You and I both know that every person that has ever said, “If [so and so] gets elected, I’m moving to Canada!” is lying. Well, it seems that Canada is starting to call our bluff, doing everything it can to attract game developers to the area — when Canadian provinces aren’tduking it out over studios, the country’s cultural industry agency, Telefilm, is handing out boatloads of cash,reports Gamasutra.
Recently, Telefilm has been giving Canadian indie development what I’m sure is a much-appreciated shot in the arm, handing out “repayable advances.” Here’s how they work: the loans must be paid back out of the game’s profits, but not if the game doesn’t make any money. Developers can knock off an extra 10% if they release English- and French-language versions.
So, who’s been taking advantage of Canada’s institutionalized dedication to cultural progress? Well, Metanet (the developers ofN+) received a bit of change andKlei Entertainmentreceived $70, 238 forEets: ChowdownandEets: Hunger. It’s Emotionaland $90,000 for the original PC version ofEets.Polytron Corporation, responsible forsure-to-be-hitFez, were the proud recipient of $73,682, and Hothead Entertainment (ofPenny Arcadefame) received $536,069 forDeathSpank, the latest game fromMonkey Islandcreator Ron Gilbert.
Unfortunately, it might not all be rainbows and ice cream sundaes and butterflies up North: Polytron’s Jason DeGroot commented that while Telefilm did provide pre-production funding forFez, they “decided to pull the carpet from beneath our feet for 2009,” noting also that next year, the Canadian New Media Fund (where Telefilm gets these loans) will be merged into the Canadian Television Fund. Translation? In 2010, television, film, and games development will all be competing for the same pieces of the pie.
[ViaGamePolitics]