The Canadian Film Centre is launching a new development lab that will help Canadian digital firms created more engaging entertainment options, it announced today.
Called IdeaBoost, the lab will focus on helping startups and small- to mid-sized enterprises in creating entertainment experiences where the audience is part of the creative process. That could include video games, Web apps, and mobile platforms. Canadians are being asked to visit www.ideaboost.ca between now and Sept. 18 to consider submissions for the lab and vote on which ones they’d like to see developed.
So far the most popular project is Rollers of the Realm, a pinball role-playing game. It combines the classic gameplay of pinball with a bird’s eye-view action RPG style of game that fans of the Legend of Zelda series would find familiar. The catch is that the pinballs take on different characteristics and abilities depending on the character the player is using, and each pinball board represents a new chapter in the game’s story.
A game combining pinball and role-playing leads IdeaBoost voting so far.
The game has been “boosted” 760 times so far.
Final participants will enter IdeaBoost’s lab Nov. 5 and spend four months creating their prototypes. They’ll be provided with the Audience Engagement Canvas toolkit.
IdeaBoost’s advisors include Bruce Croxon, a judge on CBC’s Dragon’s Den and co-founder of Round 13 Capital; Shawn Hardin of Bessemer Venture Partners; David Gale, executive vice president at MTV Networks; Paul Woolner, founder of 4Sight partners; and Andrew Bailey, chairman for Proximity North America.
Rollers of the Realm alpha game play.