THE PLAYTOPIA FOUNDATION
Founded in 2024, The Playtopia Foundation is a non-profit company which aims to generate opportunities in game development in South Africa.
The projects of the foundation consist of:
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE FOUNDATION ARE:
1.
Enable access to the game development profession for those who cannot afford to study or lack the resources to participate. This is achieved via the Makers Massive and the Playtopia Festival volunteer program.
2.
To upskill would be game developers via talks, game jams*, conferences, community events and workshops. This is achieved via the Makers Massive, Playtopia Festival and the SFA collective.
3.
To provide financial support to developers in the prototyping phase of development. This is achieved via The Jam Dole.
4.
To connect developers with the local community and the global community. This is achieved via Playtopia Festival where plenty of international sponsors and developers attend the festival and network with local developers to discuss future funding, publishing and general mentorship.
PROJECTS
MAKER'S MASSIVE
Maker’s Massive as a collective aims to bring together like-minded individuals in Cape Town who share a common love for making games. Consisting of a physical space at the Homecoming Centre and a broad network of individuals (over 750 active members), the Massive hosts game jams, monthly meet-ups and other community-driven events that support the local games scene and promote skills development for the broader industry.
PLAYTOPIA FESTIVAL
Playtopia Festival is Africa’s first annual destination Indie Games and Immersive Arts Festival and conference. Drawing attendees from across the globe, we aim to connect the local to the global. Connecting across continents and disciplines, the festival aims to foster relationships between local developers and artists and international resources.
THE SUPER FRIENDSHIP ARCADE
The Super Friendship Arcade was established in 2014 as an alternative controller games event which has grown into a robust collective of students, enthusiasts, amateurs and professionals who meet at regular jams to create small interactive games with custom hardware controllers. These creations are exhibited at events, pop-ups and as a centre piece at the Playtopia Festival. SFA prides itself on its ability to attract novices into participating in these jams and developing technical and artistic skills, as well as showcasing these works to the public.
THE JAM DOLE
There are many skilled game developers who would like to prototype seriously, but do not have sufficient funding for this early stage of development.
The Jam Dole is a per-prototype funding program that aims to provide a solution to this issue, by covering basic living costs and allowing developers to focus on prototyping. We started this program because we believe that the most consistent route to success in game development is creating many small prototypes, then pursuing ones that show promise.
Since its inception in 2024, the Jam Dole has supported the following:
- 85+ prototypes, some with multiple jam dole cycles
- 60+ South African game developers, 12+ artists and several sound designers
- Contributed over R1 000 000 towards the growth of the local games scene
- On average, a developer gets paid R10 000 per 2 week-cycle
GET INVOLVED
For tax exemption certificate please contact us.
For information on joining a jam, attending an event, or joining our community, please see each of our programs for instructions.
The Playtopia Foundation is registered with SARS as a Public Benefit Organisation (“PBO”). This means that all qualifying donations made to the Foundation entitle the donor to receive a Section 18A tax receipt.”
