FAQ

We have mentors, facilities, and funding to have 4-6 companies simultaneously active in Joystick Labs. Selection is very competitive. We have had more than 70 companies apply for spots and have so far funded 7.

We expect our next program to start on February 15, 2012.

Our program is tailored to each team, within a general structure. At the beginning we’ll set up some long-term goals for your game and your studio and specific objectives for the 3 months that you are at Joystick. We’ll have objectives for your game (e.g., demo, beta, gold),  and for your business – (e.g., a marketing plan for the game, a fund raising plan if required, pricing alternatives).  Early on we’ll do some work to get you familiar with Scrum and hone an elevator pitch.

Each team will meet with their Board of Advisors each week, and also check in with the Managing Director. We are here to help you move quickly towards completion. Once each week you’ll get a critique on your game from your fellow teams. Every other week we have a speaker come in and cover a specific topic, for example, marketing, PR, QA, design, leadership, etc. We also try and plan some fun outings along the way – in the summer the Durham Bulls play just across the street.

We are looking for great game ideas that we believe have an opportunity for commercial success. Clearly social and mobile games that involve virtual goods transactions appear to have interesting economic models right now. Identifying a unique way to combine social networks and games would be interesting.

Serious game/real world usage applicants such as health related games are of interest as well.

We look for great founders. You need an entreprenuerial spirit and passion for your game. Next we look at the opportunity for your game idea to find commercial success. And finally, we look for fresh, unique game ideas and approaches.

Our Teams page has write-ups on our companies.

It depends on the team size; typically about $6,000 per founder up to $20,000 seed funding per team. We get a modest equity stake in your company, and a share of the money generated by the game or app you work on at Joystick Labs.

We arrived at this model after studying accelerators such as Y Combinator and Techstars. This amount provides modest living expenses for three months and some money to purchase software.

Then you may be able to use your time and resources at Joystick Labs to make a killer proof-of-concept and use that to attract further investment. We can make introductions for you, and if you are making great progress, can continue to provide some office space.

Absolutely. We still want to hear from you.

Start with our pre-proposal application form here. We will narrow the submissions based on the information you provide and will request more detailed information from those selected. If you have a design doc or business plan, that’s great, but not necessary.

A demo, however, is highly encouraged. We’re looking for talented folks who can deliver on their vision given some time and resources; a demo shows us these qualities in a very direct way. Even if you just have concept art or a portfolio, or a simple game you have built in the past, these help demonstrate your capabilities to us.

Sorry, part of being accepted into Joystick Labs is, well, being at Joystick Labs. The collaboration you will have with the other teams and our mentors is a key part of maximizing the success of Joystick Labs teams.

No, we are looking for great people with a great game concept.

No, but you do need to be able to legally be in the U.S. We cannot get you a visa.