We’ve received just over 50 applications for Fundbetter, our fund for small narrative games and interactive fiction, since we launched the program in February.

Who has applied

The vast majority of applicants are male, with only a handful who identify otherwise. We have heard from female developers who are putting together an application, waiting for other projects to finish or looking for additional advice before applying. We'd love to diversify the pool of applicants, so please take this as an invitation to apply, or to ask any questions which are holding you back (we'll happily respond to an email to our Fundbetter address or a tweet to @failbettergames)!

Applications have mainly been from the UK and Europe, with a few from further afield (North America, Brazil, India).

What we’ve learned

We didn’t expect all of the games to be so different. That sounds obvious in retrospect, but we thought there would be common features, or possibly that we’d get a deluge of Fallen London-y projects. But none of the games have been particularly similar to one another, which has been heartening and invigorating to review.

Perhaps because of how different they’ve all been, we’ve had to devote more time to reading application materials and playing demos than we’d planned to. A lot of fledgling game developers haven’t yet looked into what’s required for marketing or running a business, so we’re thinking about resources to help with questions about marketing plans and sales projections, and otherwise make the application process more accessible.

What’s next for Fundbetter?

We’re getting ready to announce the first batch of funded games. This is almost unbearably exciting. It will be soon.

We’re closing applications for a few months. We need some time to consider making tweaks to the application process, to receive some prototypes from potential fundees, and to allow the first batch of fundees to blossom.

Applications will close on 4 July 2016, and there’ll be news of Fundbetter’s return later in the year.

Interested in applying?

All of the information is at failbettergames.com/fundbetter. We’ve just updated our advice for applicants, too. Good luck!