Good Game Fund
apply for up to a £1,500 grant
good game fund
Secure support for your game-changing idea!
The University of Warwick is supporting student enterprise and helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in the gaming and esports industry. The Good Game Fund is aimed at students who have an innovative idea that solves an existing problem in creative, digital or the esports industry. Recipients of the Good Game Fund can use the funds to make their project, social enterprise or start-up become reality.
Students at Warwick can apply for a proof-of-concept grant from between £500 and £1,500. Successful applicants will receive support, in the form of workshops, events and networking opportunities.
Applications close at midnight on Thursday 30th June
- 1:1 support available to help shape your application before submission and before your pitch, please contact jiawen.li.5@warwick.ac.uk
- Outline your plan and how the funding will support your concept or business idea
- Pitch to a panel of creative technology experts who will decide on the final successful projects
- Showcase your idea at the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022!
Shortlisting of Applications
| Name | Tittle | Summary |
| Takunda Chingonzo | Game On | Game On is a Game Development Acceleration Program that will mature into a Game Publishing company. Game On must start as a program because Game Development as an industry is non-existent in Zimbabwe (Where I am from.) As such, the current activities revolve around building the infrastructure that is needed to kick start Game Development as an industry. Infrastructure such as a community, skills development and training, publishing and monetization infrastructure, media and promotion infrastructure and regional/industry linkages. Once the first cohort of games is launched Game On will use the insights to design a scalable business model for a Game Publishing company in Africa that supports first time developers, digital story tellers and indie studios. |
| Yuting Wu | After esports player retire | I will build up the institution (NGO)in the field of career planning and training to guide esports players and relative back officers to gain a longer and clearer professional plan and have wider fields to transfer, especially retired players. The pricing will be lower than market price because I can organize part-time trainers in various field including tech, finance, psychology and entrepreneurship and volunteers to deliver services including holding skills workshops such as Python, forming helping groups with learners, guiding in 1vs1, conducting mocks and psychological counseling, and so on. Moreover, we will track their future and give relative advises from the beginning. We will also reach more collaborations with colleges, esports teams and companies, training companies to have more resources. Then, the learners most of who are retired players will get the clear opinion to continue their own life without gaming world. |
| Jonathan Low | Equipo | Equipo is a SAAS to help companies build in game matching faster and better. Gamers spend 9% of their total gaming time inside lobbies, this number being a lot higher if playing with friends of differing skill levels. This is bad for them and the gaming companies. Using cutting-edge algorithms, we've found much faster approximation algorithms to match groups based on past game performance and other in-game metrics. We think we can use this to get <5s matches for people in lobbies, which companies would pay to outsource. Having this data across multiple platforms gives us a competitive moat as having more data on playing styles and performance allows for faster matching. This creates a flywheel where as we onboard more and more companies - we get much better. |
| Jinghan Wang | Vampire Village | Game category: SLG+RPG game, more like casual games. The main body is farming and cultivation in the vampire world and the gameplay, including the main storyline Combat gameplay such as battles and vampire gang wars. |
| Arjun Narendar | The core idea here is two fold and will evolve to encompass other offerings over time: a) Reputation due diligence on players at varying levels of depth which can encompass open source and social media intelligence as well as human intelligence to create a risk profile for potential new hires by teams (targeted towards team owners). This can also be expanded to assess the reputation and performance of entire teams which will be an attractive tool for major team sponsors. Further, eSports integrity commissions across the globe also require dedicated resources and consultants to assist with VOD reviews and investigations. Experiences investigators and consultants can assist with this. This product has potential to further evolve using automation and can potentially allow for ongoing open source monitoring to identify players and teams with great outreach for customers. b) We will also look to provide timely public relations training to players either in response to major issues or guide/advise them in cases of perceived reputational harm. | |
| Max Griffin | Kitesurfing Game | The kitesurfing game will allow players to practice a wide variety of tricks in any wind/wave condition combination, at a selection of famous kitesurfing locations. A unique approach to the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic simulation is employed, utilising computational fluid dynamics instead of hand crafted functions to implement desired behaviour. The game will first be released for computers of any performance level, operated by keyboard or gamepad. So far two months of work have been put into development. 6 months from now I plan on releasing it using the early access scheme on Steam, and 1 year from now I would like to release it on PC. Some of the main aspects to be developed include multiple real life spot locations, wave simulation, alternate game modes including racing and various competitions, a detailed tutorial, and completion of the control system. |
| Jason Adams | Warwick Budget Customs | Custom budget keyboard building company, each keyboard averaging around £120, sitting comfortably at usual keyboard prices with a much nicer typing feel and highly customizable. Company built to provide greater experience to gamers and typists alike, using a well-known gasket mounting system to provide a bouncy smooth typing feel, directed at gamers and students. |
What is the Good Game Fund?
Good Game Fund is a great opportunity to make your project, prototype, business idea become reality.
If you have an innovative idea around immersive technology, games, digital applications, esports, data analysis, VR or content creation, don’t miss this chance to apply for a proof-of-concept grant for between £500 and £1500.
We will then offer you the opportunity to demonstrate your prototype and business idea at UK House as part of Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July 2022. The team will support all awarded teams and individuals to develop a demo to present as part of this showcase.
Who is it for?
The Good Game Fund is for entrepreneurial student projects, business start-ups and social enterprises subject to terms and conditions. To be eligible for the Good Game Fund you must meet all of the following criteria:
- Upon application you are currently registered as a student at the University of Warwick; this includes undergraduate and postgraduate (taught and research) students.
- Any future project/business/social enterprise will operate in the United Kingdom.
What happens after I apply?
Successful applicants will be notified soon after the 9th June and will organise a date to pitch to the panel in week 9, preferably in person but online pitches are available to those unable to attend on campus. You will have a 1to1 session with an assigned mentor to shape your pitch ahead of the all important day!
If you are one of the ten ideas to be successful after the pitch, you will be granted the agreed funding and your mentor will support you in developing your concept or idea ahead of showcasing it at Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022!
This first instance of the Good Game Fund is a pilot phase with hopes that it will run again next academic year. If the GGFund does return in 2022/2023, then there is no limit to how many times you apply, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. Of course, unsuccessful applicants are welcome to re-apply with a new idea or can re-apply with their original idea, as long as they have taken on board panel feedback and developed their idea in line with this feedback.
What is meant by 'concept or business idea'?
The Good Game Fund is created to support any creative solution to gaps or issues in the esports, games, VR, and immersive entertainment markets, so we are looking for any business ideas, no matter how early-stage and new. This is your chance to gain support and funding to develop and test your idea.
Here are some of the areas that would be eligible:
-
- Esports solutions
- Immersive technology
- Virtual and/or augmented reality
- Digital enterprise
- Content creation
- Innovative apps
- Game development ideas
- Much much more!
Can I get some support with my idea/application?
Yes, we are not expecting your ideas to be fully formed. If you need support with your application, our Esports Centre Coordinator, Elenore is happy to help.
We also have drop-in slots available every Wednesday 12:00-13:00 in the Esports Centre with Elenore - book your slot by emailing jiawen.li.5@warwick.ac.uk.
how do I apply?
Application Process
- Sign into your University of Warwick IT account.
- Complete the application form. Please submit the application by 9th June.
- If you are successful at the application stage you will be able to book a 1:1 coaching session to support you ahead of your pitch ( in person or online if you can not attend on campus) to a selection panel.
- Feedback on all pitches will be prompt and if you are awarded, you can work with a mentor on a project plan and delivery timeline.
Other Funding Opportunities
We also have other funding opportunities available (and can direct you to external opportunities) please contact us to discuss further.
Ingenuity 2022Ingenuity 2022
Ingenuity 2022 is a nationwide programme pioneered by the University of Nottingham; and we, the University of Warwick, are very proud to be hosting Ingenuity West Midlands, enabling us to explore challenges with a regional focus.
Lord Rootes FundLord Rootes Fund
Project funding from £100 to £3000 to help students turn their ideas into reality.
Open Spring Term 2022