BulkyPix's Vincent Dondaine explains how its $3 million dev fund will fuel 60 indie games
Looking for innovation and polish
Plenty of US and Asian publishers have set up funds to encourage indie developers to work with them.
It's not something that we've seen from European companies, however - something that French developer BulkyPix is changing.
It's just announced a three year fund worth $3 million.
We got in touch with sales and marketing director and co-founder Vincent Dondaine to find out more about the company's goals for the fund.
Pocket Gamer: How do developers apply for the fund?Vincent Dondaine: We are making two kinds of agreements: a co-production or a publishing agreement.
We'll first make a first selection according to game's quality, the gameplay, and the genre. The game has to fit with our editorial strategy. We are focused on innovative gameplay, fresh graphical styles and great user interfaces - games where all aspects are very polished.
Also, every deal will be specific according to our discussions and the studio's expectations.
Developers need to send a build of their game, regardless its development stage, to quentin.giroud [at] bulkypix.com, so that we can proceed to the selection.
Is there a maximum amount developers can get from the fund?We don't have any limit in mind, but development costs have to fit within potential sales on targeted platforms.
What specific things can the fund be used for?Funds have to be used for development and creativity.
Why do you say it will run over 3 years?The $3 million budget is the amount to be invested over the next three years to finance indie studios' games so we won't invest the full amount in one year.
Do the supported projects have to be multi-platform or could they be just mobile?It depends on the project but we'll try to make games first available on smartphones (iOS, Android, etc...) and on other platforms such as Facebook, PC and Mac, if there is interest in term of gameplay and market.
How many projects does BulkyPix hope to fund with the $3 million?Around 60 projects, depending on their size.
Keep in mind that as well as the $3 million investment, our internal studio will also be creating new games.
What's the deal in terms of who owns the IP for games supported by the fund?In the case of a co-production deal, the IP would be co-owned by the studio and Bulkypix, but in a case of publishing deal, IP would remain the studio's property.
Thanks to Vincent for his time.You can find out more from BulkyPix's website.
