Screen NSW has announced the first recipients of its dedicated games funding program, with five individuals awarded travel grants to Gamescom 2024, and nine games receiving a grant to support continued development. Around AUD $300,000 worth of funding has been delivered, and Screen NSW has ambitions to continue expanding this support in future.
“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,” Kyas Hepworth, Head of Screen NSW said in a press release.
“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.”
As announced, a range of projects have been supported with this funding, including a haunted antiquing adventure, a turn-based spaceship combat game, and a “mischievous pup” sim where you cause chaos as a tiny dog.
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Here’s the full list of games supported by the new round of Screen NSW funding:
- Death of a Partisan (Myshkin Entertainment) – “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.”
- Deck & Conn (Elissa Harris) – “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.”
- Doggy Don’t Care (Rotub Games) – “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.”
- Dungeonbreakers (Droptable Games) – “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.”
- Insignia (Uppon Hill) – “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.”
- Enfant (Zebrar) – “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.”
- Myndzai (Entropy Interactive) – “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.”
- Mystiques Haunted Antiques (Lemonade Games) – “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.”
- Resonant (Callum Denmead) – “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.”
In addition to these games, Screen NSW has also provided funding for individuals from Blowfish Studios, Chaos Theory Games, Epiphany Games, Lamington Games, and Lemonade Games to travel to Gamescom 2024.
We’re likely to hear much more about each project in future, as development continues with support from Screen NSW.
