Nordic Game Program Awards 8 Funding Winners

Eight game projects have been granted support through the Nordic Game Program, which offers funding to local developers. The selected companies were chosen from among 84 applicants, a record for a program where the ratio of applicants may be beginning to outstrip available funding. The program consists of two rounds, which together totaled 170 applicants in 2009 -- more than five times what the organization was designed to evaluate. Established in 2006, Nordic Game has a planned six-year mandate, of which it is on its fourth. The funding winners are as follows: Virtual Air Guitar Company Oy (Finland), DKK 500,000 ($98,959) for Kung-Fu Live - "A game set in the mythical world of martial arts. The player's movements are tracked by a camera, which replaces the gamepad as control mechanism and puts the player inside the game." APEX Virtual Entertainment ApS (Denmark), DKK 500,000 ($98,959) for Riders & Ranches Online – "A game mixing the passion for horses with strong gameplay and MMORPG features." Gogogic ehf (Iceland), DKK 400,000 ($79,167) for Rapture - Collectable Card Game – "A classic-style collectable card game for the iPhone and Facebook. Prepare for a 'Magic the Gathering meets the iPhone' experience." Everyplay Oy (Finland), DKK 400,000 ($79,167) for Kamu Town – "Lead the Kamus to build your dream town! Take care of the them, gather resources to create a thriving town with your friends, and use your creativity." Uplause Ltd (Finland), DKK 400,000 ($79,167) for Uplause Crowd Game – "Introducing a brand new game genre, the MMCPG (Massively Multiplayer Crowd Playing Game), this game is played by spectators in large arenas." Cockroach Inc (Sweden), DKK 300,000 ($59,375) for The Dream Machine - "A classical point and click adventure. A compelling world in claymation style and a dark story for 'grown ups' makes this a unique game experience." GuppyWorks (Denmark), DKK 200,000 ($39,583) for GuppyLife - "A free-to-play 3D virtual world appealing to tween girls, where they meet with friends and care for a virtual character, the Guppy." Unified Game ApS (Denmark), DKK 200,000 ($39,583) for Pinball DJ - "A casual music game and composition toy for handheld & mobile platforms, based on a new music-interaction concept that will appeal to kids without any necessary prior musical skills. A ninth applicant will receive DKK 100,000 ($19,792) to improve their project. The deadline Nordic Game Program applications for 2010 will be March 1, and interested parties can find more information -- as well as info on the games from previous rounds -- can be found at the program's official website.