, such as their upcoming title Off the Grid: Bad Dream, a cinematic and story-driven mystery and thriller game. The content will be featured by SaudiGN regularly on their social media channels, as well as on Salama Productions’ own platforms.

The cooperation will also benefit both sides by increasing their visibility, exposure, and reputation in the gaming industry and community. Salama Productions will gain access to a wider and more engaged audience in Saudi Arabia and the region, while SaudiGN will enhance its credibility and diversity by showcasing high-quality indie games from Egypt.

Both collaborators have expressed their excitement and enthusiasm for the cooperation.

Salama Productions’ founder, Mohamed Fawzy, said: “We are thrilled to cooperate with SaudiGN, a platform that shares our passion for indie games. We believe this will help us connect with possible future fans and supporters in Saudi Arabia, the Arab region and beyond.”

SaudiGN’s Community & Production Manager, Nabil Alsaiad, said: “It’s an honor to be a partner with such ambitious people and looking forward to working together.

SaudiGN is a community for independent and professional game developers that seeks to grow the game development market in both public and private sectors by providing an appropriate environment resulting from the establishment of a cooperative developer community, providing services and events to developers at all levels, and improving career and self-employment opportunities. SaudiGN also aims to increase community awareness of game development, support local developers and highlight them globally so that the Kingdom becomes a place of attraction to those interested in the field.

The cooperation is not limited by time, with frequent updates and content releases. Both parties hope to maintain a long-term collaboration that will keep the audience entertained and informed.

Thank you for your attention and interest!


Resources:

Initial Internal Indie Startup System

Introducing Salama Production: A Pre-Seed Indie Startup with a Vision to Crowdsource an Amazing Game Project

As we enter the third quarter of 2023, I’m excited to share some great news with you about our Internal Indie Startup System. Salama Production is a startup that is currently at the pre-seed stage, which involves validating the idea for our game project. We have a vision to create an amazing game that will delight and inspire gamers around the world.

To achieve this vision, we need your help. That’s why we have created an internal system that will boost our collaboration and efficiency. This system will allow us to:

  • Organize our work, form a team, and welcome new indie devs
  • Outline how we operate at this pre-seed stage and how we structure our indie startup
  • Maintain order when new indie devs join us in the future
  • Achieve our goals and vision for our indie startup

I’m happy to announce that this system is ready and has been implemented. This means that we can now crowdsource our indie game project through a crowdsourcing program and offer the opportunity to indie devs who are interested in our game project and share our vision to join and work with us.

This is a unique chance to be part of something amazing and make your mark on the gaming industry.

“Salama Production is more than just a startup. It’s a community of passionate and talented indie devs who share a common vision and love for gaming. I’m thrilled to be part of this team and contribute to this game project.” – Hisham Al-Kubeyyer, Producer and Voice Actor

More details about our system and our crowdsourcing program will be revealed soon, so stay tuned for more updates and exciting things to come. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm.

If you are a passionate and talented indie dev who shares our vision and wants to join our team early before we make the crowdsourcing program announcement, please subscribe with your email to our waiting list below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Don’t miss this opportunity to join Salama Production and be part of the next big thing in gaming. Subscribe now and let’s make history together!

Subscribe to our waiting list

More articles: /news/

Internal Indie Startup System

Internal Indie Startup System

Off The Grid: Bad Dream Enters Development Stage

Salama Productions Announces the Start of Development for Off The Grid: Bad Dream

Hello, this is Mohamed Fawzy, the owner and director of Salama Productions. I’m thrilled to announce that we have started developing our first game project: Off The Grid: Bad Dream.

Off The Grid: Bad Dream is an episodic adventure video game series that uses cinematic aesthetics for the storytelling of a unique psychological thriller experience. The game follows the story of a survivor of a car accident that turns his whole life upside down, where his life becomes like a very strange dream yet so real on the edge between fiction and reality.

We started working on this game on May 6, 2023, and we have been developing one of the game systems features and a very small initial part of the original story and character writing. We have also set the overall idea of the game, but we are still experimenting with a lot of things and trying to find the best way to bring our vision to life. As indie devs, we like experimenting with new ideas that go beyond the boundaries of game genres and constants.

We want to create a game that will do just that. A game that will keep you on the edge of your seat while you discover the story of a survivor of a car accident that turns his whole life upside down. A game that will make you question what is real and what is not. A game that will take you on a journey between fiction and reality.

Psychological thrillers are one of the most popular and profitable genres in gaming, as well as in movies, podcasts, and TV shows. According to PwC, the global gaming industry is expected to be worth $321 billion by 2026, and psychological thrillers are among the top drivers of this growth. Gamers love to immerse themselves in stories that challenge their minds, emotions, and perceptions.

We plan to add a dev log section to our website soon, where we will share our progress and updates on the game development. we want you to be part of our journey and join us in creating this amazing game. That’s why we invite you to follow us on our social media channels and subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned for more news and updates on our game development.

The first episode of Off The Grid: Bad Dream is in development for Microsoft Windows and will be released when we are satisfied with the result and it’s ready. We are currently in the pre-seed stage of our development, which involves validating the idea for our game project. We are looking for ways to fund this project, such as crowdfunding, grants, or investors. We will announce the release date when we have more clarity and confidence in our timeline. For more information about the game, visit our website Here or check out our pages on IMDb, Giant Bomb, and Game Jolt.

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Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. We can’t wait to share more with you soon. Let’s make history together!


Sources:

1- Gaming boomed in lockdown and market value will reach $320bn | World ….

2- Market Trends: Is the Mystery, Suspense, Thriller Genre Alive and Well ….

3- Category:Psychological thriller video games – Wikipedia.

Egypt Career Summit 2023


Salama Productions Joins Career Circles and Mentorships at Egypt Career Summit 2023

Salama Productions, a leading indie game developer in Egypt, has announced its participation in the Career Circles and Mentorships program at the Egypt Career Summit 2023, the biggest career development and recruitment event in the country.

The ECS 2023, which will take place on February 24-25 at The British University in Egypt, aims to connect 350+ experts, 75+ corporates and startups, and 10,000+ attendees from various fields and industries. The event will feature 160+ talks and panel discussions, 1000+ vacancies and internships, and 70+ virtual booths.

The Career Circles and Mentorships program is one of the highlights of the event, where attendees can join small group sessions with mentors from different sectors and backgrounds, who will share their insights, experiences, and advice on career development. The program will also provide networking opportunities and one-on-one coaching for the participants.

Salama Productions is one of the mentors in the program, representing the indie game development industry. The indie developer was founded in 2018 by Mohamed Fawzy, who has a passion for cinematography, filmmaking, and video games. The developer focuses on creating story-driven cinematic games for various platforms and audiences. The developer also offers consultancy for aspiring game developers and fresh grads who are interested in joining and making a career in the video game industry.

“We are excited to be part of Career Circles and Mentorships at Egypt Career Summit 2023,” said Mohamed Fawzy, the founder of Salama Productions. “We want to share our knowledge and passion with the next generation of game makers.”

Salama Productions invites anyone who is interested in learning more about the indie game development industry to join their career circle session at the Egypt Career Summit 2023. To register for the event and the program, visit the Egypt Career Summit website.

Resources:

https://career-180.com/ar/home

https://career-180.com/en/events/ecs-2023/home

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/egypt-career-summit_egyptcareersummit2023-empoweryourcareer-career180-activity-7033437162406653952-F-ie

https://www.facebook.com/Egyptcareersummit/posts/pfbid023xjDCdtwF8M2htZQ7Zfa8e3bsej641ou9mpmW8nCRj9LJcgC8EwkudvqSBwvnwLjl

More articles: /news/

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