OCT. 21, 2010 • The last decade has not been kind to the State of Louisiana. Between catastrophic natural and manmade disasters, where this state government has found the time and resources to entice game developers within its borders is a surprise. Yet that’s exactly what Louisiana has been up to with some success.
States in the middle of the U.S. have found varying success in attracting game development, compared to the dominant West Coast and East Coast concentrations. Austin has perhaps been most successful thanks in large part to a host of unique local attributes. It’s not all about a centralized national hub, game developers appreciate communities already possessing hightech communities, strong educational institutions, as well as an established reputation for recreation. Of course, Louisiana has that last category nailed, but they also offer a surprisingly strong educational system.
To find out what else Louisiana has to offer the games industry, DFC spoke with the State’s director of digital media industry, Elliott Adams.
DFC: Can you give us some background on the history of game development in Louisiana?
Elliott: Game development is a relatively new industry for Louisiana. Our state’s traditional industries include tourism, petroleum and agriculture, but with the huge success of Louisiana’s film industry – currently third in the nation, only behind New York and California -the games industry has sprouted-up quickly.
DFC: What are the advantages for developers setting up shop in Louisiana?
Elliott: There are many, which I can detail, but what I see as the primary advantage is that Louisiana wants to make itself a hub for game development. The state government, local governments, the business community and educational institutions are all aligned to support the industry. That’s something that I don’t think you find everywhere.
DFC: What can you tell us about the video game education infrastructure in your state?
Elliott: The Louisiana State University system has two programs: the AVATAR program at LSU Baton Rouge and LSU Shreveport’s Animation program. Additionally, Baton Rouge Community College offers an Associate’s in Game Design. We are working to add new programs through the four-year system, as well as bring in private institutions that specialize in game development.
DFC: Where are developers locating in your state? Is there any geographic area of concentration, and why?
Elliott: Electronic Arts’ North American Test Center is in Baton Rouge, as are several independent studios, but otherwise studios are all over the state. TurboSquid’s 3D model exchange and others are in New Orleans, and then you find Dreamforge in Northwest Louisiana with 40 employees and 10 casual titles set to launch this year.
DFC: Compared to other regions, what differentiates Louisiana in terms of how it fosters technology and innovation?
Elliott: One thing that I will point to is how the state is looking at the components needed to foster innovation. Louisiana doesn’t just have robust incentives for game development, but is also proactively developing and enhancing educational programs and even seeking to attract additional capital to the state so that studios can take their production to the next level.
Aside from the nuts-and-bolts of building a great game and getting it funded, Louisiana has a cultural heritage that I’d argue one can’t find anywhere else in the U.S. Whether you’re talking about New Orleans and the birthplace of jazz, or the French-Cajun culture heritage of the greater Lafayette region, there is always something in Louisiana that can ignite inspiration.
DFC: Can you give us some specifics on developers and games that have been developed in Louisiana and what you see as some of the top upcoming products?
Elliott: Electronic Arts has been polishing so many games in Baton Rouge that I’m not sure I can count all of them, but certainly Madden and Tiger Woods are the standouts. Other titles from Louisiana include Black College Football Experience (by Nerjyzed), a new educational game called SayNPlay from Advance Games and of course other titles in works that will be announced later this year or early in Q1, 2011.
DFC: How much does the Louisiana government play a collaborative roll in the creation of the game developers in your state, in addition to attracting existing studios to relocate?
Elliott: As I mentioned in the way that Louisiana is different, we’re looking at incentives, education and capital as being three necessary building blocks. The Louisiana Dept. of Economic Development also works with other state entities, the Louisiana University System and the business community to push these initiatives forward.
DFC: What kind of financial assistance does your state provide to support game development?
Elliott: The Louisiana legislature raised our Digital Media incentive in 2009 to provide a 35% credit on in-state labor and 25% on in-state production costs. These are state tax credits that, similar to what most Hollywood film studios do, can be sold to a third-party in an absence of tax liability.
Another one of the tools we can offer qualified studios is the Louisiana FastStart program, which is comprehensive workforce training solution that provides workforce screening, recruitment and pre-employment training.
DFC: How does the development community in Louisiana break down between offshoots of large international publishers like Ubisoft and home-grown startups?
Elliott: Currently, Electronic Arts anchors the international publisher presence in Louisiana, but we expect that pool to grow substantially. At the same time, we are actively supporting independent studios and want to build a true ecosystem of development in the state.
DFC: How connected are game developers in Louisiana? What developer associations are strong, and why?
Elliott: Since SIGGRAPH was held in New Orleans in 2009, the game development community has really come together. We now have IGDA chapters in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, as well as NetSquared groups in New Orleans and Lafayette.
DFC: Is there anything like an open studio facility that supports those development components that developers can “rent out” for short periods?
Elliott: Since there is so much film production in Louisiana, game studios have a great advantage here because there are companies in each region with motion capture studios and are used to renting to productions on an as-needed basis.
DFC: Montreal has been very successful in incubating “3D” into a regional hot bed for development companies within a number of industries: gaming, film, and military. Have you looked at any other regional industries that might make for good partners to cross-collaboration in your region?
Elliott: As I mentioned, the film industry has been a wonderful entrée for Louisiana to build its games cluster. Entertainment is so embedded into the culture, and is now a growing part of our economy. The state offers incentives not only for film production and game development, but also for application software development (the only incentive of its kind), sound recording and live performance/theatre.
Louisiana sees video games as important to grow our economy, but also to further advance our state as a whole. The skills that designers and programmers need to acquire are skills that transfer beyond development, and the transformative power of games in education is an area in which we want to be at the forefront.
