Jerusalemite of the week: Israeli indie game developer Amir Blum

Video games are one of the largest entertainment industries in the world, larger than the film and music industries combined, and game developers are the artists at its core.

A community of developers has been created in the capital, known as MakeGamesJLMwith Amir Blum in the center.

In Jerusalem spoke with Blum about his work to help Jerusalem’s game development community thrive.

What is your connection to Jerusalem?

Growing up in Baqa, I always felt proud of Jerusalem and connected to the people who make up this city. The diverse people, unique atmosphere and beauty of the city gave me a feeling of home.

After studying at Hebrew UniversityI spent a few years advancing my career at a mobile game studio in Tel Aviv, but eventually felt drawn back to Jerusalem. I returned here in 2018 to create an independent studio, Unboxed, with Simon Gross, whom I met in high school.

Amir Blum (photo: Zhenya Maley)

The vibrant and supportive tech ecosystem here quickly proved to be fertile ground for our fledgling venture, and a community of game developers began to form around us.

What got you into gaming and game development?

I’ve been playing games since my grandparents bought me a Game Boy and Pokemon Red (1996 video game) for my sixth birthday. I was also interested in programming from a young age, but it took me an incredibly long time to combine those two interests. I thought games were magical creations that just appeared on store shelves without understanding the blood, sweat, and tears of the people who made them.

That changed in 2012 when I accidentally took part in the Global Game Jam in Jerusalem. Creating a game from scratch in just 48 hours was a transformative experience. This made me realize that game development was something I could actually do to express my creativity through code while creating engaging, interactive experiences.

Why did you start a community in Jerusalem?

I traveled to meetings and conferences in Tel Aviv only to meet a growing number of Jerusalemites on the bus on the way there. The requirement was clear; all that was missing was the right framework that could bring it all together.

Plus, Simon and I didn’t want to be the only studio in town making games in an ecosystem vacuum. We founded MakeGamesJLM as a community that promotes collaboration and knowledge sharing, and ultimately creates more opportunities for all participants.

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I believe Jerusalem has all the necessary ingredients to become a thriving game development hub. We have world-class academic institutions, a warm and welcoming technology ecosystem, supported by organizations such as Made by JLMand a diverse population that can offer fresh perspectives.

There is a widespread belief in the industry that diverse teams make better games because they bring a wider range of experiences and ideas to the table. It’s a collaborative process and I’ve seen it transcend cultural and social barriers, so my desire is to see Jerusalem strengthened and prospered by a strong local game development industry – and it all starts with a strong local community.

What is indie game development and its challenges?

Indie game development is all about small teams working on projects they are passionate about. These teams prioritize creative expression and strive for commercial viability and sustainability rather than maximum profit.

Team members must perform different tasks and be involved in everything from art and coding to business aspects. To be successful, you will need a broad set of skills and a solid understanding of the platform and the intricacies of running a business. Just like in the independent film or music industry, success often requires a combination of effort and luck. Sometimes you just have to hold out long enough to land the first blow.

For us, the main task was to find funding for our projects. Unlike larger studios, indie developers often have to negotiate a publishing deal or launch their project with their own limited resources. For many years we divided our time between developing our own games and working as a studio for hire. This allowed us to successfully release our first game, confused – a multiplayer chicken tennis game – came out on Nintendo Switch last year.

Constraints also promote creativity and risk-taking. Without pressure from corporate stakeholders, indie developers have the freedom to experiment with new ideas and push boundaries. This is what I love about this space and why many of the most innovative and interesting games are often created by indie studios.

Tell us about your work in the gaming industry.

Over the past few years, my work has been divided between creating opportunities for the Jerusalem community through various initiatives and leading by example through our studio’s game development.

MakeGamesJLM organizes weekly meetups for programmers, artists, sound designers and more to work on projects in a supportive and collaborative environment.

To increase connections, we host the GameDev Drinkup, a casual event that brings together game developers to network every month or two.

We founded Double Jump, a game development cooperative that provides services to companies seeking experience in game development, while providing local community members with the opportunity to work in the field and earn an income while working on their own projects.

We also host game jams, offering developers unique opportunities to experience the full game development cycle in a very short period of time. We have an annual tradition of holding game jams during Hanukkah, open to participants from all over the country, as well as hosting local venues for global jams.

But perhaps my most important contribution is working on projects either independently or as part of Unboxed.

When we released confusedWe hosted a celebration for the entire community to demonstrate that success in the gaming industry is achievable right here in Jerusalem!