Antix Press Contact
Tim Cole, Marketing
e: tim.cole@antixlabs.com
t: +44 1183 570357
PRESS RELEASE
£100k Game Funding Contest launched by TIGA, Abertay and IC Tomorrow
– TIGA Games Contest offers four £25,000 prizes to games developers to build a prototype and use it to secure further development funding –
The £100,000 TIGA Games Contest will be launched tomorrow (Friday 25 November, 2011), offering four £25,000 prizes to games developers to build a prototype and use it to secure further development funding. The funding, which was announced by Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey at the NESTA Investment Conference earlier this week, comes from Abertay University’s Prototype Fund.
There are three categories for applications: games on-the-move, games in-the-home and social web gaming. Two prizes are available for the social web gaming category, with one for each of games-on-the-move and games-in-the-home.
Four prizes are on offer, which include the £25,000 funding per project, as well as free TIGA membership for six months, mentoring, and support from the technical teams at contest supporters Antix Labs or Turbulenz.
Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey said: "Being able to show a potential investor a prototype can make a real difference in securing all-important funding, so this competition will provide direct help to budding developers. I hope that it will prove key to making some brilliant ideas into successful businesses."
Paul Durrant, Director of Business Development at Abertay University, said: "Abertay University is working hard to give start-ups and young companies the opportunity to create original IP supported by the Prototype Fund and use it to secure funding and grow their companies. Working with TIGA, Turbulenz and Antix gives us a fantastic opportunity to improve the success potential of the companies who receive our support."
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: "As the trade association for UK game developers, TIGA is focused on making the UK the best place in the world to do games business. One of TIGA’s top priorities is to improve access to finance for studios. I am delighted, therefore, to be working with Abertay, Antix Labs and Turbulenz in running this competition which will provide finance for small studios to develop game prototypes."
The successful applicants will be judged on their market potential, having a commercially viable business model, and the fit with the category briefs.
Applications must be received by noon on Thursday 26th January 2012.
To apply, register from Monday 28th November at https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/tiga-games-contest for the TIGA Games Challenge group.
– Ends –
For media enquiries, please contact Chris Wilson (Communications Officer) – T: 01382 308522 M: 07837 250284 E: chris.wilson@abertay.ac.uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Competition categories
Applications must address one of the following specific challenge areas:
Games on-the-move – supported by Antix Labs (1 Award) – should be designed for a shared experience for players in immediate proximity and run on tablets and phones. The developer may choose that the game can also be run on TVs, set-top boxes and PCs but the most important emphasis should be on a strong mobile experience supporting a flexible business model. Games should be shared via Wi-Fi and possibly Bluetooth to another user to play in multiplayer mode without having to return to the service provider’s store.
Games in-the-home – supported by Antix Labs (1 Award) – should be designed for friends and family to play together around a TV or set-top box using their phone or tablet as an active part of the game. The TV would be used as the game’s public display viewed by all competitors and observers. The mobile platforms would be connected via Wi-Fi and used for displaying any private information. The game business model should be ad-based, freemium or pay-per-play.
Social web gaming - supported by Turbulenz (2 awards) – browser video games are now a multi-billion pound sector of the industry. How can this fast growing platform be taken to the next level? Turbulenz aims to enable the evolution of browser games through its unique web games platform that brings social connectivity and high quality games together for the first time. How can a game take advantage of playing with friends in real-time – collaborating, competing and challenging your friends directly online – all with instant access in the browser? Applicants should carefully consider making their game relevant to a broad audience of casual gamers online. Make it fun, keep it simple and connect gamers with their friends online.
More details on each challenge can be found at https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/tiga-games-contest.
The same technology solution will not be considered across multiple challenges.
About Antix Labs, Ltd
Antix has developed the Antix Game Player incorporating a consumer-focused distribution file format and service that makes games even more viral than music and video whilst still protecting the rights and the revenues of the developers. It enables consumers to copy, share, challenge and play with others not only via a service provider’s network but also off-network by means of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct. Antix connects consumers across feature phones and smartphones, tablets, TVs, set top boxes, PCs and other devices even when a provider’s network is inaccessible, intermittent, slow or full as is the reality in home and on mobile across most of the world. The company offers the Game Player, corresponding tools, certification mechanism, optional white-label store and an optional game warehouse necessary to deploy a complete service offering. The Antix Game Service is being used as a core gaming component by major operators, broadcasters, device manufacturers and retailers across the globe. Headquartered in the Reading Enterprise Centre in Reading, England and with offices in America and Asia, Antix was founded by Francis Charig, its current Chief Executive and a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
For more information, please visit: http://antixlabs.com/.
Alternatively please contact:
Tim Cole, Marketing, Antix Labs Ltd.
tim.cole@antixlabs.com
+44 1183 570357
About TIGA
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. In 2010 TIGA won two business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum. In 2011, TIGA won six business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum and ‘Outstanding Organisation’ from the Chartered Management Institute. Richard Wilson won the ‘Leadership Award’ from the Trade Association Forum and the ‘Outstanding Leader’ award from the Chartered Management Institute. TIGA is an Investors in People organisation. For further information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939 643, or email richard.wilson@tiga.org
About IC tomorrow
IC tomorrow, a Technology Strategy Board programme, enables content owners and application developers – any business with a new service, new business model or new way of deploying hardware or software technology – to trial their ideas with UK consumers through its test bed. The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led government body which works to create economic growth by ensuring that the UK is a global leader in innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please visit: Technology Strategy Board website. Media enquiries about IC tomorrow should be directed to: Richard Botley, Sarah James or Karel Kumar at Mi liberty – Tel: 0207 751 4444, email: ictomorrow@miliberty.com
About Turbulenz
Turbulenz is a games platform built exclusively for the web. Offering the widest possible audience for brilliant content, Turbulenz brings social connectivity and high quality games together for the first time. The Turbulenz games platform is an internet destination (turbulenz.com) that combines a new console-quality gaming experience with a social network. Powered by the Turbulenz HTML5 JavaScript SDK and social APIs that hook your game in with Facebook and Twitter, Turbulenz brings high quality 3D games and social features such as badges, leaderboards, live online multi-player and chat into one single web platform. For more information, visit Turbulenz at www.turbulenz.com or contact Gavin Shields on 01483 338 720 or email gavinshields@turbulenz.com
About Abertay University
Abertay University launched the world’s first ever computer games degree in 1997. This postgraduate Master’s course was followed by a complementary undergraduate course, and later by specialist courses in production management and game applications development. Abertay has the highest number of Skillset accreditations for computer games courses (four out of ten across the UK) as well as holding full Skillset Media Academy status, a recognition of the important industry skills that are developed on our courses. More information at www.abertay.ac.uk
About the Abertay Prototype Fund
Abertay University’s Prototype Fund is specially designed for start-up and small, established developers requiring additional working capital up to £25,000 to cover the staff costs to produce a prototype for a new intellectual property. The grant funding does not dilute equity ownership or create a balance sheet liability. The development team for the prototype can also be supplemented with graduates from any UK university and funded within the grant budget. Students and graduates can register now for work experience as part of the Talent Pool at the Prototype Fund website - http://prototypefund.abertay.ac.uk/
