Northern Ireland Screen: Assembler Programme

Overview

The aims of the programme are to:

• Prepare game development teams for the process of getting early stage concepts into production;
• Develop games that are aligned to market opportunities and are commercially viable;
• Increase the number of interactive content projects produced within Northern Ireland that show the potential to succeed in the global marketplace;
• Support a sustainable screen industry in Northern Ireland

The programme is aimed at:

• Northern Ireland resident interactive content production companies;
• Each project must have a team of at least three people with clearly defined production, creative and technical roles and all members must be able to attend a series of workshops during stage 1 of the programme and be available for monthly build reviews for stage 2 and 3. (Please refer to the Assembler Programme timeline below.)

The Assembler Programme is a three stage development process:

Stage 1

6 companies will receive funding of up to £5,000.

Development will be over a 4 week period during which time the companies will undertake concept development and prepare their proposals to be pitched to publishers.

Stage 2

Of the six companies selected at Stage One, 3 companies will be selected for Stage 2 development.

Development will be over an 8 week period during which time the companies will develop a prototype of their games based on feedback from the publishers.

Stage 3

Of the three companies selected at Stage Two, 2 companies will be selected for Stage 3 development.

Development will be over a 12 week period during which time the companies will refine their prototype and develop a pre-production plan.

At the end of the 3 stage development process it is envisaged that one project will be production ready. Northern Ireland Screen, at its sole discretion, may award up to £100,000 production funding in 2017-18 to a project that has successfully completed Stages 1 - 3 of the Assembler programme.