Istinye University Digital Game Development and Animation Technologies Application and Research Center started its activities. Founded by İstinye University's Department of Digital Game Design and Computer Aided Design and Animation Program, the center was established by İstinye University Lecturer Nevin Eryılmaz. aims to provide project development training and support to those concerned.
In line with the agreements made with CrazyLabs and Sir Studios game development companies, the students of the relevant department will be provided with training, internship opportunities and experience at the center, and the students who do their internship will experience the industry experience first hand. Students, who will not be limited to the work they will do here, will also have the opportunity to develop their communication networks in the sectoral context by meeting valuable names. In this way, it will expand job opportunities after graduation; Not limited to this, they will also have the opportunity to look at the game industry from a wider perspective, thanks to the experience they will gain at the center.
Stating that "Our center undertakes the mission of encouraging entrepreneurship in the sector and providing qualified workforce to the sector by organizing face-to-face and online training and seminars inside and outside the university," ISU Lecturer Nevin Eryılmaz explains the activities to be carried out at the center as follows:
"Digital Game Design Academy", which was started within the scope of the Teacher Academy program in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, hosts the development of game software and game design by educators in our country. In addition, it also supports the MEBAR Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality project, which broke new ground in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to improve education in our country. In the BAP project carried out jointly with ISU Faculty of Dentistry, the dentistry education software developed with virtual reality is planned to create an infrastructure for the dentistry faculty of the university. In addition, the center prepares research and application projects and provides consultancy services at the request of industrial organizations and other private public and organizations. In addition to these areas, the center will also focus on artistic works. Developing talented and potential artists in our country by helping to organize exhibitions and festivals with the support of ISU in order to support art and digital art studies in our country, especially our students at our university, is also among the activities of the center.
Stating that three different game development companies were established at the center, Eryılmaz said, "Three different game development teams established in our center were accepted to Yıldız Technical University Teknopark to become a Teknokent R&D company, in addition to the joint stock and limited liability company process. We wish these companies established in our center to be beneficial for our university and our country.” Pointing out that the global game market is growing, Eryılmaz continues:
“One of the sectors that is rising day by day in the world and in Turkey is the digital game sector. In 2013, the global video games market was estimated to be worth over $75 billion. In 2017, this amount exceeded 120 billion dollars. The global game market is expected to exceed $175 billion in 2021 and exceed $200 billion by 2023. According to the data, mobile game revenues will make up 52 percent of the market in 2021. By the end of the year, the number of players in the world is estimated to be 2.9 billion.”
Stating that Turkey currently ranks 18th in the world in the digital game market, Eryılmaz states that employment rates in this field are also high and says:
“Considering the position of our country in the world market, it is possible to say that all graduates of digital game design in our country will be employed in this sector. Considering that the education that students will receive will be at an international level and the demands of countries in the USA, Europe and Far East Asia are considered, they can also find employment opportunities in these countries if they want. As a matter of fact, considering that 32 thousand 90 new digital game designers will be needed by 2029 alone in the USA; We can say that the department brings with it a job guarantee. The wages in these areas also meet expectations. As of December 28, 2021, the average annual wage for a video game industry in the United States is $50,847. This is equivalent to about $24.45 an hour. That's the equivalent of $978 per week and $4,237 per month.”
Eryılmaz stated that this field also contributed to the Metaverse universe, which is one of the popular topics of today, and said:
“Each point of the metaverse universe will be created entirely by using software and design programs, and this will be the case with design and software programs.