MBiz

36 SUMMER 2024 NEW MEDIA MANITOBA You're just starting out in Manitoba's growing Interactive Digital Media industry, but you want help getting your new business off the ground. Perhaps you're part of a video game studio looking to work with extended reality but need training. Or maybe you're a student curious about de- veloping apps or other digital media and want to learn about the industry and meet real people who are living your dream. New Media Manitoba can help with all that — and more. The non- profit is dedicated to supporting growth in the province's Interactive Digital Media (IDM) industry through education, skills training, business development, market access sup- port, programs, events, funding and networking opportunities. It's no secret IDM is one of the fastest-growing industries around the globe, and Manitoba is no exception. Several success stories have put the province on the map, and New Media Manitoba has played a role in helping the industry grow from close to $40 million in gross domestic product (GDP) to $350 million in just a decade (as of 2022). Advocating for and supporting its member companies and orga- nizations through funding from the provincial and federal governments, New Media Manitoba has developed several home-grown workforce development initiatives of its own. Two of its latest exciting opportu- nities for innovative training are GameBiz Lab, offering education and consulting around the business of video games for new and aspiring studio owners, and StudioLab xR, a state-of-the-art training facility de- signed to support the emerging tech- nical and creative fields of extended reality (xR). GAMEBIZ LAB: The business side of video game creation When talking to people who have started — or were thinking about starting — a video game production studio in Manitoba, Corinne Gusnoski would often hear them say things like "I wish I knew this earlier" or "I made this mistake because I just didn't know." As New Media Manitoba's business development manager, Gusnoski and her colleagues recognized the oppor- tunity to do even more to help those starting out in the industry in terms of developing their business. "It can take years from starting your studio and working on your game to then launching and begin- ning to earn revenue. We asked our members 'What are your challenges? What kind of supports do you need?'" she explains. New Media Manitoba launched GameBiz Lab in January, inviting studio owners, professionals and anyone wanting to learn about the business side of video games to sign up for the free Masterclass series workshops and learning sessions presented by industry experts. "We really wanted to curate it to what the community needs. We've built this network of experts and po- tential speakers to come here from all over to speak to our communi- ties but also meet individually with those new or aspiring studio owners to help them with their specific situ- ations," says Louie Ghiz, New Media Manitoba's executive director. Sessions covered topics around how the industry works and what you need to know before starting your studio, along with sessions on marketing, project management, budgeting, pitching and the legal side. Veterans in the industry also shared their own wisdom and stories. "We've brought in people from Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, where there are larger industries and more mature companies, and they've really been blown away to see the engagement here," Gusnoski shares. "There's this energy and optimism of working together as a commu- nity. They can see there's something special here, and this program is really meant to fuel that and support THE FUTURE IS NOW New Media Manitoba helps the Interactive Digital Media industry thrive BY SHERRY KANIUGA PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY Corinne Gusnoski (left) and Louis Ghiz from New Media Manitoba

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