Metro Australia – July 2019

SPENDINGNOT-SO-LIBERALLY:

VIDEOGAMES REMAIN UNFUNDED

Dan Golding

It’shardlythebiggestissuetocomeoutofthe 2019 federalelection,

butmanyin theAustraliangamesindustrywillbewonderingwhere

there-electionofthe Liberal Party and Prime Minister Scott Morrison

leavesthem.

Videogamepolicybecameanunexpectedtopicofdiscussionlate

in thecampaign.Thiswaslargelydrivenbythesuiteofculturalpoli-

ciesputforwardbytheAustralianLaborParty(ALP);amongmany

othercommitmentstothearts,it promised– if elected– torestore

thenow-defunctAustralian Interactive Games Fund (AIGF) to the

tune of A$25 million.

TheAIGFhashada longandstoriedhistory.EstablishedbyJulia

Gillard’sALP governmentin 2013, it boasteda pool of A$20 million,

tobeawardedtoAustraliangamedevelopersandtheirprojects.

Halfwaythroughthefund’simplementation,however,TonyAbbott’s

LiberalgovernmentwaselectedandtheAIGFwascancelled;the

remainingA$10 millionwas then redistributed to other programs

in the 2014 budget.

HadtheALPrisentopowerthisyear,andtheAIGF,beenrestored,

it would’verepresentedtheonlyfederalfundingavenueforAustralian

videogames.Asit stands,however,thereis nothing.Theonlymoney

to go to anythingapproximatingthe local gamesindustrysince the

AIGF’sdissolutionhasbeenfromformerartsministerGeorgeBrandis’

controversialCatalystfund(A$125,000foranexhibitionofracing

gamesatSouthAustralia’sNationalMotorMuseum)anda single

competitivegrantfromtheAustraliaCouncilfortheArts(A$23,000

forMelbourne’sFreeplay Independent Games Festival, which I am

ontheboardof).

Soit waswithsomeexcitementthatthegamesindustrygreeted

the ALP’s promise to not just revive the ill-fated AIGF, but to actually

increasethe originalfund’scoffersby $5 million.Of course,this

was all in the shadowof a much earlier– and longstanding– pro­

mise from the AustralianGreensto restorethe fund with a frankly

enormousinvestmentof A$100million.

Thesenumbersare significantfor Australianvideogames,which

havealwaysreceivedpiecemealandscatteredfederalsupportat

best.TheoriginalAIGF,however,was– accordingtothestudios

whosegamesdrew supportfrom it – close to becomingprofitable

after only one year of operation.This was not a grant­exclusivepro-

gram:fundingoverA$50,000wastreatedasa recoupableinvest-

ment by the government,and these investmentswere quicklybeing

repaid.Videogamesmake moneyin ways that federallysupported

featurefilms, for example,often do not. This is not necessarilyan

argumentfortheneedtofundvideogames(it sayslittleaboutthe

culturalworth of these industries,for instance), but it does speak

to the low financialrisk involved.

Thestrengthofsuchaneasyculturalinvestmentwasreinforced

by2016’sSenateInquiryintotheFutureofAustralia’sVideoGame

DevelopmentIndustry.Thecross-partyinquiry,thoughinitiatedby

then–GreenssenatorScottLudlam,concludedwitha unanimous

finding:that Australia’sgamesindustryshouldbe supported,and

that the first order of businessshouldbe restoringthe cancelled

AIGF,orestablishinganequivalentfund.Thegovernmentat thetime

(ledbytheLiberals’MalcolmTurnbull)notedthisrecommendation

in a responsetabledto Parliamentin January 2018, but has so far

donenothingmoreonthesubject.

‘Stateandterritorygovernmentsalsooffera rangeoffunding,’

the governmentpointedout in responseto the Inquiry– and indeed

theydo.Victoria,in particular,hasmaintainedstrongmonetarysup-

portforvideogamesforalmosttwodecadesnow.Theresultis that,

accordingtotheGameDevelopers’AssociationofAustralia(GDAA),

53 per cent of the nation’sgamesindustryis now locatedwithin

the state, with the next­highestproportionbeing just 16 per cent

(in Queensland).Fundingis not the only factor here, but it is clearly

a significantpart of the equation.

It is,ofcourse,crucialtopointoutthatapportioningfederal

governmentmoneytotheAustraliangamesindustry– whether

in the form of investmentor grants,or anythingthat looks like the

AIGF – is not a silver bullet.There are big questionsto be asked

aboutwhat this moneyis supposedto achieve,or what kinds of

gamestudiosandprojectsit shouldprioritise.Shouldmoneybe

used to help already­sustainablecompaniestake the next step, or

shouldit beusedtohelpstartentirelynewstudiosandprojects?

Whatis theroleplayedbynon-funding-basedregulationandsup-

port,suchastraininginitiatives,research,andculturalfestivals

and events?How, in other words, do you cultivate a world­class

gamesindustry?

Theseareallessentialquestionstobeansweredif thestrongest

possibleformofsuchanindustryis tobesustainedin Australia.

Butthefactis,a debatecan’toccurin a vacuum.Despiteencour-

agementfrom a cross­party SenateInquiryand decadesof bi-

partisanbackingat state levels,in our federalparliament,policy

in supportoflocalvideogamesis onlycomingfromonesideof

politics.Wesimplycannotengagewitha federalLiberalParty

policyforAustralianvideogames because it does not exist. It

has never existed.

Here’shopingthat,from2019,there-electedMorrisongovern-

ment will shift courseand finally committo engaging with the prom-

ise and profitability of our games industry.

Scope

SCREEN INDUSTRY VIEWS

Above:Hand of Fate 2 by Australian games company Defiant Development

126 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM