Abertay University has cemented its reputation as a hub for computer games and digital media by awarding £150,000 to six young companies.
These are the first grants from a £5 million investment fund the Dundee university runs with backing from the UK Government and the European Regional Development Fund.
The Prototype Fund helps fledgling companies grow and create jobs.
Almost 60 bids were received and a second round of funding will get under way shortly.
One of the recipients is Dundee firm Triple B Games, which has created games for the Xbox 360.
All the firms will get business development support and access to skilled students and graduates.
Paul Durrant, Abertay’s director of business development, said, “There has been a very high level of interest in the Prototype Fund and the project has already been cited as an excellent example of targeted support in the recent Scottish Affairs Committee report on the games industry.
“As well as allowing young companies the opportunity to develop a working prototype to secure further investment, the fund will also provide a fantastic opportunity for students and graduates to develop their skills by working on the successful projects.”‘Many challenges’ remainHe added, “However, we still recognise there are many challenges facing games development start-ups, particularly with self-funded operations which may not have sufficient working capital to apply in the first place.
“We are continuing to work on a follow-on investment fund and are making good progress with that, as well as looking at ways to provide support to graduate start-up businesses pre-application.”
All the bids for funding were analysed by independent consultants, whose spokesman Nick Gibson said, “This industry is in a perpetual state of flux driven by a constant flow of innovation and new ideas.
“The fund is a fantastic opportunity for developers to try out new games product and service ideas that anticipate future market demand, or even look to create new niche markets that no one else has yet considered.”
Dundee is a major player in the computer games sector, but it has experienced some up and downs.
The collapse of Realtime Worlds last year was a big blow, but recently Outplay Entertainment said it was planning to create 150 jobs.
Abertay launched the world’s first computer games degree in 1997.
The postgraduate masters course was followed by a complementary undergraduate course, and later by specialist courses in production management and game applications development.
The university has been an official centre for excellence in computer games education since 2009.