Gaming Momentum: Game Launch Preview of Nova Scotia’s Interactive Media Studios

Developers should be excited: engagement for games only continues to grow (Americans play mobile games more often than they watch Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube!). And with a content-hungry audience comes ripe opportunity.
– Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The 2016 Mobile Games Market Report – Unity Blog

For a small province, Nova Scotia has big game
According to KPMG Competitive Alternatives Report 2016, with more than 20 interactive media studios across the province, Nova Scotia has become a sought-out location for game development and ranks number one for cost competitiveness in video game production out of all mature markets around the world.

This month, our interactive media, animation studios and digital media companies are attending Kidscreen Summit in Miami, Florida, and Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California, with exciting announcements.

We took a closer look at a few of Nova Scotia’s studios creating global waves.

Take it Outside
REDspace, a Halifax-based digital studio, was shortlisted for a Kidscreen Award in the Best Learning App category for their work on Nature’s Cat Great Outdoors. Based on the PBS KIDS hit series, Nature Cat, this app follows the outdoor adventures of Nature Cat and his animal pals as they explore the natural world around them.

Featured as one of Apple’s “New Apps We Love”, Nature’s Cat Great Outdoors is changing the way children experience the outdoors by guiding them through an interactive learning adventure and encouraging them to explore nature - just like Nature Cat.

Escape the Zombies
Huminah Huminah Animation, with their partner, YouTube sensation Mango Tango, are giving audiences an experience like no other with the release of their new Roblox server, Escape the Zombies NYC. In this new server, Huminah Huminah Animation created hordes of zombies that gamers must battle against to reach the epic giant Guerrilla Zombie boss. In a new turn of events, gamers also have the chance to be the alpha zombie and turn their friends into a zombie population.

“We aim to create content that our children, friends, and neighbours will see on their phones, computers or televisions,” says Adam Mimnagh, Executive Producer, Huminah Huminah Animation. “We want them to be entertained by what we create, whether they laugh or shed a tear.”

Huminah Huminah Animation released their zombie hordes on new gamers at the 2017 Kidscreen Summitt held earlier in February.

Monster Mash
At GDC 2017, Alpha Dog Games is making a monster-sized announcement with the launch of their newest game MonstroCity: Rampage!

Available to play on smartphones and tablets across all platforms, MonstroCity is a wacky new strategy game featuring giant monsters pitted against player cities. Inspired by the old SimCity and Rampage arcade games, gamers experience life as a Mad Scientist battling the evil Dr. Spotnik for world domination.

Alpha Dog Games has been on the forefront of creating original strategy games for millions worldwide since 2012, and have been featured by Google and Apple for their innovative work.

Fore! A Virtual Reality Experience
HB Studios, the world’s premier independent developer of interactive sports entertainment is attending GDC 2017 with a new game aimed at golfers.

This next generation of golf simulation offers gamers a stunning visual presentation and outstanding gameplay, but what really takes The Golf Club into the next generation is the procedural generation of courses and depth of social interaction. The Greg Norman Course Designer can generate a brand new course in seconds, which can be shared and played immediately online with friends and other gamers across PlayStation 4, XBox One and PC.

Based out of a studio in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, HB Studios has hit the ground running since their launch in 2000. To date, they have shipped 45 titles that have sold more than 27 million units, and have contributed to 19 other titles.

Get Out There
Nova Scotia Business Inc. continually recruits for trade missions around the world. By joining one of our trade mission delegations, like Kidscreen Summit and GDC 2017, your company could benefit in one or more of the following ways:

• learning about or accessing a new market
• gaining an understanding of your company’s business opportunities abroad
• assessing your competition
• introducing new products or services
• identifying new innovations or technology to improve your product/production process
• identifying a possible broker, distributor, agent, shipper or freight forwarder
• new sales
• identifying new investors into your company
• identifying new investment opportunities abroad

See our Event Calendar for a list of upcoming trade missions.