Marcin Makaj, PhD - Doctor of Arts (Academy of Art in Szczecin), Master of Laws (University of Szczecin), and Master of Economics (University of Szczecin). Marcin Makaj works as an assistant professor at the Design Department of the Academy of Art in Szczecin, where he successfully created a video game development degree course. He also has been working in the video games industry since 2011 when he began creating mobile applications for iOS devices. Now he is engaged in creating games at his own one-man studio, where he works as a designer, graphic artist and programmer.
Marcin Makaj balances on the edge of traditional games and art, experimenting with form and message. He believes that video games can offer more than only entertainment.
His most important production – Bohemian Killing – combines the features of a traditional video game with a legal thriller resembling the works of John Grisham. The game received various awards (including the Best Story award at the 2016 Pixel Awards and a nomination in the Best Desktop/Downloadable category at the Game Connection Development Awards). It was showcased all around the world (Pixel Heaven in Warsaw, Gamescom in Cologne, the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, INDIGO in Amsterdam, the Out of Index Experimental Game Fest in Seoul, Fan Expo Canada in Toronto and Game Connection Europe in Paris).
His next game, Commander 85, has also been well-received (including three nominations in the Best PC Game, Best Hardcore Game, Best Story/Storytelling categories at the Game Connection America 2020 - Indie Development Awards, and a nomination to Indie Prize USA 2019). It was showcased in many different countries (ChinaJoy in Shanghai, the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, GameDaily Connect in Los Angeles and Playtopia in Cape Town).
Marcin Makaj regularly participates in industry events, and is an active member of the community:
Marcin Makaj balances on the edge of traditional games and art, experimenting with form and message. He believes that video games can offer more than only entertainment.
His most important production – Bohemian Killing – combines the features of a traditional video game with a legal thriller resembling the works of John Grisham. The game received various awards (including the Best Story award at the 2016 Pixel Awards and a nomination in the Best Desktop/Downloadable category at the Game Connection Development Awards). It was showcased all around the world (Pixel Heaven in Warsaw, Gamescom in Cologne, the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, INDIGO in Amsterdam, the Out of Index Experimental Game Fest in Seoul, Fan Expo Canada in Toronto and Game Connection Europe in Paris).
His next game, Commander 85, has also been well-received (including three nominations in the Best PC Game, Best Hardcore Game, Best Story/Storytelling categories at the Game Connection America 2020 - Indie Development Awards, and a nomination to Indie Prize USA 2019). It was showcased in many different countries (ChinaJoy in Shanghai, the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, GameDaily Connect in Los Angeles and Playtopia in Cape Town).
Marcin Makaj regularly participates in industry events, and is an active member of the community:
- he is a member of the International Choice Awards Network (ICAN) - an invitation-only group comprised of leading game creators from all parts of the video game industry, who nominate and select winners for the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCAs),
- he is a frequent speaker at various conferences (Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, Game Industry Conference (GIC) in Poznan, InCAST JAPAN in Tokyo, Design Plus in Szczecin, and the Mastering the Game conference of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw),
- he received a scholarship at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (2017), as one of the first game developers from Eastern Europe,
- he has taught children about game development at the Lighthouse International School in Goyang, South Korea,
- he received three grants by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland as part of the Creative Sectors Development program,
- he was one of the fifteen candidates in the Digital Culture category at the 2016 Polityka's Passport - an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine Polityka since 1993.
