Applications are open now for the lastest round of games finance funding, allowing Queenslanders to apply for a grant of up to $50,000 towards development.
SQ CEO Kylie
Munnich said that applications are not limited
by any specific creative brief, but must demonstrate a clear vision and ability
to deliver an innovative project with strong market appeal.
“SQ has been investing in the local games industry since 2013, creating new
games across various genres and platforms that appeal to target audiences
around the world,” said Ms Munnich.
“We’re
looking forward to seeing a wide range of applications reflecting the diversity
of this dynamic sector and its practitioners.”
SQ
has a strong track record of developing successful games, including the unique
cross-platform app Ardent
Roleplay, released in December 2019 by Ardacious, which incorporates augmented
reality into tabletop RPGs.
“The Screen
Queensland funding was a huge support for us. We are delivering Ardent
Roleplay at a time when games like Dungeons and Dragons are seeing a huge
resurgence, thanks to the TV series Stranger Things and online streams
like Critical Role,” said Dr Ralf Muhlberger, Founder and CEO of
Ardacious.
“We plan to really take advantage of our first-to-market status and this upsurge in interest. Ardent Roleplay is the flagship product for Ardacious, and we are looking forward to enhancing further tabletop games through augmented reality in the future,” he said.
Another
recent SQ success story is Screwtape Studios’ celebrated, arcade action
platformer Damsel, which was
nominated for the 2019 Australian Game Developer’s Award for Gameplay.
Megan
Summers, Co-Founder of Screwtape Studios, said that SQ funding allowed her to
add a significant achievement to her decade-long career in games, by releasing
an entertaining and visually stylistic game, that also responds to an
industry-wide need for empowering female characters.
“Five
years ago at Melbourne games week, my business partner Anthony Wood came to me
and said he wanted to stop just talking about female representation in games
and start actually making games that say what we wanted to say.
“We
wouldn’t be here today with a released game if it wasn’t for our funding from
Screen Queensland. The support they’ve had for us and our team and the game
itself has been amazing,” Ms Summers said.
Jed
Dawson, Affable Games Creative Director, has some advice for future applicants,
having received SQ funding in 2018 (alongside co-Director Jordan Comino), for
the comedy physics game Speaking
Simulator, released 30 January this year.
“The
first biggest milestone for us was when we received Screen Queensland’s Game
Development grant,” said Mr Dawson.
“Get ready to spend some time on your application. We spent weeks making sure that our market analysis and audience breakdown was competitive, and we asked industry heads for advice along the way … “
For those
wishing to power-up their application by improving their pitching and
communication skills, SQ will be running a half-day Building a
Pitch Deck workshop
on Wednesday 26 February.
Applications
are due Friday 3 April and are encouraged from teams and individuals who identify
as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, female, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, disabled and from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds.
