Bolstering Lebanon’s game development

With a touch of the screen, fat bunny bounces his way up the vibrantly colored mountain terrain, munching on the occasional carrot. Press too long or too little, however, and splat goes bunny into the mountainside – game over. Like many mobile games, Fat Bunny’s concept is simple, yet its gameplay addictive. It was launched in its beta version on March 20, the first offering of Lebanese game studio Groovy Antoid, who, along with another Lebanese newcomer, Van Ahmar, were selected as part of a piloted partnership between the startup accelerator Speed@BDD and Arab Arcade, a self-described community initiative. Game development is not new to Lebanon. Local game studios began appearing 2008-2012, boosted by investment from the likes of Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Berytech and Resource Group Holding. But this last year has seen a sudden surge in activity and a more concentrated effort to grow the game development