Local Developer of 3-D Games Gets Boost
A local innovator of content for mobile phones will be one of the first companies in the world to develop cutting-edge 3-D games for the growing mobile-entertainment industry.
Bight Interactive Inc., based at InNOVAcorp's incubation facility in Dartmouth, will receive close to $90,000 under Telefilm Canada's New Media Fund. The money will be dedicated towards creating a 3-D action-adventure game for mobile phones. The game will be set against the backdrop of the Cold War.
With years of game-development and multimedia experience, Bight founders, Stu Duncan, Shamus Eckstein and Sean Wylie-Toal, incorporated the company less than a year ago. With the help of some development dollars from the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance program, the company is currently perfecting its platform technology, benteye TM, which will enable game developers to create next-generation 3-D games. The games are highly sophisticated and contain graphics that are of comparable quality to modern video game systems.
"We were thrilled to receive this news. Obviously, the money is critical to support our product development. But we are also elated that our proposal was selected from among such stiff competition. It's extremely encouraging," said Mr. Duncan, company CEO.
The popularity of mobile phones has erupted into a multibillion-dollar business. Young and old, almost everyone carries a mobile phone these days. 3-D graphics are becoming a must-have feature, and mobile phone companies recently agreed on international standards for supporting these graphics.
"It's exciting to see Nova Scotia has innovative companies like Bight driving our IT industry forward," said Ernest Fage, Minister of Economic Development. "Investment in product development is a critical step in maximizing the potential of promising companies in this province."
While the market opportunity may be swelling, there are still only a handful of games worldwide using the new 3-D standards. Bight is among the first companies to be writing content using these new standards.
Telefilm Canada announced on Wednesday, June 22, it will finance 34 cutting-edge projects under the Canada New Media Fund for market research and prototyping, totalling more than $2 million for 2005-06. The projects originate from across Canada and cover a wide range of media and content, such as wireless products, interactive DVDs, convergent websites, console games, and CDs. Four projects were accepted from Atlantic Canada.
InNOVAcorp enables entrepreneurs to commercialize their technologies through its high performance incubation model. The model enhances traditional business incubation facilities and services by offering an additional layer of venture guidance and investment.