RIYADH: Aspiring Saudi video-game developers are being given the chance to travel to Japan to attend a newly launched training program. It has been organized by the Kingdom’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media in collaboration with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East, and Manga Productions, a digital animation and video-game company affiliated with Misk Foundation. The two-week program follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the GCAM and the JCC, in which they agreed to exchange advanced technologies and artistic knowledge, along with the training and development of human resources, in line with the aims of Saudi Vision 2030, to broaden the relationship between the countries. GCAM said the training program will teach Saudi innovators how to develop the skills needed to plan and create video games, as they learn how to define a concept, then design and develop the game. They will work with Japanese students to create games using software engines. The program will be presented by game developers and other experts, including lecturers from Nippon University. Trainees will also visit a number of games companies to gain an insight into the practical application of the skills they are learning, and the ways in which Japanese games are developed.