If you’ve found yourself infected with a biomedical game idea then you may want to head down to Brighton’s Develop conference for treatment (with an opening sentence like that you can see why I never made it in the PR industry).
Taking place this July, the Develop conference is going to play host to a live pitch session organised by the Wellcome Trust. There, gamemakers will have the opportunity to pitch ideas to a panel of publishers and funders with the possibility of receiving a development grant to turn their idea into a full-fledged release.
Successful pitches stand to win a £10,000 development grant and access to a whole host of scientific experts who will be able to vet the ideas at the game’s core.
You won’t be able to pitch just any game to the panel, mind. Pitches that don’t explore some element of biomedical science or its effect on society won’t be considered. While that might sound a little daunting, Wellcome have provided some examples of games that suitably explore the subject, games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Splice, and Pandemic all delve deeply enough into the science. While making the next Deus Ex on just £10,000 may not be possible, something like Pandemic or Fate of the World may well be within reach.
This isn’t the first time the Wellcome Trust has got their mitts into gaming. The medical science research trust was responsible for the gamify your PhD gamejam that took place last September, as well as deciding the theme for this year’s Make Something Unreal contest, and many other gaming grants and projects.
If you’re interested in pitching to the panel you have to first submit a proposal to the Wellcome Trust before the end of April. Details on how to submit your pitches can be found here.