I go back and forth on government funding and subsidies for burgeoning industries. Jevon has written about 2 quasi-governmental agencies hosting startup competitions including Innovacorp and New Brunswick Innovation Fund. The Ontario Media Development Corporation provides funding and strategic support to enable Ontario's cultural entrepreneurs to create and market new content projects in order to accelerate the growth of their company.
The OMDC Video Game Prototype Initiative is designed to provide Ontario video game developers with funding for the creation of a prototype in order to secure a publisher or attract financing for a market-ready, commercial video game product. Successful applicants will receive a repayable contribution of up to $500,000 to a maximum of 50% of eligible expenses for their prototype. This is a pilot initiative targeted at established video game developers with a track record that clearly demonstrates their capability to create and exploit a large scale video game.
All applications received by October 5, 2007 will be reviewed as part of the first batch of applications. I’ve never applied for OMDC funding, but it looks like an interesting program.