Screen NSW levels up support for digital games sector

The state’s up and coming digital game makers will see their projects power up to the next level, while five established practitioners have travelled to Germany for global networking opportunities, as Screen NSW ramps up its support for the thriving digital games sector with two new funds.

Close to $300,000 in funding will be delivered through Screen NSW’s Digital Games Seed Development and Gamescom 2024 Market Travel Programs to support both rising and experienced practitioners in the sector.

Emerging and small-medium enterprise creators will receive funding to advance early concept game ideas to the next stage of development. Digital Games Seed Development recipients include a first-person narrative survival game, inspired by iconic Soviet era cinema; a roleplaying game that improves the player's mental health; a pup-tastic puzzle adventure game; a sci-fi tactics game about warring factions set in space; and a haunted adventure game about antiquing.

In addition, five experienced NSW digital games practitioners have travelled to Germany for one of the world’s largest events for the industry to market their games on a global stage, with travel costs supported through the Gamescom 2024 Market Travel Program. Each year Gamescom exhibits the latest in global gaming and provides attendees the opportunity to market and network with international digital games studios and creators. NSW studios that have sent talent to Germany include Blowfish Studios, Chaos Theory Games, Epiphany Games, Lamington Games and Lemonade Games.

Increasing support for digital games is a key commitment in Creative Communities, the state’s 10-year policy for arts and creative industries and will form a key pillar in the upcoming three-year NSW Screen & Digital Games Strategy. 

Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth said:

“NSW is home to a booming digital games sector and through these two programs Screen NSW is supporting practitioners through every stage of their careers.

“We are providing vital funding to our emerging creators so we can nurture and grow their skills and create a pipeline of innovative and exciting games for audiences, while also supporting our experienced digital game makers and businesses to travel overseas to fly the flag for our local industry on the global stage and bring more work and knowledge home.

“Screen NSW looks forward to continuing to support more exciting work from game makers and creators in the future.”

Digital Games Seed Development Program recipient Jake Truman, Director of Entropy Interactive said:

“With this grant, Screen NSW has enabled us to reach a critical milestone in our game’s development. Beyond the tangible impact it has on the game itself, the support of government funding has equally intrinsic value in conversations with potential publishers and investors. Ultimately, it is incredibly motivating for us as a team to see our hard work recognised and allows us to continue our mission of improving mental health through gaming.”

Gamescom 2024 Market Travel Program recipient Sebastien Thevenet, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Blowfish Studios said:

"Blowfish Studios is really honoured to be one of Screen NSW's recipients for the Market Travel Program to Gamescom this year. This fund will be of great help for accommodation and flight tickets to Gamescom where Blowfish Studios will be introducing "SHADOWMAN® Darque Legacy" and "Redemption of the Damned" to potential investors and publishers".

Full details of recipients for both programs are below.

Digital Games Seed Development Program Recipients

Game: Death of a Partisan (Studio: Myshkin Entertainment)

Team members: Edwin Montgomery, Matt MacLean, Olga Moskvina, Roger Markwick, Stephen Panetta and Meredith Hall.

Synopsis: Death of a Partisan is a narrative survival game set on the Eastern Front of World War 2. Join a small group of Soviet partisans as they brave the harsh winter, fight (or evade) enemy forces, and confront moral dilemmas in a land torn apart by war. Inspired by iconic Soviet cinema, this immersive, first-person experience delves into the complexities of survival, resistance, and the human cost of war.

Game: Deck & Conn (N/A Studio)

Creator: Elissa Harris.             

Synopsis: Deck & Conn is a turn-based starship command and combat game with dieselpunk aesthetics. Set 15 minutes into the future of the 1980s where a cold war is turning hot, the game is a Military Sci-Fi parody, with human factions endlessly warring with each other in space.

Game: Doggy Don't Care (Studio: Rotub Games)

Team members: Rohan Nowell, Carlo Delos Santos and Dominique Parker.

Synopsis: Unleash adorable chaos as a mischievous pup! Explore, collect, and smash your way around the house and beyond in this cheeky adventure. Fetch the approval of your feathered friends by digging into a list of fun-filled tasks and collecting all the Mischievous Badges. It's sure to be a pawsitively unforgettable day!

Game: Dungeonbreakers (Studio: Droptable Games)

Team members: Bryn Welch, Kristian Lindsell and Sophie Ware-Maloney.

Synopsis: Dungeonbreakers is a turn-based roleplaying game. Adventure through a hopeful post-apocalyptic fantasy world, leading a party of lovable misfits, each with their own stories to unfold.

Game: Insignia (Studio: Uppon Hill)

Team members: Adam Younis, Luca D'Annunzio, Morgan Ridley-Smith, Yamnaa Haq and Morgan Prior.

Synopsis: Accompany Armin on the adventure of a lifetime on his quest to learn the magical arts of blacksmithing, discover the fate of his lost father and race to stop a force threatening the destruction of the kingdom. Insignia is an action-adventure game being developed for pc and consoles.

Game: Enfant (Studio: Zebrar)

Team members: Saxon Dixon, John Doolan, Samuel Elmohamed, Andrew Lodge, Simone Clow and Dominic Mazur.

Synopsis: Join the Nomad, our elephant protagonist, on a quest to unite with his lost herd. A 3D Metroidvania set in a distant future where the natural world flourishes and humanity is just a footnote in history.

Game: Myndzai (Studio: Entropy Interactive)

Team members: Jake Truman, Jessica Matotek, Steven Hughes, Alexander Degiorgio, Olly Rybak, Inès Rotzinger, Scott Russell and Emily Wilkinson.

Synopsis: Restore a cosy fantasy world and repel a sinister force, undertaking a journey of self-understanding in a RPG that improves the player's mental health. Engage in mindfulness, narrative therapy and gameplay features that combine to create personalised experiences best suited to each user.

Game: Mystiques Haunted Antiques (Studio: Lemonade Games)

Team members: Ally McLean Hennessy, Adam Matthews, Inge Berman, Benjamin Retter, Robert Gordon Archer, Nicole Archer and Shaun Bright.

Synopsis: Mystiques Haunted Antiques is a game about the four worst women you’ve ever met. Gem, Aspen, Winnie and Barb run a failing antique store which is saved by their new business strategy: developing psychic powers.

Game: Resonant (N/A Studio)

Creator: Callum Denmead.

Synopsis: Resonant is an experimental walking simulator game, infused with elements of puzzle, rhythm and exploration that forms a heavily sensory experience to be enjoyed by every type of audience. With a focus on visual and auditory experience rather than firm narrative, the goal is to create an emotional response in the player, similar to what one might experience when they observe an artwork.

Gamescom 2024 Market Travel Program

Studio: Blowfish Studios

Travelling applicant: Sebastien Thevenet

Game: Shadowman®: Darque Legacy

Studio: Chaos Theory Games 

Travelling applicant: Nico King

Game: Crab God

Studio: Epiphany Games 

Travelling applicant: Morgan Lean

Games: Tiny Troopers: Global Ops and Beyond the Black Sea

Studio: Lamington Games 

Travelling applicant: David Kilford

Game: Blink

Other: David is also representing Mellow Games’ Blueberry.

Studio: Lemonade Games 

Travelling applicant: Ally McLean

Game: Mystiques Haunted Antiques