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Funding the Nordic way: How the Nordic Game Program helps devs deliver their dream projects

Giving creativity the freedom it needs

Funding the Nordic way: How the Nordic Game Program helps devs deliver their dream projects
It's increasingly difficult to pen any article on the Nordic region and game development without resorting to hyperbole and the industry's strong focus on innovation.

Titles such as Hotline Miami, Angry Birds and Minecraft have burst out from the pixelated confines of the circular gaming industry and seeped into the mainstream and popular culture.

However, for every Battlefield 3 that lavishly occupies shelf space, there is a SNOW on the other end of the scale wrestling with the harsh realities of reaching another development milestone without substantial financial backing.

Then there are titles such as Limbo, Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Ilomilo that owe a large chunk of their success to initiatives such as the Nordic Game Program.

The famous five

Founded in January 2006, the Nordic Game Program aims to safeguard Nordic regional interests with the aid of cross national collaboration between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

It's an enterprise that has proved hugely successful, largely in part to the enterprising way recipients are vetted.


The Nordic Game Program website

"We like creativity and proven teams," said the program's head of Nordic game resources AB, Eric Robertson, going on to compare the Nordic Game Program to the European Media program, which supports film and audiovisual industries across the EU.

"I imagine the factors are basically the same," he added.

"Our selection process is different, though. A group of experts make the selection in an intense overnight negotiation, it is public exactly who they are, but still no applicant would dream of bothering them."

'Dream project'

From the developer end of the spectrum, Tomas Ahlström - VP of business development at Boldai, which was recently acquired by Linden Labs - admits the existence and subsequent intervention from the Nordic Game program was instrumental in giving the company the freedom to realise its dream project.

"The money gave us time to develop the product from an early demo to a solid product including a relatively long beta test period," said Ahlström.

"Without the money we would have been forced to release a pre-mature product which I don't think had what it takes to be successful on the App Store. At the stage we were at, no investors were interested in contributing financially - it was simply too early."


Boldai's Blocksworld

With Boldai and its Minecraft tinged title Blocksworld recently acquired by Second Life proprietors Linden Labs, the Nordic Game Program has a knack for getting behind games etched on a foundation of open dialogue and bound in a belief that the entrepreneurial spirit is critical to the development process.

Taking on tax cuts

With regards to the funding process, differences between the way financial support is dispensed appears to be minimal with the lack of a tax break in the region crucial for helping evening the playing field.

"Denmark and Norway have cultural grants alongside film grants and administered by their film funds," added Nordic Game's Eric Robertson.

"Finland puts a lot of R&D money into the games sector. Sweden does neither. The Nordic Game Program however caters to all five countries, though. What we do lack is the tax breaks the British and French have.

"The French tax break is 30 times the Nordic subsidy per capita and 75 times per game developer head."

With the Nordic Game Program set to be absolved into the Nordic Game Institute and contracted to help administer indie game development until the tail end of 2014, the challenge lies in continuing to provide optimum support to indies whilst expanding on its overall repertoire.

The future of indie game development in the region depends on it.
You can found out more about the Nordic Game Program here.

Saxophone playing Vic Bassey is an experienced writer. He currently oversees industry communications for the Swedish Games Industry, as well as being the go to copy content guy at Stardoll. Vic has previously covered the games industry in Sweden as a contributor for Game Reactor, as well as video reviews for Press 2 Play.