What if Rennes one day became the stronghold of French video games? A small group of enthusiasts hope to make this dream a reality by creating a collective dynamic around this 2.0 entertainment. Since July, a handful of them have met daily in a shared house, at 2 rue du Sous-Lieutenant Berger. If from the outside, the place has nothing to envy of a classic building, it is nevertheless the materialization of a winning project of the 2018 Participatory Budget: the installation of a video game house.
The 114 m² property (and its garden) has been transformed into a coworking space in which video game enthusiasts and community stakeholders meet. Enough to make it a “unique place of its kind” for Thomas Rougeron, president of the Maison du Jeu Vidéo association.
The mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré tried her hand at a video game created, for the occasion, by several residents. (Le Télégramme/Ewen Bazin)
Build a community with a diversity of profiles
After several years of research in order to find the suitable place, and to arrange it, the collective was finally able to take possession of the premises from April 2023. The Maison du Jeu Vidéo, located not far from the Henri Fréville metro station, has gradually been equipped with the equipment necessary for its operation (computer equipment, office equipment, household appliances and outdoor furniture). Within it, artists and creators have appropriated the different rooms of the house. “It is also a working environment where everyone can benefit from advice and vice versa,” explains Thomas Rougeron. “Cultures intersect to free digital artistic creation.” If the objective is not to make the place an arcade area, the young man hopes to transform it into a popular place where young enthusiasts can be welcomed in order to benefit from suitable advice.
Instead of staying locked up at home, it allows us to have motivation to carry out our projects.
Around ten creators gathered
3D modelers, designers… In October 2023, the Maison du Jeu Vidéo welcomed nearly ten full- or part-time residents. In exchange for a paid subscription, they obtain the possibility of going to this creative space at any time of the day, using the equipment made available to them. Freshly graduated from the video game school in Cessonne, 3 Axes Instituts, Gaëtan and Vincent did not hesitate before seizing this opportunity. “We finished our studies last June, that’s when we learned that a video game center was going to open to the public” explains Gaëtan. “Instead of staying locked up at home, it allows us to have motivation to carry out our projects.” For the young man, who hopes to eventually pursue a career as an independent contractor, this maximized time allows him to gradually fill out his portfolio and make himself known to companies in the sector.
Creators of animated films, designers and even 3D modelers meet at the center of this bastion of independent video games. (Le Télégramme/Ewen Bazin)
At the heart of this digital ecosystem, which should not exceed twelve to thirteen residents, a new generation of video games is emerging and bringing video game culture to life. On the occasion of the inauguration of the premises, this December 2, several of them decided to develop a game adapted to the event. Enough to allow the mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré, to cut the red ribbon, armed with her digital pair of scissors.
