In the spring of 2008, a Canada wide search for videogame graduates took place to give a team of individuals the opportunity to create a videogame prototype. The project was funded by the IMA (Interactive Media Alliance); an alliance of the top videogame companies in Prince Edward Island. (Other Ocean Interactive, Longtail Studios, Telos Entertainment, Bight Games and Sculpin QA) Along with the game companies, the project was also funded by Telefilm Canada, Tech PEI and the PEI government. Upon completion of the project, the videogame could then be presented to larger companies for sale or the team would have the option to finish the game themselves.
Seeing this as a great opportunity, Nicholas McKinnon then came up with the idea for Kingdom of Gnester. Mr. McKinnon submitted the concept with two fellow programmers (Neil Power and Real Cloutier) and was selected for production. A team of two artists were also selected from a separate submission (Curtis Rioux and Tim Murray). Mr. McKinnon then took on the role as Producer/Designer of the game as well as assisted in the programming. The Kingdom of Gnester prototype was completed after just two months of actual development. A Gala was held on September 30 and Kingdom of Gnester was unveiled. Kingdom of Gnester has been featured on CTV`s Live at 5 as well as a number of radio broadcasts. Articles about the game have also been published in the Guardian (A PEI newspaper) as well as other newspapers throughout the region.
