The interactive exhibition Level Up!, which for the first time presents the animated world of independently produced video games, was opened today, 3 June at 10am, Forum Gallery.

Twenty recent works by renowned indie studios, such as Amanita Design, Giant Sparrow and State of Play, were selected based on the criteria of design creativity, gaming mechanics innovation and visual expression. As fitting to the exhibitions of this kind, visitors will have a chance to play the games every day from 10am to 10pm (3-8 June) on different platforms, from personal and tablet computers to PlayStation 3.

The renowned Czech studio Amanita Design participates with three hits, Samorost 2, Machinarium and Botanicul, but also worth mentioning are Journey by thatgamecompany, one of the most award-winning independent games in history, Limbo by the Danish company Playdead, Spirits by Spaces of Play, The Bridge by Ty Taylor and Mario Castañeda and The Unfinished Swan by Giant Sparrow.

By including some of them in their permanent displays, the artistic potential of forty years of computer video game history was acknowledged by some of the leading world museums and galleries, such as MoMA in New York, Barbican in London and Smithsonian in Washington.

Since indie games come with a limited budget and are very often a backdrop to exceptional expertise in the field of graphic design and narrative skills, and given the transmedia focus of this year’s programme, the World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb and its Level Up! exhibition aim to establish video games as an equal medium of aesthetic creative expression.