Call for Ideas | The Roots of Hip-Hop in Québec: The Video Game

The NFB and Major Productions, in collaboration with the Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec, invite independent video game studios to submit an original project idea on the roots of hip-hop in Québec, inspired by the research notebook written by Félix B. Desfossés (The roots of hip-hop in Quebec: research notebook – Volume 1, Éditions du Quartz, 2020).

About the project

Parties, DJs, MCs, urban dance styles, rap battles, radio and television programs: Montreal has moved to the rhythm of hip-hop for over forty years. But how did this movement really begin in Quebec? Do we know its true roots?

Since 2012, Félix B. Desfossés has been investigating the history of hip-hop in Quebec (Les racines du hip-hop au Québec : carnet de recherche – Volume 1, Éditions du Quartz, 2020), with the support of mythical figures from the local hip-hop community and the awareness that a huge and vibrant Afro-Descendant community had been obscured from the official story about Quebec music. The work done by Desfossés has helped clarify the role of hip-hop in mass culture.

At a time of social mobilization and the denunciation of systemic racism, discussions about hip-hop culture in Quebec are conducive to exercices in self-reflexivity.

The NFB, Major Productions, creative director Félix B. Desfossés and ethics consultant Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo want the stories of those who are an integral part of hip-hop culture to become a definitive part of Quebec’s music history.

Creative constraints

Your proposal should incorporate the following constraints :

The game must be grounded in reality, and the story must be based on documented facts.
The play must incorporate diverse voices and represent the diversity of voices in hip-hop culture.
The proposal must be an original idea.
The game must be a single-player or multiplayer quest game.
The game must be developed in a French and English version.
The number of players will be determined based on the proposal.
The target audience of the game will be determined based on the proposal.
The platform of the game will be determined based on the proposal.

Administrative constraints

Your proposal should take into account the following:

The projected budget for the project is approximately $350,000 CAD.
The budget includes a study phase, a development (prototyping) phase and a production phase of the final work.
The overall timeline for the project is as follows:
Study phase (September to December 2021) – Call for ideas, jury, selection of the winning concept and acceleration workshop with the creative team in order to arrive with a concept ready for the development phase.
Development phase (March to October 2022) – Technology choices, editorial choices, UX and UI explorations, content creation and prototype development.
Production phase (November 2022 to January 2024) – Production until the final project is delivered.