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Beirut opens first gaming academy

Beirut opens first gaming academy
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BY: Zainab
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The MENA Games Conference and Exhibition, held in Beirut at the end of last month, brought together those at the forefront of the games industry in the region.

Of those present was Spica Twins, the first gaming academy to be established in Beirut, and was opened in 2014.

The academy was founded by Beirut-based Reine Abbas and Ziad Fghali,  co founders of Wixel Studios; and Joseph Saade from DigiPen.

Spica Twins aims at teaching children from the age of five and up to their teens game development, introducing them to a new industry in the Middle East and opening doors for them.

"It is important to expose children to new options, from their young age, show them their capabilites and hone them." Reine Abbas, Head of Art at Wixel Studios.

"The economy is not doing well, and we must take do something to change the staus quo."

The game industry is growning and the support from Lebenase telecommunications minister, Boutros Harb, who spoke at the event, will help establish a better environment for Arab developers.

Talking at the event, the minister acknowledged the growth of the market.

"Today, the gaming industry in the world is valued at more than $70 billion USD in revenues. In MENA region alone, estimates are at $3.2 billion USD for 2016.

"Today, we need to seriously consider this gaming ecosystem, where we can feel how real and structured it is, despite its youth.

"As Minister of Telecommunications, I have taken the challenge and decided to play a proactive role in this ecosystem, in order to ensure that Lebanon is a producer in this industry, and not just a consumer," Harb said, adding "A major part of my challenge is to involve the Lebanese government, ministers and all related industries to undertake all necessary actions in order to maintain the Lebanese talents in our country and prevent brain leakage."  

The course fees start at $400 USD. You can see some screenshots below from the workshops conducted by Spica Twins.

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