📋 Tender Overview
A successful independent gaming industry has developed in the Greater Zurich Area that is having an impact on an international level. At its heart is the Zurich University of the Arts with a creative and at the same time unusually technology-driven scene providing fertile ground.Here inventiveness creativity and high-tech solutions come together. The gaming industry in Greater Zurich surrounding the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK is growing and thriving. Maike Thies Research Fellow at the ZHdK says It is part of an innovative scene with a high density of technology-driven companies and agencies as well as renowned universities and cultural institutions thats inspiring. Many of the independent studios receive international awards and have an impact on the global market. One such blockbuster is the Farming Simulator series by GIANTS which is based in Schlieren in the canton of Zurich.Currently the ExerCube by Sphery is meeting a gap in the market by linking the areas of fitness e-Gaming and rehabilitation in the form of a game. Sphery an award-winning spin-off from the ZHdK recently founded the International Association of Mixed Reality Sports XRS along with other European start-ups thus bringing this topic onto the global stage. The gaming industry is part of an innovative scene with a high density of technology-driven companies and agencies as well as renowned universities and cultural institutions thats inspiring. Maike Thies - Research Fellow ZHdKInnovation in science-based FitTechWith its ExerCube Sphery has developed a mixed reality setting for sports training in the form of a game players are equipped with sensors on their wrists and ankles that transfer their movements into the virtual game scenario. In addition to a version for fitness studios and rehabilitation clinics there is also one to be used within your own four walls. Market penetration is supported by a franchise model.Sphery shows just what makes the local scene so strong. CoFounder and CEO Anna Martin-Niedecken said recently in a GZA Live Talk Sphery collaborates closely with the network whether that is with other studios or even the universities. The idea came from a research and development project at the ZHdK and everything is based on a training and gaming concept that is scientifically tested. This is what sets Sphery apart from the competition. The ExerCube comes under the umbrella genre of serious and applied games used to describe games with meaning and purpose aside from gaming enjoyment. The ZHdK has a particularly dynamic focus in this area. Sphery collaborates closely with the network whether that is with other studios or even the universities. Anna Martin-Niedecken - Co-founder and CEO SpheryEnthusiasm for experimenting with the latest technologiesTraining at the ZHdK is an important basis for the success of the games scene. Maike Thies from the ZHdK explains Having the game design specialization located within the design department is virtually unique among international universities. The BA study program with its all-round approach runs through all of the steps involved in developing fully functional game prototypes. Furthermore the latest technologies play an important role the Immersive Arts Space at the ZHdK allows complex developments with immersive technologies.Everything is nearby collaborations with students from the music film dance or theater departments are common. Thies adds There is a sense of family within the scene. Knowledge is shared in order to grow together. Finally there are also collaborations with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH the University of Zurich UZH and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW for research projects in the area of serious and applied games.
