Krome Studios? $1.7 million funding from the Federal Government for next generation game engine development sparked some interesting thoughts and debate in Sumea Comments. It does, however, beg the question ?What would you do with $1.7 million??. If you were to receive grant of that amount to do any game related project as you wish, what would you do that would either bring in the best possible return or guarantee the future of your company and your employees for a bit?
Would a next-gen engine be your choice? Tools or Middleware solutions? Games for untapped markets? Or perhaps something totally outside the box?
Granted, $1.7 million isn't that much to a 150+ employee company like Krome, and I've heard that developers a fraction of that size can easily burn that much in a month, but I can only imagine the boost a $1.7 mil injection could mean to a small independent group with an innovative idea that is worth pursuing...
Please post your comments, thoughts, and ideas in comment area of this news item!
I gather the thing about these grants is that if you propose something too far outside the norm you are unlikely to get the grant :( AFAIK it's an Austrade grant, and Austrade is meant to help Aus companies enter international markets. And us Aussies are *such great risk takers* most innovative stuff seems to end up funded from US sources.
My point is these are not really research and development grants- and hence that 1.7 mil would be pretty useless to me.
I'd spend it all on money hats.
I'd spend it on shoes, then hats if time.
We could do alot with 1.7mil =)
For a small focussed team that could pretty much keep us alive and kickin in our humble abode for many a month - at least enough time to get a very real and sizeable chunk of our in-house project completed.
Itd buy a tun of monkeys too - then I wouldnt need to code anymore....
I think I would do what they are doing and ignore Sumea (the new Fatbabies)
Now that is hilarious - something that questions the use of publically derived funds (taxpayer dollars) and the response is "we wont say nothing.. because you are all childish", and yet, here they were only a few months ago pumping up their Ty? Hehe.. the Aus industry politicing.. continues..
You can't know much about Krome if you say they are ignoring this - who do you think is Steve S above
Blow it all placing bets on the AFL (Freo to win the flag...)
More seriously - I would probably fund 15 startups. If it was $50mill, I would consider giving it to an established studio, or start a brand new one...
Hi, why nobody responds me?
Former Gizmondo executive Stefan Eriksson, who left the company under a cloud of allegations that he had links with the Swedish mafia, has been involved in a car crash which destroyed his $1 million Ferrari Enzo.
mmmm thats 1 million .... all you have to do now is spend the rest on petrol :)
I'm not sure if I should take offence to Sumea being compared to a site like Fatbabies. Sure, there's the odd thread here and there that edge on what Fatbabies was all about, but on the whole, the site is no way near the rumour mongering and sledging calibre of Fatbabies :D
What I did want the site to be is a facilitator for open discussion of all the good and the bad in the industry. If you have a problem with any rumours posted in Sumea's comments here, you are more than welcomed to shoot it down with facts. That's the beauty of it.
I can tell some people are getting upset about comments made about Krome. This thread wasn't about Krome bashing at all, absolutely far from it. I genuinely want to know how you think Goverment funding could help the industry via alternative ways, and any other insights on funding.
Ask the Digital Media Fund ;)
Employ 5 or 6 experienced programmers and artists and produce a series of casual games, aiming at XBLA and the PS3 equivalent.
Then spend the rest on beer and strippers.
Actually, I've changed my mind. Scrap the programmers, double the beer and strippers.