Less than a year ago, Serious Game barely started to be discussed in our area. Yet today, numerous signs point towards the sector taking more and more importance in the future. On the one hand, our French neighbours are investing in Serious Game (new e.virtuoses convention on November 23rd, the NPDC Image Pole launches a call for projects, tax credit, etc.), on the other hand, in Belgium more and more opportunities arise to develop this sector (St'art fund, thought of extending the Tax Shelter to videa games). A small overview of the current tendencies...

In Belgium, the St'art fund and the extension of the Tax Shelter

The St'art fund has finally been set up and, according to the Wallimage website, it should be in working order by September, as soon as the operational team is ready. Little reminder, it is an investment body doted with 10 million euros from both the Walloon Region and the French Community. It is destined to different arts such as editing, fashion and plastic arts, but also to the audiovisual sector, digital conception, new media and video games. Knowing that the fund will be managed under the aegis of Wallimage and that the latter has allowed for cinema to develop in the Walloon Region, we can gleefully predict new developments for Serious Game.

The growth of cinema in our region is not only the work of Wallimage. The Tax Shelter has also been very beneficial to the field. However, the idea of extending this fiscal system to video games is not entirely absent from the minds of our politicians. Also, in a letter addressed to us, the federal Minister of Finances, Mr. Didier Reynders, did not exclude this possibility and said to be ready to “ “examine the possibility of extending article 194ter of the 1992 Income Tax Code to video games”. Now to see what consequence will be given to these thoughts...

In France, the tax credit, the Nord-Pas de Calais Image Cluster call for projects and the e.virtuoses convention.

In short, the tax credit is a mechanism allowing to deduct with 20% the total amount of eligible expenses undertaken by the company for chartered video games. Limited to 3 million euros per tax exercise and per company, the disposition has been evaluated for the first time after the first three meetings of the expert committee. So far, “37% of the received bids were granted a provisional agreement for a total of 170 million euros in development costs and 7% of the bids were judged to be unacceptable under the selection criteria stated in the texts”, as we can read on the site of the French Agency for Video Games. An encouraging step forward when we know that the system has only been in effect since a little more than a year (May 2008).

The launch of a call for projects of the NPDC Image Cluster groups different types of productions together, but Serious Game will not be forgotten since no less than €600,000 will be devoted to it (see Launch of the Nord- Pas de Calais Image Cluster). The CCI of the Valenciennois, operator of the new Image Cluster, is in charge of preparing the serious game section of the call for projects and of assisting the project owners. (Note: the official documents to submit your serious game bids before July 27^th, 2009 can be found on the CCIV site.

Finally, last year we were there and we hoped for a repeat this year. This time, the date has been set: the second edition of the Serious Game Producers convention will take place on Monday 23^rd November 2009. Supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Valenciennois, the e.virtuoses invite the participants to better understand the stakes of Serious Game and to set up their own action plan. The event offers a very full yet playful day: plenary conferences, workshops, one-to-one meetings between ordering parties and service providers – from requirements to the full quote.

One of our membres, Belle Productions, but not only...

Belle Productions is certainly not the smallest player in an activity sector which is, truth to say, more oriented towards the educative Serious Game, as shows the release in 2005 of a game about hemophilia, for children affected by this disease, and of one around the Walloon Patrimonium (Patrimonia) in 2007, financed by the Ministry for Patrimony. Two more releases are scheduled for end of 2009: 'Neurodyssée', a quiz about knowledge of Europe for 18 year old students in collaboration with the company 72Dpi and financed by the European Commission as well as the Prime Minister's Chancellery, and a very ambitious game around accessibility for handicapped people called 'Les secrets d'Ombyliss', financed by the Ministry of Health, Social Action and Equal Opportunity.

Today, a certain number of regional, national or cross-border bids have been submitted or are being written, through the bias of several calls for projects and investment bodies which are starting up.

Providently, Belle Productions registered the domain seriousgame.be a while ago. But behind this act stands a long-term vision. François Delpierre, artistic director at Belle Productions, wishes to reduce the delay Wallonia has in this domain and plans to soon form an association in which he would assemble the different players for Serious Game (including the animation studios active in the field) as well as a number of actors of the 'Game in' association from Nord-Pas de Calais, of which Belle has been a part since day 1. At the moment only very few information is available on this subject, but very soon things should become more clear...