Funding scheme for Victorian game devs

It's no secret that the Australian game development industry is in need of a helping hand. The past 18 months have seen a string of continual job cuts, studio closures, and increased economic pressure on the local games sector. Industry stalwart Transmission Games was the first to run into trouble, closing its doors late last year. Australia's largest studio, Krome, was close on Transmission's heels, suffering two rounds of staff cuts before finally shutting down its Adelaide studio and laying off staff at its Melbourne and Brisbane studios in late August this year.

It now appears that help has finally come, at least in one part of Australia. Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings and Film Victoria yesterday announced the Games Investment initiative, a new funding program that aims to give Victorian game developers financial security--in the shape of up to A$100,000 per project--and allow them to create a full game for distribution on any platform (including home consoles, PC, online, iPhone, and iPad). Developers that apply for the scheme can also use the money to create a prototype to show potential publishers and apply for further funding.

Any Victorian developer--whether it's an individual, team, or established studio--can apply for the program. All applications must be submitted to Film Victoria; the first deadline is October 29, 2010, with the recipients of the first-round funding to be announced in early 2011.

Film Victoria CEO Sandra Sdraulig said there are no limitations on who can apply and what kind of game they apply with; all that matters is that the game can be marketed in some way.

"Applicants can make any type of game, and we'll assess it based on its innovation, marketability, and quality," Sdraulig said. "We'll fund games for any platform, including social networks, mobile, handheld, console, retail, and digital."

"We know education often plays an important role in serious games, so we may consider projects with some educational elements to them, though we won't fund purely education games. Also, we expect that applications have a clear and achievable idea of the audience they will be targeting, but we won't be looking for games targeted to a specific audience."

Victorian Minister for Innovation Jennings said his state leads the way in support of Australia's digital media sector, with a focus on helping some of Victoria's smaller studios to compete in the global industry.

"The state of the games industry is healthy and growing," Jennings said. "The Victorian government has provided substantial funding and a range of supports to this industry over the last decade."

The Australian government has good reason to invest in local video game developers. According to independent market research group Gfk, the Australian game industry cracked the A$2 billion revenue mark last year, growing by 112 percent since 2006. The GDAA reports that there are now more than 50 game development companies in the country, with more than 200 titles developed locally.

Sdraulig said Victoria has been home to some of Australia's most successful game studios, something she hopes to keep alive with the Games Investment initiative.

"Our local games community is renowned in the world for its innovation and capability," she said. "It's invaluable for Victorian games developers to access funds to develop original IP in a high-growth global market. I think this program will ensure the development of market-driven projects that can find an audience and are capable of attracting further investment."

The Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA)--the industry body that represents Aussie game development houses--has been campaigning for government help since 2007, asking for the same 40 percent tax rebate that the government extended to the film development industry in the 2007 Federal Budget. The GDAA says this support will result in an additional A$25 million in new investment into Australian-developed games, something that the local industry desperately needs to survive. The rebate would also enable Aussie developers to reduce development costs, which could help attract more international publishers and inject new life into the local industry.

The Games Investment guidelines are available online through Film Victoria.