Draknek & Friends has announced the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant will be returning in 2024. The new grant opportunity seeks to support a cohort of developers from traditionally underrepresented groups and backgrounds who are interested in developing thinky puzzle games.
Whilst unfortunately the grant does not include physical media – such as escape rooms, tabletop or board games, we’re all about supporting more puzzle games getting made here on The Escape Roomer. We encourage everyone who might be working on a video game or digital game to look into it.
Lasting from December 2024 – 2025, the grant program will offer 6 recipients a grant of $15,000 USD each and a year’s one-on-one mentorship with some of the industry’s leading thinky puzzle game designers, developers and publishers. These grants are intended to support developers typically unsupported by the global games industry, including but not limited to developers from groups including where English is not a first language, people of colour, LGBTQIA, and disabled or neurodiverse. There are no geographical restrictions to applicants.
The grant was previously run in 2022, and included recipient winners such as:
- Paquerette Down the Bunburrows by Bunstack (France)
- Lost Twins II by Playdew (Pakistan)
- Shards Between Us by Queensguard Games (distributed team)
- On the Peril of Parrots by Spritewrench (Jamaica)
- ISLAND_NAME_HERE by Spicy Rice Cake Studio (USA)
- Konkan Coast Pirate Solutions by Samarth Hattangady (India)
- Hackshot by Mohammed Al Najjar (Middle East)
- AiliA by Icetoad Studio (USA)
- DokiToki: Time Slows Down When You’re In Love by Youssef Tobah (USA)
- Catacomb Creeper: Re-Vined Edition by Breogán Hackett (Ireland)
- Timeclone by Rowan Wood (USA)
- Cutting Edge by Ryo Kurama (Japan)
The New Voices Puzzle Grant – Key Details
Grant Awards: $15,000 USD to 6 recipients
Applications Open: 6th August 2024
Applications Close: 7th October 2024
Selection Announcement: 16th December 2024
For more information and updates:
Website: grants.draknek.org
Socials: Mastodon, Bluesky, Twitter
Email: grants@draknek.org
