Party Chat: Building with Less, Aiming for More (ft. Only By Midnight, Shifty Eye Games & Digital Alberta)

Party Chat
Written By Cory Sellar

The Episode

Welcome to the first-ever Party Chat instalment on Good Game Edmonton! This is a new quarterly update presented in collaboration with Digital Alberta. We unpack what people are working on in Alberta’s interactive digital media (IDM) scene, bringing you the latest highlights, trends, and exciting developments from the last three months, what’s happening now, and what’s coming up. This is your essential recap of the stories of entrepreneurs, developers, and creators connected to the IDM space across the province.

In our first piece, tune in as we take a look back at the first half of 2025. A passionate lineup of guests is joining us for this amplification: Amber Scott from Only By Midnight, Tuncer Deniz from Shifty Eye Games, and Chris Entwistle from Digital Alberta.

Key Takeaways from Our Chat:

Digital Alberta's Four Pillars

Chris Entwistle, a Digital Alberta board member (when he’s not busy heading up game product at Artificial.Agency), outlines the organization's core focus areas for 2025 and beyond: attention, craft, business, and opportunity. These pillars aim to elevate Alberta's game development scene by securing visibility for projects and the province , enhancing developer skills, fostering sound business practices for studios , and connecting talent with crucial opportunities, especially in the burgeoning indie and AA scene.

AI: Friend or Careless Shortcut?

The roundtable tackles the growing role of AI in the industry, stemming from themes at GDC and DICE. While some hesitation exists , the consensus is that AI is a powerful tool for enhancing productivity, not replacing human talent. Studios are encouraged to develop a clear AI strategy to integrate it effectively, especially for mundane tasks.

Expansion of Indie & AA Titles

Post-COVID, big-budget games are feeling the pinch, but guess who’s thriving? The indie and AA scene! People are congregating back to the things they know or spending $10-20 on something new that gives them 10-20 hours of pure satisfaction. Chris’ hooked on Bellatro – which, honestly, just adds to its indie cred. Alberta, with its 80+ studios and 800 game devs, is perfectly positioned for this growth. We just need to figure out how to keep things sustainable.

Funding and Support for Indie Studios

Tuncer Deniz from Shifty Eye Games shares insights into securing funding, including grants from the Canadian Heritage Foundation and support from Alberta Innovates. He emphasizes exploring all available avenues for grants and tax breaks to help studios get off the ground. Amber even consults on CMF applications – so if numbers scare you, she's got your back on the creative writing side. Funding is a whole other episode, folks, but for now, know the resources are out there!

Community and Collaboration

Events like the Global Game Jam highlight the rapid prototyping capabilities and networking within the community. The strong post-secondary presence in Alberta, including Lethbridge Polytechnic, U of A, and NAIT, plays a crucial role in nurturing new talent.

Alberta Games: Hottest Drops

  • Shifty Eye Games' Project G: Tuncer Deniz provides an update on their stealth adventure game tied to a global movie franchise, currently in alpha testing. He discusses the significance of their recent funding and bringing on heavyweight advisors. (Keep an eye out for an announcement by the end of the year, with shipping in 2026 on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch 2! )

  • Only By Midnight's Control-Alt-Deal: Amber Scott shares the excitement as their game gears up for launch this summer, having already snagged "Best Gameplay" from CG Magazine and recognition at PAX West and PAX East. She discusses the unique concept of the game – playing as a sentient piece of spyware – and the emotional milestone of finalizing credits. Wishlist it now on Steam!

  • Caldera Interactive's Rabbit Hall: A success story of winning a pitch contest and slated for PC and Switch in 2026, showcasing the importance of market needs and securing funding.

  • Beamdog's MythForce: The team celebrates the upcoming 1.2 update dropping on June 26th, packed with new features. Tuncer expresses his excitement for the game's art style, reminiscent of classic cartoons.

  • Inflection Games' Nightingale: An upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.4 is bringing exciting new updates and enhancements.

  • Titan 1 Studios' Cat Assassin: The announcement of Dave Bautista voicing the lead in this neo-noir action game is a major win for the province, attracting Hollywood attention to Alberta's IDM scene.

  • Upcoming Events:

    • Digital Alberta's IP Masterclass: Led by DA board member Bruna Klinowski, coming in July.

    • Game Discovery Exhibition (GDX): Happening July 16th-17th in Edmonton, focusing on games and AI, talent, research innovation, and building a better games industry.

    • Alberta Game Jam: No dates or themes yet, but the community is already hyped for this collaborative event.

    • Alberta Game Series (AGS): Moving to coincide with Edmonton Startup Week (and we totally broke the news first!), placing game development directly in front of investors and technologists. This move aims to significantly increase opportunities for deals and foster collaboration between AAA and indie/AA talent. Partnering with Edmonton Unlimited and Amii, AGS will provide spaces for pitch practice and opportunistic conversations.

    • Game Invest West: Follows AGS, providing further pitching opportunities for prepared developers.

  • The Art of Pitching (and Confessing Your Sins?): Amber Scott shares her passion for pitching and her experience at GDC, even pitching her next game as "Project Amber Wants to Win a BAFTA". Chris shares a legendary story of a bank robbing game pitch and Tuncer remembers an old-school marketing stunt they did with ammo boxes. Plus, Chris wants to know: would you listen to a panel called “This is How We Shipped It” where devs confess their last-minute, less-than-perfect, but totally necessary moves to get a game out the door? We say YES.

  • Nurturing New Talent: The guests highlight the quality of education in Alberta, with many new hires in the industry coming from local colleges. They emphasize the hunger and drive of these new professionals to succeed in the game industry.

This episode truly showcases that Alberta's IDM scene is real, it's growing, and it's ready for more! Taking risks and being hungry are major takeaways for anyone in the industry.

Important Links

This episode of Good Game Edmonton was originally recorded on June 14, 2025

Cory Sellar
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AI and Games (ft. James Dang)