Coffee Stain Studios gör sitt för att öka jämlikheten i spelbranschen

Coffee Stain Studios som satt getter på kartan, och tjänat en massa pengar på det, kommer nu att hjälpa studior med finansieringen. Max en miljon kommer de gå in med i mindre studior. Det annorlunda i det här är att de satsar bara pengar i studior som har 50 procent kvinnor i personalen.

All info om hur du kan ansöka om finansiering nedan.

Today ‘Coffee Stain Studios’, developer and publisher of ‘Goat Simulator’, is announcing a new funding initiative focused on promoting gender equality within game development studios. ‘Leveling the Playing Field’ is a funding opportunity aimed at smaller development teams and start-ups who employ at least as many women as men in their company. The decision to start this initiative has been brought about by what the team at Coffee Stain and so many others have seen as a distinct gender imbalance when it comes to employment within the games industry.

Coffee Stain has already kicked off the initiative with the Danish/Swedish studio, Other Tales Interactive, which consists of the two co-founders Tanja Tankred and Mira Dorthé who banded together due to their common love for narrative-driven games. They are now working on their first title Tick Tock: A Tale for Two, a two-player adventure game where players have to communicate and collaborate in order to solve puzzles and piece together a story. The company was part of the Swedish incubator called Stugan, spoke about narrative in games at conferences, and their game has been nominated for several awards. Since then Coffee Stain has assisted with additional funding and guidance.

Tanja Tankred, Co-Founder of Other Tales Interactive said: “We are super excited about collaborating with Coffee Stain and to be a part of their initiative Leveling the Playing Field. It’s great that Coffee Stain are actively working towards diversifying the game industry and we are looking forward to seeing more awesome companies getting the same opportunities. On a personal level, it is great to be working with a company of skilled people that can offer advice and guidance on all aspects of game development.”

Anton Westbergh, CEO and Founder of Coffee Stain said “The current level of employment equality between women and men in the games industry is poor. In the Swedish games industry only 18% of its employees are women. This number is increasing every year, however at Coffee Stain we are way too impatient to idly sit by and wait for true equality in the industry to come about. It is with this in mind that we are creating a new funding opportunity aimed at smaller development teams where at least half of the staff is made up of women.”

Who can apply?
• At least half of your team is made up of women employees.
• Your team should be a “small team”.
• You need less than 1 000 000 SEK.

That’s it. If you fulfill, or even almost fulfill, those requirements you can apply for funding. We will take a look at your case and get back to you.

How do you apply?
You send an email to levelingtheplayingfield@coffeestain.se . Present your game with whatever means you find appropriate: playable demo, video trailer, design document, etc. Also present your team, who and where you are, your background etc. The better understanding we have of your team and your game, the bigger the chances to get funding.