We are excited to announce that the 2017 Incubator is now accepting applications! As a part of our work building the NYC Games Hub and the $450,000 grant from Empire State Development, the Game Center is again able to offer seats in the Incubator to game developers from the broader game development community outside NYU. We’re excited to continue offering a wider range of game makers to work alongside our graduates, Faculty, and Incubator Advisory Board in the Incubator.
The purpose of the NYU Game Center Incubator is to bridge experimental work with the realities of the marketplace. The Incubator gives promising games time, space, guidance, and resources to maximize opportunities for commercial success. The Incubator is suitable for a wide range of projects, from free to play iOS games to digital board games, even physical board games. Developers may apply solo or in teams. Applications are now open, available here. Additional information about the application and the program is available below.
The Game Center will host an information session about the 2017 Incubator, including application information on Tuesday April 4th at 6:00PM. Please RSVP for the information session here.
We held a similar session in anticipation of last year’s Incubator, available here.
https://vimeo.com/163458592
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Once accepted into the Incubator, developers are provided a structure to address the marketing, legal, financial, and other business challenges of launching a successful commercial game. The Game Center fosters partnerships with publishers, technology companies, veteran developers, lawyers, journalists, and other industry experts who guide the Incubator participants towards their launch goal. Through a combination of curriculum development, events programming, production assistance, and financial support, the goal of the Incubator is to bring to market innovative work that might not otherwise get there.
The Incubator will run from 6/1 – 9/1. Each core team member will be provided a $6,000 stipend over the course of the program to cover their cost of living during the period of incubation, subject to their continued satisfaction of Incubator milestones. Each game will also receive dedicated mentorship time from the Advisory Board members, Game Center faculty, and other local NYC-based game developers. As part of joining the Incubator, core team members must commit themselves to working full-time (~40 hours/week) on the project for the duration of the Incubator at the NYU Game Center. The project may include additional developers in any working arrangement at the discretion of the team. The only stipulation on team composition is each stipend-earning developer must work full-time at the Incubator.
WHO IS IT FOR?
We’re looking for innovative projects that are finished or are close to finished and would benefit from a focused, final push to maximize their opportunity for commercial success. The Incubator is a program about developing a launch strategy, meaning it is not suitable for games that in the pre-production, prototype, proof of concept, or alpha phase. The Incubator is designed to assist polished betas or nearly finished games prepare for launch. Games may be on any platform, and they may be digital or non-digital. To get a sense of the games we’ve worked with, you can see games selected in previous years here.
The Incubator aims to assist a diversity of game styles and game makers. If you are unsure if you game is appropriate for the Incubator, contact the Incubator Director at gamecenter@nyu.edu
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, complete the online application by Sunday 4/16. Projects will be selected by the Incubator Advisory Board with guidance from the Game Center Faculty and Staff. Online applications will be reviewed first, then a subset of the online applications will be invited to pitch in-person at The Game Center on the evening of 4/26. Applications will be evaluated along three vectors: Commercial potential, production feasibility, and innovation.
Commercial Potential: What are this game’s commercial aspirations?
Production Feasibility: Can these developers bring the game from its current place to the commercial goals?
Innovation: The Incubator is most interested in games that aren’t obviously commercially viable from the onset. Is this the kind of interesting/experimental/innovative game that could benefit from the Incubator?