What’s it like to fund indie game development in Canada? For the narrative-driven survival game Kona, Parabole made use of one option Canadian game developers have at their disposal: the Canada Media Fund.
On a recent Twitch stream, developer Alexandre Fiset dove into Parabole’s experience with that funding option. Canadian game developers curious about the fund should be sure to check out the clip above. In it, Fiset offers a solid explanation of how the fund operates and shares his own experiences with it, and explains why, despite its usefulness, Parabole isn’t likely to seek funding from that source next time around.
He notes that the fund covered roughly half of Kona’s development costs, but that the money was provided to the investment firm by Canadian cable companies, rather than at the expense of Canadian taxpayers like some may believe.
“They take 50 percent of the revenues. So for us, they will pay themselves back in less than a year so it’s not public money,” he explains. “It’s actually something that brings more money because we pay salaries and we pay tax on everything we buy. We’re more contributors to society than we are profiteers.”
To hear more from Fiset be sure to check out the full stream right here. After you’ve done that, why not follow the Gamasutra Twitch channel for even more developer insights and gameplay commentary.