Gamebadges project

Gamebadges – Skill Mapping and Micro-credentials for the Game Industry

The Gamebadges project will design, pilot, and implement the first of its kind, European-wide competence-based open badge ecosystem targeted at the European game industry and game education. The model will be transparent, public, and based on the solid needs of the industry.  Neogames Finland is one of the project partners.

The Gamebadges project will dissect game industry related professions – from game design, coding, and art to community management and business skills – into clearly defined competence goals. A Competence Map spanning the full range of game industry professions will be created with the assistance of industry experts and educators and made available for anyone to use.

In addition, a selection of digital Open Badges of the mapped game industry professions will be created for three skill levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold. The resulting Open Badges can be utilised by the industry and educators alike to measure and present skills in the field. Also, three partners will pilot silver-badge courses for Associated Partners’ game educators and professionals.

The game industry being a relatively new sector, it lacks formal standards for professions common in the field. This has led to a situation where titles, terms and tasks can vary significantly across the industry. The Gamebadges project creates a standardised framework of titles and competences for game development-related professions. The project serves both the game industry and the European open badge ecosystem by creating coherent models for competence-based open badges.

The project has three main deliverables:

1. The Competence Map of Game Industry Professions – a free online tool open for all
2. Open Badges for Game Industry Professions in three competence levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold)
3.  Six pilot courses of silver skill-set badges for game educators and professionals of the Consortium

The project is coordinated by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Finland). Metropolia is also leading work packages 1 (Project management), 3 (Research) and 4 (Badge ecosystem co-creation).

Project partners:
Neogames Finland (Finland), lead of WP2 (dissemination and impact)
Univerzita Karlova (Czechia), lead of WP5 (badge ecosystem testing and improvements)
Luca School of Arts (Belgium), lead of WP6 (badge implementation – schools)
Asociace Ceskych Hernich Vyvojaru (Czechia), lead of WP7 (badge implementation – companies)
Wallonia Games Association (Belgium)
Erhvervsakademi Dania (Denmark)
Viden Djurs (Denmark)
Grafisch Lyceum Utrecht (Netherlands)

The project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.