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UNWRAP is back, with 20% member discount!

Natascha Rommens

06/09/2022

What about the best of the #belgiangamesindustry in one place, adding a pinch of music, film and media to that and mixing it all up with investors, international speakers and – last but not least – a Career Fair. Well, UNWRAP might have a perfect post-summer brew to keep that video game spirit going. Mark your calendars: October 13-14th, Kortrijk. Let us walk you through the program and get you some member discount codes as well!

UNWRAP is the first event in Belgium to bring together all entertainment industries (video games, music, film and media) in order to build bridges between them. The organisers have pulled out all the stops to bring you a show-stopping programme. From internationally renowned keynote speakers over actual battles and pitches to networking opportunities and a Belgian Career fair for the entire entertainment industry, this is an event you don’t want to miss. You’re in for some serious FOMO.

All you need to know about UNWRAP

Various tracks on 3 nearby locations in Kortrijk:

Conference
- Speakers, battles, panels
- Thursday & Friday, 10AM – 5PM
- Ticket: One or Two-Day Pass
- 20% discount for FLEGA members with code FLEGALOVESUNWRAP
Career Fair
- Recruit your next interns or future employees
- Thursday & Friday, 9AM – 1PM
- Ticket: Career Fair Ticket (One or Two-Day); includes access to Conference and Networking as well
- 20% discount for FLEGA members with code FLEGALOVESUNWRAP
Networking
- Networking drinks, music performances and afterparties
- Thursday & Friday, from 5PM onwards
- Matchmaking tool to arrange on-site meetings all day
- Ticket: access included in your Conference or Career Fair Ticket
Investor Track
- Pitch your project to investors and industry captains
- Matchmaking with potential investors
- Thursday & Friday, 9AM – 1PM (your pitch time slot will take max 30min)
- Submit your pitches here (subject to curation)
- Ticket: free one-day Conference ticket for selected pitchers. Investor? Get an Investor Pass
Showcase and/or pitch café
- Showcase your game on a physical booth during the UNWRAP festival
- Thursday or Friday, 3PM – 7.30PM
- Optional: present your game during the game pitch café
- Submit your game here (subject to curation)
- Ticket: free one-day Conference ticket for selected showcasing companies

Get your Tickets

Submit your pitch for the Investor Track

Submit your game for a showcase spot

A great range of speakers are already out there with plenty more to be announced soon. FLEGA is proud to host a number of sessions as well. Don’t miss out on the very first info session on tax shelter for video games; a battle on NFT’s in games and a session about how to deal with IP in AI generated content.

So, in the end, there are really only 4 things to do today:

Mark October 13-14th in your calendar
Get your ticket with the FLEGA discount codes
Submit your pitch for the investor track
Submit your game for a showcase spot

Questions about UNWRAP? Drop the organizers a line.

UNWRAP is an annual event organised by the award-winning game development curriculum Digital Arts and Entertainment, co-creation hub Hangar K, music organization Wilde Westen, the city of Kortrijk, game technology accelerator DAE Studios and video game and music federations FLEGA and VI.BE.

UNWRAP takes place thanks to the support of Nationale Loterij, VAF, Cronos Interactive, Epic Games, Amplo, Creative Europe, Fors VC and Howest.

Natascha Rommens

29/08/2022

October sure will be a busy month for our studios. Both FACTS and Gameforce are back. And we’re taking you there with discounts! Read on and sign up before it’s too late.

First up: Gameforce

There’s plenty of reasons to pay the biggest game fair in Belgium a visit. If you’re looking to discover the latest games or enjoy some esports action, you definitely need to swing by the Nekkerhal in Mechelen, October 1st-2nd. For game developers it’s also the place to be to connect with a local audience. So sign up now for the BelgianGames booth at Gameforce. And, if you’re a FLEGA member, you only pay € 100 ex VAT instead of € 200 for a spot.

All you need to know about exhibiting at Gameforce (deadline Sep 9th)

October 1st-2nd (09:00 – 18:00) at Nekkerhal, Mechelen
Company or game school must be located in Flanders or Brussels with bylaws in Dutch (main office)
FLEGA members: € 100 (VAT excl.) / Non-FLEGA members € 200 (VAT excl.)
First come, first served basis: sign up here before September 9th
Please read rules and criteria carefully
Please see below for all booth details
More questions? Hit up organiser META

Secondly: FACTS Fall Edition

Secondly, taking place on October 22nd-23rd at Flanders Expo in Ghent, FACTS Fall Edition is the defining pop culture celebration in Belgium. As video games have always been an important part of this event, it might be a good idea to sign up for the shared BelgianGames booth. And again, if you’re a FLEGA member, you only pay € 100 ex VAT instead of € 200 for a spot.

You’ve got until September 30th to jump on board, but you might want to act faster as spots are attributed on a first come, first served basis. If you don’t want to end up on the waiting list, you know what to do!

All you need to know about exhibiting at FACTS Fall Edition (deadline Sep 30th)

October 22nd (10:00 – 19:00) – 23rd (10:00 – 17:00) at Flanders Expo, Ghent
Company or game school must be located in Flanders or Brussels with bylaws in Dutch (main office)
FLEGA members: € 100 (VAT excl.) / Non-FLEGA members € 200 (VAT excl.)
First come, first served basis: sign up here before September 30th
Please read rules and criteria carefully
Please see below for all booth details
More questions? Hit up organiser META

Practical details for both fairs

There are three types of booths

For video game studios (4 reserved slots)
- 10m² carpeted area with a high/low table and four high/low chairs and plants
- Storage space
- 42″ TV
- Construction with company/game branding
- 2 exhibitor passes
For game schools (2 reserved slots)
- 10m² carpeted area with a high/low table and 4 high/low chairs, LED lighting and plants
- Storage space
- 55″ TV
- Construction with school branding
- 2 exhibitor passes
For VR experiences (2 reserved slots)
- 16m² carpeted area, LED lighting and plants
- Storage space
- 55″ TV
- Construction with company/game branding
- 2 exhibitor passes

A couple of slots are reserved for VR experiences and educational programs. If those slots remain open, they will be attributed to video game studios.

Not included are: host/hostess, catering, insurance and internet.

Want to make your booth stand out from the crowd? Hit up META to see what’s possible.

The BelgianGames booth at Gameforce and FACTS Fall Edition wouldn’t have been possible without the valued support of the Flemish Cabinet of Media and VAF|GAME. A big thank you to them!

We are at gamescom!

David

19/08/2022

gamescom in physical form is back and we are on site with a BelgianGames booth featuring 22 cool video game companies! We’ll also unveil our Key Facts for the year 2021. See you there?

BelgianGames to unveil market and consumer data for the year 2021 at gamescom

Enjoy the summer!

David

20/07/2022

Wishing you a wonderful summer and some well deserved de-connection! Our offices are closed until August 8. Do catch us at gamescom in Cologne from August 24 until 26.

MoonMonster Studios just wants to create video games that will make you laugh

Christophe De bont

30/06/2022

Good news, everyone! With all the space horror floating around recently, you might think a developer called MoonMonster Studios, one of the latest additions to the FLEGA family, might work on something similarly gory. It’s easy to misread, but lean in a little closer – don’t worry, it’s totally safe – and you’ll find almost the complete opposite of that. These monsters just want to make you laugh.

Co-founders Gilles Vancoillie and Seppe Roelandt bonded over their shared love for whacky animated shows like Rick & Morty or Futurama and started their studio with a desire to recreate the epic comedy moments of these shows. Not an easy feat – video games that really make you laugh out loud are few and far between – but it makes their mission all the more recommendable.

And going off what we’ve already seen of their debut Space Control VR, they’re definitely heading in the right direction. Described as a VR comedy sim where you play as a border control officer in space, you’ll have to check (and perform the weirdest tests on) a wide variety of aliens to see whether it’s safe to let them travel to Earth. Or you can just mess around with the talking crayons on the whiteboard. It’s your (and potentially the whole planet’s) funeral.

Just check out the below trailer to see if it tickles your funny bone.

When not building towards the next comedic climax, you can hire MoonMonster for anything from asset creation to the development of educational titles. It’s not because laughter is what drives this team, they can’t be serious when need be. Just talk to some of their B2B clients like Fluvius and Colruyt Groep and they probably will tell you the same thing.

Whether you’re interested in their serious or well, less serious persona, you can keep tabs on whatever MoonMonster is doing through every social media platform known to mankind or simply join their Discord. You know you want to.

Before you blast off, I have one more small announcement to make.

This is a little awkward to write, but this has been my final FLEGA blog post. I’d like to thank everyone who has indulged my silly writing, stupid jokes, and impeccable eighties classics recommendations over the years. If I have ever made you smile, feel fuzzy inside or perhaps even roll your eyes, then my time here has been well spent.

A special thank you to Youri Loedts (previous FLEGA blogger) and David Verbruggen (General Manager at FLEGA) for taking me on board and giving me the opportunity to get to know the #BelgianGamesIndustry inside-out. It was a pleasure meeting and talking to all of you wonderfully gifted people, and I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.

Thanks everyone,

Christophe

SmartGames are physical puzzles designed like video games you can now play online

Christophe De bont

15/06/2022

If you have kids in your family, chances are you’ve seen them play physical puzzle games created by SmartGames. A big part of the Kontich based company’s succes is the unique thematic spin, which speaks to the imagination of the players. They’re not just solving a puzzle, they are Little Red Riding Hood making their way through the forest, a king building their castle or a brave adventurer venturing in and out of dangerous temples. They also offer various difficulty levels, easing players in before giving their brain a proper workout.

Come to think of it, they’re actually designed like video games.

It’s not that big of a leap, then, to see SmartGames join the always expanding FLEGA family. After all, they’ve created an online platform for puzzle-solving that can be accessed on pc and mobile. Over at SmartGames Live, there’s a total of 20 different puzzle types. Some are completely original, others are adapted from the physical versions. Just like their physical siblings, there’s various difficulty levels to tackle, so the same puzzle type can appeal to younger and older children, while the Master difficulty might even give the adults a run for their money.

After creating an account (there’s a 6 months free trial!), the platform will keep track of which puzzles you’ve already solved and you can also rate your favourite ones. The website also keeps track of who’s solving puzzles at the moment, so others can bask in the glory of your kid’s superior intellect.

There’s also a couple of dedicated SmartGames mobile apps, which focus on one title, but it’s clear that the main course of their digital offering is the browser platform, which keeps adding new puzzle types on a regular basis. If you want to be kept in the loop about those, it might be worth signing up for the newsletter or follow SmartGames on Twitter or Instagram.

And now if you’ll excuse us, there’s a pretty big boulder heading our way and we haven’t quite figured out how to escape from it! Might have to call one of the kids.

All you need to know about UNWRAP