Game Studies Symposium at Kadıköy

Today I was a moderator at the Game Studies Symposium that took place at TAK (Kadıköy Design Workshop), and I had the honour to sit around the same table with a number of prominent figures from the turkish game studies and game development scene: Kerem Yavuz Demirbaş (IT Kopenhagen, Marmara U.), Tonguç Sezen (Georgia Tech, Bilgi U.), Diğdem Sezen (Georgia Tech, İstanbul U.), and Fasih Sayın (Crytek İstanbul, İstanbul U.). We had an interesting talk about game studies in front of a group of around 100 game developers, game researchers and game enthusiasts. Topics changed quickly and showed great variety, and the audience was keen to jump in with nice comments!

Before and after the event, I find the chance to talk many friends such as Ali Batı (a very talented and successful game developer from İstanbul) and Orçun Nişli (known for his work on the game Monochrome), and also some of the students that I worked together with at the BUG Game Dev Summer School back in 2012: Engin, Furkan, Atakan, Güney and Şan.

The organizer of the event was Güven Çatak, founder and executive at BUG Labs in Bahçeşehir U./İstanbul, in cooperation with Mehmet Kentel from the turkish critical game studies blog Fareler Oyunda. I’m thankful for the good time they made possible for us!