Hamilton’s own Moonray Studios and SHG Studios were recently awarded over $1.4M in total funding ($915,255 and $494,000, respectively) by The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) for their digital media projects.

Moonray and SHG are two of 22 such projects that received a total of $14.1M in funding as part of the first round of production support from the CMF’s 2015-2016 Experimental Stream, which encourages the development of innovative, interactive digital media content and software applications.

Moonray Studios’ $915,255 will fund the development of a game they are in the process of building, called debris.

debris is a multiplatform survival horror game that will have players diving
into a labyrinth of underwater ice caves to recover meteoric remains. It’s designed to help youth identify, empathize with, and understand the nature of psychosis.

Countless young adults around the world suffer from psychosis and even more know someone who does. debris aims to be an engaging and compelling game that teens want to play, which shows them how someone with psychosis experiences the world. It ultimately helps youth recognize the symptoms and triggers of psychosis, and perhaps begin the first steps towards seeking help if they identify symptoms in themselves.

“We’re infinitely thankful for the opportunity the CMF has provided us through this and previous funding,” says Dan Clark, Founder at Moonray Studios. His studio was previously funded by the CMF for a separate project called Apptui. “Not only has the CMF given us the chance to bring our ambitious project – debris – to life, it has through the years allowed us to build a first class studio right here in Hamilton.

With current funding, Moonray is also looking to expand its development and creative team in Hamilton

SHG Studios’ $494,000 of funding is for a project titled Star Pirates: Infinity. It is a next generation Collectible Card Game (CCG) for iOS, Android, and Steam.

In this game, players buy and assemble digital card decks to compete against opposing players, both human and Artificial Intelligence. Players gain rewards, unlock missions and collect a range of collectible cards, combining the benefits of both digital and paper-based CCGs. All of this takes place in SHG Studios’ unique fictional Star Crash Universe, designed to explore human nature and its relationship with technology.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are to be able to work on the project and share this news with our players,” says Colin Ferguson, Managing Director of SHG Studios. “My thanks goes out to our team and to the CMF for their insight into the potential the project and SHG Studios have. Hamilton and Southern Ontario have been fantastic support for us, and of course we wouldn’t be here without our in-game community”.

Learn more about Moonray Studios here and SHG Studios here.