Thank the Canadian government for these great games

Well it just depends then on whether Bioware received grant money or not. The post doesn't really suggest it though.

The government here regularly gives money and tax breaks to game developers to help foster the industry.

This is why Ubisoft is opening a new studio in Toronto, they are getting a huge tax break from it.

Ah, but Alberta has been ruled by a right wing party for 74 consecutive years (36 Socred, 38 PC) so the right wing should like that.

@marshmatter

You're right. The system is not open to "amateur" artists. The system is designed to keep the same people who got into the system in the 80s working in the arts for the rest of their lives, as if working in the arts was the same as working at the post office.

Most of these "professional" artists spend more time filling out grant applications than they do making art. The system rewards all stages of making a play, movie, or book, except for the part where it is actually released to the public - that part is unimportant. A movie, for example, might make no money at the box office, but it doesn't matter because everybody involved with the production has been paid to make the movie by the government and they don't have to pay the money back.

It's a broken system that wastes taxpayer's money to the tune of billions of dollars per year. It's designed to employ mediocre artists who can't hack it in the private system.

That said, the game development programs in Canada are not in the same vein at all. They are mainly tax-breaks that encourage private developers to set up shop in the country.

The other arts programs in Canada should be looking at the success we're having with the games industry - it's a true public/private partnership that is creating high-quality art.

loul

I agree that arts education is important. I also think that start-up money and tax-breaks for new game developers are great programs. HOWEVER, these other programs that fund plays, movies, and books are a total waste of money. They pay for artists to create new work - regardless of if the work is even released to the public.

I'm sorry, but a system that spends billions of dollars a year to make nothing is a waste of money.

How many plays/movies/books made in this system are never even released to the public? The answer is THOUSANDS every year. Then these artists get another grant the next year to make another "masterpiece" that the public will never see.

In other words, the government is funding projects that will later be turned down by a private company - a book publisher, a movie distributor, a live theatre company, etc.

The only point of these programs is to employ people who would otherwise be on welfare. There are artists who have entire careers in Canada milking this system!