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Numinous Games launches new app and is co-hosting “60 fps” on Friday

August 2, 2018

Josh Larson has spent the last fifteen years co-founding game studios and creating unique videogame experiences.

In 2012, Larson teamed up with Ryan Green to co-found Numinous Games, a video game company that focuses on providing deep and meaningful experiences.

Their latest release is titled Galaxies of Hope. Created in collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Galaxies of Hope offers a unique digital experience that engages users through the art of visual storytelling to connect with others to better understand neuroendocrine tumor (NET) cancer. Using real-life stories and voices of patients, caregivers and physicians in the NET community, the app aims to immerse users in their personal journeys.

“When you play through, it feels kind of like an interactive documentary, but the aesthetic of a videogame,” Larson said.

Numinous Games first project was That Dragon, Cancer, an immersive narrative videogame that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through about two hours of poetic, imaginative gameplay that explores faith, hope and love.

Numinous Games have also created busuu, which allows players to learn Spanish in a virtual reality environment and untethered, an episodic virtual reality series that is part comic book, part radio drama, part videogame.

“Our focus is largely on creating videogame experiences about how we relate to each other as human beings,” Larson said. “How we can love each other better and how we can value each other.”

Gaming Expo in Des Moines

This Friday, Numinous Games will be co-hosting “60 fps,” an expo featuring gaming and illustration artists throughout Iowa. Attendees can experience virtual reality environments, video games, tabletop games, arcades, comics and interactive art while also exploring over 65 art studios.

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Larson helped organize “60 fps” to highlight artists in Iowa involved in the expanding fields of interactive design and gaming.

“Since I moved to Des Moines, I’ve been very hungry to find a game developing community to be a part of,” Larson said. “Over the last year, there’s been a group of us that have sort of solidified and concentrated into a group who are committed to each other. I’ve been really inspired by that and have been wanting to celebrate that.”

“60 fps” is free and open to the public and will take place at Mainframe Studios from 4pm to 9pm on Friday.

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Numinous Games launches new app and is co-hosting "60 fps" on Friday | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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