NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Presents “Made in NY” Grant at the Game Devs of Color Expo
The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is proud to announce that Daniel Lowe was awarded the second-ever “Made in NY” Grant at the 9th Annual Game Devs of Color Expo. Mr. Lowe was awarded $15,000 in finishing funds for his game, Parkour Legends. This developer grant is part of the City’s commitment to supporting the Digital Games industry and making it accessible to all New Yorkers.
“We congratulate Daniel Lowe on receiving the second-ever “Made in NY” Grant, and we’re proud to have supported the Game Devs of Color Expo once again,” said NYC Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Pat Swinney Kaufman. “This grant exemplifies this administration’s work to support NYC’s digital games industry and make it accessible to all New Yorkers.”
“I want to thank everyone at Game Devs of Color and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment for the gracious ‘Made in NY’ Grant,” said “Made in NY” Grant Recipient Daniel Lowe. “It was quite the honor given the competition, and it’s awesome to know that there is support out there for both people of color and game development.”
“We are grateful to continue this partnership with our home state! Thanks to New York for underscoring their commitment to grow our gaming industry, empower New York City’s incredible game dev talent, and showcase our diverse community of creators,” said Catt Small, Founder and Co-Organizer of GDoCExpo.
“Made in NY” Grant recipient Daniel Lowe is a software engineer with a background in marketing, advertising, e-commerce, and programming, who began work on his own video game in 2009. A life-long gamer, Lowe wrote his first line of code at age eight, built his first website at ten, and always knew someday he would pursue a career in video game production. Lowe is originally from South Carolina, majored in Marketing at Clemson University, and now lives in Manhattan. Lowe was Lead Developer on the game Parkour Legends.
Lowe’s “Made in NY” Grant was awarded for work on the Parkour Legends game, a 2d platformer that requires parkour moves to traverse the levels. The sport of parkour challenges athletes to find the most efficient path from point A to B, and the Parkour Legends game encourages players to creatively explore different techniques and paths to tackle each level. Lowe is using the grant to support social media ad placement, licensing professional music and sound effects, and commissioning additional art and assets to help bring the full vision of the game to life. For more on the game, please visit the Parkour Legends website here.
The first “Made in NY” Developer Grant was given to Geneva Heyward, at the 2022 Game Devs of Color Expo, for her work on the simulated dating game Skate & Date.
Mayor Adams, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, and other members of the administration have collaborated on many new initiatives to support NYC as a leading hub for Digital Games development, as first outlined in the “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery” plan. The first-ever New York City Digital Games Industry Economic Impact Report, released in 2021, found that the industry generates $2 billion in economic output annually. The study also revealed that over half of game development firms in New York City are independently run with solo developers or small teams of less than five people focused on creating and building new apps. These indie game developers challenge the industry’s approach to issues of social equity, diversity, and inclusion by weaving salient themes and narratives within their games.
Under the Adams administration, the city established the first-ever Game Development Industry Council, created to advise the city’s policies and programs in the games development sector; invested $2 million in CUNY’s first-ever Game Design Bachelor’s Degree; partnered with NYC Schools on the Minecraft Education Battle of the Boroughs Esports Competition and Mayor’s Cup; and launched the NYC Summer of Games initiative, to shine a light on all digital events in NYC throughout the summer months.
