IGDA Detroit
International Game Developers Association
Contents |
IGDA Detroit Homepage
Chapter Coordinators:
- Cristopher Boyer of Variant Interactive
- Rich Elswick of Moya Entertainment
Chapter Advisors:
Industry Advisors:
- Gregg Seelhoff of Sophsoft Software
- Jay Semerad of Red Leader Audio
- Gjon Camaj of Image Space Incorporated
- Matt Toschlog of Reactor Zero
Educational Advisors:
- Brian Winn an Associate Professor at Michigan State Univeristy
- Dr. Bruce Maxim a Professor at the University of Michigan - Dearborn
- Kim Callery the Chair at the International Academy of Design and Technology - Detroit
- Mark Sherrod the Dean of The Art Institute of Michigan
Meeting Notes from July 2008 Meeting on Michigan Film Incentives as applied to Game Development
We had about 20 people show up and Tony Wenson of the Michigan Film Office attended to discuss the tax incentives.
Pre-meeting discussion with Tony -
1-Send key conferences to him that we need to attend, which are applicable to getting people interested in Game Development in Michigan. done. 2-send info about other states with incentives - Lousiana, Georgia, Ontario and key IGDA chapters / meetings. Not completed yet. 3-Send 'Typical' Timeline with labor requirements related to game dev to Tony to help him understand the business. Not completed yet. 4-Send a List of companies related to game development in Michigan. Not completed yet.
Presentation Discussion
Item 1 -
credits - film credits - for use with training credits in a video game.
training credit may not apply due to the word of the law states 'film credits' specifically.
Credits to verify who worked on project:
Moby Games - Credits - not greatest resource
IMDB includes creative for games, but not for programmers / technical. IMDB is used to verify if someone worked on a film, so they can validate Michigan residency. The same type concept would need to work for game development in some fashion.
In game credits.
Item 2 -
Come up with a FAQ about how Games apply to the credits, which developrs might have.
1. Do games apply: YES. 2. Michigan Resident to qualify: yes, after 60 days of residency and it can be substantiated by license or utilities bills or such. 3. Project based, don't get the credit check until taxes are filed and approved. -Suggest breaking projects into smaller cycles and applying in that method. Since the credit is based on a calender year's cycle, where as game development is typically longer than a year.
4. Can I sell my tax credit - transferable / assignable, you can sell it. Anyone that wants to buy it. -Private Parties deal, no film office interaction.
There were more discussions and notes, but those are some of the main ones I wrote down.
Rich
