Megan Folden

Michael Long and his company Foolish Mortals are no strangers to game development, but when it came time to showcase his work to a broader audience—in his case, travelling to a conference called PAX West in Seattle—he was successful in securing a Creative Saskatchewan Market Travel Grant to get there. Long says that, despite the fact that the video game industry is (not surprisingly) very digital-focused, speaking to industry players in person is crucial for businesses like his to grow.

“Getting to be able to talk to people in person and seeing their face makes a much stronger connection that if … in future want to talk to a publisher, it really helps if you say ‘Oh, hey, we met at PAX a year ago, do you want to hear about our new game?’ That’s a much easier ‘in’ than just doing a cold call email and then they’ll just delete it without even looking at it.”

PAX West is one of the largest video game conferences in the world and Long was able to secure a coveted spot as part of the PAX Rising showcase. This opportunity meant that he didn’t have to pay for a booth, which can run into the thousands of dollars. Still, he says that funding like the Market Travel and Digital Game Development grants prevented him from having to seek opportunities elsewhere.

“I was very, very, seriously considering moving to Quebec, where they actually pay for 35% of your Quebec studio salaries, which is just huge. So it’s very cool that Saskatchewan is putting more and more attention towards funding video games, because it is big business, but it’s a very hard business to break into.”

As for the game that Long showcased south of the border, it’s called Kaiju Wars, and is a 2D turn-based game where you’re defending the world against giant Godzilla-like monsters. While a mythical beast didn’t attack the convention centre during the event, Long says he learned a lot about how to market his work in-person versus online (such as using discount codes and consumer behaviour to boost sales).

“Always bring like 5000 business cards, that’s for sure. We only brought one laptop, since we actually had to travel there. It’s much better if you can bring multiple computers so you can have multiple people trying out your game. It’s good to always have people at your booth because people attract people.”

Since 2017, Foolish Mortals has expanded their Saskatoon operations from just a solo venture with a few contractors to three full-time and three-part time staff. The team is in the midst of their newest project, a real-time war simulation game, and Long says that his advice to anyone looking to emulate his success is to build community with other creators. “I run the Saskatoon Game Design Group. It’s a monthly meetup, where we meet in person or virtually each month and people in Saskatchewan come to show off games that they’re making. So, if you’re interested in starting game development, you should definitely come to these events where we’ll show games made in Saskatchewan and talk to you and give you advice on how you could get started trying to do this as a career.”

By John Loeppky

Interested in Godzilla-like monsters, war simulation games, or any of the other products produced by Michael Long and his team? You can check out their website or their Steam page.

Cannes, France is the home of a festival synonymous with the film industry, is a hub for advertisers, and, thanks to the funding from Creative Saskatchewan’s Market Travel Grant, also became part of the 2022 travel itinerary for Regina’s Landslide Entertainment. The company, which produces original content for film and television, is led by Lioz Bouganin. They chose Cannes because it is also the home base for MIPCOM and MIPCOM JR, two foundational industry gathering places.

“The market travel grant, it’s very significant in helping small companies to be able to go and have presence in those markets because otherwise, maybe we could have gone but not as frequently or maybe we have to send less people.”

Beyond the fixed costs of necessities like an industry table, grants and subsidies help companies like Landslide weather the punch to the pocketbook that is things like hotels, food, and airfare. With multiple projects in their pipeline at any one time, Bouganin and his team took the opportunity, not just to sell buyers on their work, but also to network with people from both home and abroad as part of the Canadian pavilion.

“It’s networking with Canadian people who came because we’re in the pavilion with them every day. The founders are there, the other companies are there, distribution people are there, and getting a lot of important facetime. You’re building on those connections.”

Bouganin says that, because Saskatchewan is geographically separate from larger centres like Toronto, conferences like MIPCOM and MIPCOM JR. (which is focused on content for kids) are vital. He also says it’s important to keep in mind that, even with the best support at home, national and international connections are vital to bring more investment back to Saskatchewan and to get these projects made.

“We bring significant investment [in and it] comes from outside the province, without that you can really not finance any productions. Even with the best grant program in the world like we have here, most of the money is always going to come [from] out of the province so having presence in markets…Everybody you have to meet to get your project moving forward is in Toronto, in Canada, but internationally as well.”

In total, Landslide showcased eight projects, ranging from animated to unscripted series, to participants of the event. They made connections with multiple distributors and got to embed themselves in what Bouganin calls the ecosystem of creative development. From a learning perspective, he says that its key companies who are looking to travel to MIPCOM to start with smaller events and work their way up. His message: network beforehand and be prepared for some serious overwhelm.

“When you start going, you don’t really know anybody, right? So it’s hard to schedule meetings and you come into a place, and it is a huge venue, such a huge building with four or five floors, you have over 10,000 people, it can get overwhelming, especially if you’re not used to it.”

As for networking, he says you should talk to other production companies, including him, as well as industry organisations like Creative Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Media Production Industry Association, which he chaired for a number of years.

“We’re all in the same area in the industry. Everybody knows everybody.”

By John Loeppky

To view Landslide Entertainment’s catalogue, works in progress, and industry success, you can touch base with them on their website.

Moose Jaw’s Jude Radwanski is dedicated to making work that is built to last. Her practice as a jewellery artist revolves around polymer clay and works that she calls “bold and expressive.” Though her travels have taken her many places, she obtained a degree in Interior Design from the University of Manitoba and had a 30-year career before going to George Brown College in Toronto to study her craft of jewellery making. Last November saw Radwanski take her wares on the road–with the support of Creative Saskatchewan’s Market Travel Grant— to Vancouver’s Circle Craft Christmas Market.

It’s a trip that Radwanski says has already paid significant dividends for her and her company, Firefly Art Jewellery.

“With travel assistance we have been able to get in front of new customers in a new province, both in a market setting (Circle Craft Show), a gallery location and a busy tourist shop. Besides meeting and selling to Vancouver shoppers, we met several local artisans and art appreciators.”

The market, which has been happening since 1972, is a chance for exhibitors from across Canada to sell their products as well as network. Circle Craft doesn’t pick small spaces, either. 2022 saw the event hosted at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with more than 270 artisans showcasing their work, all of whom face an application and juried process before they can sell there. Circle Craft was just one of the seven large-scale events Firefly attended in the latter part of the year. Other trips included Winnipeg’s Handmade Market and Edmonton’s Butterdome Craft Sale in addition to meeting up with clients and colleagues in Regina and Moose Jaw.

And showcase Radwanski did, with the trip to British Columbia securing sales not only to patrons of the market but to the BC Craft Council store on Granville Island and a host of other clients. “I became a member of the CCBC last fall and after a viewing with their store manager (the day after Circle Craft) he welcomed my work into their gallery.” It was a positive movement forward for her business that she says came as a direct result of being able to be there in-person.

“An unexpected and productive visit at our Circle Craft booth enabled us to secure the largest wholesale order we’ve had to date. After the show we met again with the buyers at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park Trading Post, where thousands of national and international visitors tour the park. We are now represented at their gift shop (the Trading Post) and are delighted to be in the company of accomplished jewellers there.”

It’s not just in the pocketbook where Radwanski has seen growth. Presence at the market has led to an influx of new Instagram followers and has allowed her to raise the business’ profile in the craft market scene. Instagram posts she made while at the market, about everything from the vibe of the space to the items she had on display, generated additional momentum that she hopes can lead to even more business success.

As for where to locate her work when she’s not selling at a market, Firefly Art Jewellery has a webstore with a significant number of offerings that include necklaces, bracelets and earrings. If you happen to be looking to add to your list of vendors then you can make a wholesale order, or you can take a peek at the list of places that currently carry Firefly’s products, which currently includes spots in each of the western provinces.

In heading to Circle Craft last November, using Creative Saskatchewan funds to make the trip possible, it’s clear that Radwanski was embodying her company’s motto “Wearable Art From My Hands to Your Heart.”

By John Loeppky

We’ve already sung the praises of Firefly Fine Art Jewellery’s website, but you can also follow Jude and her team’s journey on Facebook and Instagram.