Is it possible to get something like a government grant to start a game development company? I know that there is money out there to start small businesses but would a game company qualify for this? I''ve been thinking seriously lately about starting a game dev company in the future and was just wondering if government assistance would be a possibility.

Not in the US.

Like you say there are all sorts of grants about. Most are regeneration grants to encourage business back into run down areas and others are indirect aid in the form of loans for new equipments or for taking on unemployed people etc etc. To find out if anything is available in your area you will need to go to your local goverment/council.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Game Development & Design consultant

Yes. You can get a grant, but the trick in getting the grant is the proposal, specifically, what you propose to do in the game they give you money for that meets a particular social or scientific need that is the kind of thing that particular entity funds.

Universities are getting grants all day long with Grantwriter 3.0 for their little experiments in AI and robotics, why not prove the case for games and show us the money?

There is a case for legitimacy, btw, and lawdy nose we need that kind of politic in our camp right now, with retailers purportedly going to get fines for selling violent games.

Some research is warranted here..

Addy

You brought up a good point I think, adventuredesign. If people are getting grants for research such as AI, I think we have just as much of a legitimate case for games. I''ll keep researching.

quote: Original post by caffeineaddict
You brought up a good point I think, adventuredesign. If people are getting grants for research such as AI, I think we have just as much of a legitimate case for games. I''ll keep researching.

Go for it dude. Let us know what you come up with. Our industry needs some positives these days.

Addy

quote: Original post by caffeineaddict
If people are getting grants for research such as AI, I think we have just as much of a legitimate case for games.

The bad news is that the government views things a little differenetly. They tend to think that the use to which something will be put is what is important. They will happily provide grants for AI research that has a serious application (either military or economic). But, funding similar research to make a better version of Mario Kart isn't something they will consider.

The good news is that a devious developer could possible get around this. I know of one game developer that got funding for part of their game by claiming that it would have specific "real world" applications (it never did). Good examples would include flight sims which could be moved over to military training and I am sure many others. The trick is finding the right grant and making your work appear to be applicable.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Game Development & Design consultant

[edited by - obscure on April 28, 2003 10:13:44 PM]

I know one guy who got $100,000 to make his game. He needed another $100,000 to match the grant. All he had was an excellent business plan. One other thing... The game was going to specifically target the little girl market. I think the girly angle is what swung it for him.

It''s 4 years since he got that grant and he''s quite successful but he is stuck making games for 8 year old girls. Ha! Ha!

quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
It''s 4 years since he got that grant and he''s quite successful but he is stuck making games for 8 year old girls. Ha! Ha!

haha! 8 year olds

we did a massive project in school recently where we had to write SBIR grant proposals to get government funds,(like you mention there must be some scientific merit or something.)
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~cpi/previous.html ..we did the edm project(check out the sbir doc) way off from the norm but somehow convinced the review board it had scientific merit.

Anyways you can prob read the course outline to find sources for funding and stuff for your game project.

laters
quack.

quote: Original post by caffeineaddict
Is it possible to get something like a government grant to start a game development company?

You might not be able to get a grant, but depending on your industry experience, you could get a guaranteed loan.

Visit www.sba.gov. Or visit your local Small Business Administration Office.