EIF 2008 will take place this year move to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre as part of a move to develop the scale and profile of the event which this year includes a number of new initiatives and changes from previous years.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival will feature a major two-day conference programme, an array of networking events, an expansion of the EIF Games Screenings programme covering three cinema rooms, a major public area with gaming features, retail and recruitment sites. Dare ProtoPlay, the public showcase event of Dare to be Digital, UK’s premier video games design competition, will also take place under the same roof as the Edinburgh Interactive Festival and will run from Sunday 10th to Tuesday 12th August alongside the public areas and Games Screenings.
Edinburgh Interactive Festival is the only event that brings together the games industry’s key decision makers from games publishing, hardware and development alongside Government, TV, film, press and other entertainment industries as well as students seeking to work within the creative industries.
International Conference Center is designed to make the event more approachable and accessible for the public and other elements of the Festival. It’s free to the public and is a great way for people to spend some time looking at new games from new young development talent, to be inspired by the Games Screenings, to see and experience some hands–on time with new games and perhaps pick up their first games machine at the retail store.
Now celebrating its sixth year, the Edinburgh Interactive Festival is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. And this year, the Interactive Festival is more synchronized with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing – an overall spectacle for all.
New to Interactive Festival 2008 will be Features, Exhibition and Recruitment areas specifically tailored to cater for the public - allowing them access to the latest games and job opportunities in games.
As ever, the three-day Interactive Festival wouldn’t be complete without the cornerstones of conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, games screenings, debates and more people than ever jostling to get in through the doors.
http://www.edinburghinteractivefestival.com/eif-2008
Multiplay is the organiser of M Festival one of the largest electronic games events in the UK.
The M Festival is one of the most exciting computer and video games event ever to be held in the UK featuring some of the top names in the computer games industry. Experience some of the latest and greatest games for the PC and Consoles.
A cutting edge video games technology showcase. Visitors will be treated to a hands-on experience of the modern games industry like never before, featuring worldwide leaders in video games and technology demonstrating their latest and greatest innovations.
• Biggest industry names
• 3000sqm exhibition
• World Cyber Games tournament
• Just turn up and play
• Latest games and technology
Gamers Paradise is where you’ll find the real hardcore gamers taking part in a marathon gaming session lasting over 80 hours. Over 2,000 players bring their own computers down for the weekend and camp out for a non-stop, round the clock games party.
A sight you have to see to believe!
At M Festival come and try some of the best simulations around. Test your driving skills in our F1 driving recreation or take to the skies in our realistic flight simulator. A fusion of the virtual world and reality has brought video games tantalizingly close to real life.
• Some of the best simulations available today
• Play golf whatever the weather!
• Charge around an F1 track
• Take to the skies in a flight simulator
Adrenaline junkies can get their fix with our outdoor sports activities.
• Quad bike safari
• Junior quad bikes
• 4×4 off-road experience
• Air Soft multi-scenario combat
• Archery
• Laser Clay Pigeon Shooting
• Bucking Bronco and Giant Table Football
• Kids Zone for under 12′
Buy Tickets Here: http://www.mfestival.com/default.aspx
Presenter Eric Avery said, “We had about 60 very excited Members and their guests attend the uVme event in Manchester Sunday. There was a business meeting in the morning, followed by a workshop in which we covered how to find prospects and the new coded bonuses, among other things. Then we had a question and answer session that people really enjoyed. In the break, I heard lots of very positive comments about the new ‘Black Diamond’ business-building website.
The event was a great success!”
USA Gamers Walked Away From Monterrey’s Hot Sun With Overall Team Victory, Achieving Seven First Place Prizes
Monterrey, Mexico, June 23, 2008. The third annual World Cyber Games Pan-American Championship wrapped up this past weekend in Monterrey, Mexico. The nine-game tournament took place over three days and featured a who’s who of gamers from many countries in North, Central and South America. Featuring some of the most intense and competitive matches of the 2008 World Cyber Games tournament series, the competition set many familiar faces against each other in the finals.
The USA team had an excellent showing, winning nearly all the games featured in the tournament and achieving the overall team championship.
Leading the USA to victory were:
Nikolasus Cassidy - USA - (WarCraft® III: The Frozen Throne™) - 1st place
Team EG - USA - (Half-Life®: Counter-Strike™) - 1st place
Kamran “omegaelite” Siddiqui - USA - (Need For Speed™ ProStreet) - 1st place
Team Final Boss -USA - (Halo® 3) - 1st place
Sean “maximus” Heffelfinger - USA - (Project Gotham Racing® 4 ) - 1st place
David MoB “Wolfe” Briers - USA - (Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock) - 1st place
Raghav “parfait” Phadke - USA - (Age of Empires® III: The Asian Dynasties) - 1st place
“The city of Monterrey opened its doors to the World Cyber Games and put on one of the best Pan-American games we’ve ever had,” said Mr. Hyoung Seok Kim, CEO of ICM. “With an incredible list of sponsors and a great venue, Monterrey was a fantastic location to host this major e-Sports competition.”
The Pan-American Championship began on Saturday and included welcome speeches from Hyoung Seok Kim, CEO of ICM, global organizer of WCG; Joo Ho Song, CEO for Samsung Electronics México; Erick Baca, Marketing Director for XBOX Mexico and finally, Mario Valle, Marketing and Sales Director for Electronic Arts Mexico.
Some of the world’s best gamers came out for this event, as 105 top gamers from 13 countries battled in the heart of Monterrey, with nearly 10,000 spectators attending over the course of the three day event - making this one of the largest Pan-American championships to date.
ABOUT THE WORLD CYBER GAMES
The World Cyber Games (www.worldcybergames.com) is the premier blue chip global video game tournament and culture festival. First founded in 2000 to promote global harmony through e-sports, the WCG has grown steadily ever since. Behind the slogan “Beyond the Game” and with contestants from more than 70 countries expected to participate in this year’s event, the World Cyber Games has developed into a true global phenomenon with arguably the largest prize amount at stake. The World Cyber Games prides itself on leading the “Digital Entertainment Culture.”
CONTACT:
For The World Cyber Games
Adam Fenton / Andrew Kelly
212-689-6360
adam_fenton@bhimpact.com / Andrew_Kelly@bhimpact.com
Fabrice will talk about how 3rd party developers can break into the industry by getting the attention of a publisher like Ubisoft, including the do’s and don’ts.
Fabrice has over 10 years experience working with Third Party developers. He is now working as Business Development Manager at Ubisoft’s EMEA Third Party Department and is in charge of identifying talented developers and innovative game concepts in Europe.
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 25 countries and sales in 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of 928 million euros.
Fabrice will be replacing Yuan from Disney, who couldn’t make it due to an internal merger of Disney’s Video Games Division and its Digital Media unit.
About Free Gaming Business
Free Gaming Business, an event where games means business, is one of Benelux’s largest game business events and is part of the world’s largest Free Gaming Festival located in the city center of Rotterdam.
Free Gaming Business is located next to the outdoor festival at the Willem Burger Complex in the De Doelen congress center. The business event will feature several impressive international and local speakers on this year’s theme “Level-Up”.
Registration to the event is free for all people working with or for the Game Industry, service providers, educational institutions, government and investors. You can register at fgbusiness08.bgin.org/register.php
Showcase your company with a free showcase and meeting table and more! Reserve your free table!
For more information visit:
Free Gaming Business at http://FGBusiness08.BGIn.org/
Benelux Game Initiative at http://www.BGIn.org/
Free Gaming Festival at http://www.Free-Gaming.nl/
Organizers of an annual games exhibition have raised more than HK$100,000 for victims of the Sichuan earthquake by introducing online games into the two-day event.
Scores of youngsters and their parents stood in line at the SportX area in Harbour City yesterday for the second day of the China Games Publishers Association exhibition, hoping to buy souvenirs such as figurines of online game characters.
Goody fortune bags were among the items sold by the 50 games publishers participating in the event.
The HK$10 entrance fee allowed youngsters to play the online and television games. For a small donation, the youngsters could also dress up as their favorite characters and have their pictures taken.
Local male pop celebrities I Love You Boyz encouraged the public to buy souvenirs and games to help the victims. The singers also donated their autographed figurines, which will be put on an online bidding site to raise funds.
Another young group entertaining visitors, At 17, said it was a meaningful experience for Hong Kong youngsters to help rebuild schools in Sichuan.
The public was also encouraged to donate old games, which will be sent to children in the mainland. A counter to collect these will be set up every weekend until the end of June.
Sony Computer Entertainment deputy manager James Hong said a six- figure sum had been raised.
Money raised on Sunday was donated to World Vision while yesterday’s collection went to Unicef.
World Vision said it had already raised HK$213 million for its HK$270 million rehabilitation plan for Sichuan.
South Asian groups Heavenly Path Hong Kong, Gurkhas Security Guards Union and the Southern Democratic Alliance have raised HK$4,486.10, which will be donated to the Salvation Army.
Source: Jennifer Lai - Thestandard.com
Ticket Sales for the 2nd Annual Zeebys Casual Game Award Show will Benefit Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation
LOS ANGELES – Gamezebo and the Casual Games Association has announced that voting is now open for the Zeebys’ People’s Choice Awards. The winners will be revealed at the second annual Zeebys Award Show from 6:30 – 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, 2008 at the Casual Connect Conference in the Taper Auditorium located inside of Benaroya Hall in Seattle. The show will be taped by Lifetime Networks and broadcast on its Web site, myLifetime.com.
“This year’s Zeebys will be bigger and better than last year’s to celebrate the ascent of casual games into mainstream entertainment,” says Joel Brodie, CEO of Gamezebo and founder of the Zeebys. “We are now a $ 2.25 billion dollar a-year industry, and compete with the likes of TV, music and movies. We’ve arrived.”
The theme of this year’s Zeebys is “Casual Games Giving Back,” with 100% of all ticket sales benefiting the Zeebys’ official charity partner, Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. Starlight is a nonprofit dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Tickets for this year’s Zeebys Award Show can be purchased for $20 at www.starlight.org/zeebys2008.
“What better way to celebrate the innovation and diversity of casual games than to open voting to members of the public and support a cause as important as Starlight’s,” says Jessica Tams, Managing Director of the Casual Games Association,
The Zeebys reward the very best in casual games as voted by the general public. Starting today through July 5, 2008, everyone is invited to vote for the best casual games of 2007 by visiting http://www.zeebys.com/vote-2.php. There are two types of Zeebys Awards: 1) The People’s Choice Awards, which represent the best casual games of the year as voted by the people; and 2) The Craft Awards, which reward excellence in game design itself as voted by peers in the Casual Games Association.
Nominations for the People’s Choice Awards have been chosen by members of the Casual Games Association, the largest membership-based association within the casual games industry. New People’s Choice categories to vote for this year include Best Hidden Object/Adventure, Time Management, and Web Game. New Craft Award categories include Best Mobile, Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), and Social Networking Game. For more about the Zeebys, visit www.zeebys.com.
As one of the top destinations for casual games for women, MyLifetime.com, Lifetime Network’s online community for women’s entertainment and escape, is the exclusive video partner of the awards show and will stream the entire show at MyLifetime.com. The exclusive production partner is SomaTone Interactive Audio, which is producing and providing live music for the show.
Gamezebo
Gamezebo is the leading editorial Web site and community for people passionate about casual games. Gamezebo features reviews, previews, strategy guides for the latest and greatest in casual games, as well as industry insider editorials and interviews. Gamezebo also provides the social tools to rate, share, and connect with people online who are passionate about casual games. Founded by industry veteran Joel Brodie, former head of business development at Yahoo! Games, Gamezebo is a Webby Nominee for Best-Games Related Site of 2008 and our content is translated and viewed by millions online through our Web site and syndication partners. For more information, go to: http://www.gamezebo.com.
Casual Games Association
The Casual Games Association is an international organization with a membership of more than 10,000 gaming executives, publishers and developers. Dedicated to promoting casual games for general consumers and providing educational resources for game development, the association hosts annual conferences in Seattle, Kyiv and Hamburg, publishes a magazine three times a year, and issues research reports on the industry. The association was founded in 2005 by members of the casual games industry.
MyLifetime.com
myLifetime.com (http://www.mylifetime.com), the ultimate digital destination for women’s entertainment and escape, is a site where nearly three million women per month (comScore Media Metrix) connect, play and share. The site’s games channel offers hundreds of compelling online and downloadable games, and ranks among the top 25 online gaming sites for women. myLifetime.com offers lifestyle content in Beauty & Style, Home & Crafts, Entertainment, Health, Relationships, and Astrology channels, original broadband video series, and full episodes, behind-the-scenes content and features that enable women to engage deeper with Lifetime’s television programming. The site also features a vibrant community of more than 2.4 million members who connect with each other via an array of social networking tools. Combined with the reach of the Lifetime Networks, myLifetime.com provides national sponsors an unrivaled opportunity to reach women with targeted cross-platform experiences.
SomaTone Interactive Audio
SomaTone Interactive Audio is the number one provider of original music, sfx, VO, localization, and audio integration for the casual games industry. Specializing in game audio, the SomaTone Team provides soundtracks for around 200 games a year divided between casual, handheld, console, console-downloadable, online, and mobile. A full audio production house with production studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, & Munich, clients include Big Fish Games, Konami, PlayFirst, PopCap, Wild Tangent, Mumbo Jumbo, EA, Disney, and many others around the globe. ST works with over 250 developers in 22 different countries. Focus is on providing exceptional service and management to offer a top, affordable source in audio. For more information on SomaTone, please visit http://www.somatone.com.
Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation
When a child or teenager has a serious medical condition, everyone in the family is affected. For 25 years, Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation has dedicated itself to helping seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities. Starlight’s programs have been proven to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone. Through a network of offices, Starlight provides ongoing support to children, parents and siblings in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces with an array of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings. Programs are also delivered internationally through affiliates in Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. To learn more visit http://www.starlight.org.
Develop Conference and Expo - Brighton, 29-31 July 2008
Video gaming masterminds David Braben (Frontier Developments), Damian Isla (Bungie Studios), Richard Lemarchand (Naughty Dog) and Phil Spencer (Microsoft Game Studios Europe) and top animator Andy Lomas (Framestore) will deliver keynote addresses at this year’s Develop Conference and Expo, which takes place from 29-31 July in Brighton.
For the first time, each of the seven conference tracks (Art & Animation, Design, Production, Coding, Business, Audio and World Vision) will be led by a unique keynote address in recognition of the increasing sophistication of the varying disciplines within games development. These presentations are in addition to the overriding high profile Develop Conference keynote speaker who is yet to be announced. The following have been confirmed to date:
• ART & ANIMATION KEYNOTE
Framestore and the Golden Compass: The Tools and Techniques of Visual Effects - Andy Lomas, Framestore
Andy Lomas is head of computer graphics at Framestore CFC. Over the last 15 years he has been involved in a wide range of projects ranging from commercials and long form television to live action visual effects and CG feature animation. His credits include Walking with Dinosaurs, Dinotopia, The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions, Over the Hedge, Lost in Space, Fairy Tale: A True Story, The Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights and Jason and the Argonauts. He has won numerous awards for his work, including Emmys for supervising the computer generated effects on The Odyssey and Alice in Wonderland. Currently he is working of Framestore’s first CG Feature Animation film: The Tale of Despereaux.
• DESIGN KEYNOTE
Halo AI Retrospective: Eight Years of Work on 30 Seconds of Fun - Damian Isla, senior engineer; AI lead programmer Halo 2 and Halo 3, Bungie Studios
Damian Isla is a Gameplay and Artificial Intelligence Lead at Bungie Studios, where he was responsible for the AI for mega-hit first-person shooters HALO 2 and HALO 3, two of the most successful video games of all time. Before coming to Bungie, he earned an M.Eng. at the MIT Media Lab’s Synthetic Characters Group, where he did research on learning and behavior for artificial creatures. He has spoken on games and character AI at the Game Developers Conference, the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), the AI and Interactive Digital Entertainment Conference (AIIDE) and at Siggraph, and was a contributor to Game AI Programming Wisdom 1 and 3. He has a B.Sc. in Computer Science, again from MIT. He enjoys drama of all kinds.
• PRODUCTION KEYNOTE
Working Hard and Having Fun: How Naughty Dog Made Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune - Richard Lemarchand, co-lead game designer, Naughty Dog
Richard Lemarchand was the lead game designer of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and also worked on Naughty Dog’s Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing. He has made story-based character-action games the main focus of his design career and has worked with some of the industry’s best and brightest along the way. Richard is a hands-on designer who loves the practical business of building out a game in common-sense ways while keeping standards high. He spends his days with his metaphorical sleeves rolled up, championing the player’s experience and helping keep the development team on track.
• CODING KEYNOTE
Why the Future is Brighter than Ever - David Braben, founder, Frontier Developments
Award-winning David Braben and his Cambridge based studio Frontier Developments are recognised worldwide as leading innovators in video game development technology and design. Frontier’s most recent title Thrillville published by LucasArts in North America was the best-selling original children’s/family title in 2006. Frontier’s work on The Outsider promises to deliver yet another ground-breaking title and a number of gameplay firsts. David is directing the development of several titles which all utilise the studio’s sophisticated in-house tool chain.
• BUSINESS KEYNOTE
The Broadening Imperative - Phil Spencer, general manager, Microsoft Game Studios Europe
Phil Spencer is responsible for building great games with Microsoft’s European development partners and internal studios including Banjo Kazooie 3, Fable 2, Viva Pinata. Spencer joined Microsoft Game Studios in 2002, managing the development of externally developed MGS first-party games, and was promoted to general manager in 2006 overseeing all internal and external Windows and XBOX game development including such games as Halo 2, Halo 3, Age of Empires 3, Gears of War and others. He came to London to head up the European office of Microsoft Game in May 2007.
“This year’s keynote speakers are all revered experts in their fields and we are looking forward to hearing five very different presentations depicting the wide variety of stories, experiences and end products that make working in these industries so unique,” said Andy Lane, managing director, Tandem Events.
Notes to editors:
About Develop Conference and Expo: The third annual Develop Conference will host more than 90 speakers and 60 sessions moulded around tracks that are key to the world of games development: Audio, Art & Animation, Business, Coding, Game Design, Production and World View.
A full list of confirmed sessions can be found online at www.developconference.com. Registration is now open and delegates can apply for Super, Standard, Mobile, Audio and Expo passes for the Develop Conference and Expo online at www.developconference.com. Discounts are available on all passes purchased before 1 July 2008. The expo pass is free of charge – please register online.
Develop Online, Develop Mobile and GAMES:EDU will run alongside the Develop Conference & Expo on Tuesday 29 July. Develop Mobile is expanding to offer delegates two tracks – business and development – with sessions focused on everything from the latest 3D technologies, to case studies of successful games, proven techniques for launching a new IP, and cross-platform casual games design.
GAMES:EDU is an annual conference, which aims to light a spark under the debate over the current and future education needs of the gaming community. It offers a unique opportunity for those who have a passion to transform the UK development community. Backed by Skillset, GAMES:EDU brings together the UK’s foremost educators from across all disciplines to connect directly with developers and games producers, to exchange ideas and perspectives.
About Tandem Events:
Tandem Events has over 20 years of experience in organising market-leading exhibitions, conferences and events across a number of industry sectors, including Develop Conference & Expo, Develop Mobile Conference, GAMES:EDU, Games Marketing Forum and Games Grads. For more information, please visit www.tandemevents.co.uk
Dominique van Ratingen will give a presentation of the MEDIA Development scheme for interactive works. Followed by a Q&A with Peter de Jong and Filip van Zoest of the developer Codeglue, whose application for a game has recently received support.
This all followed by a borrel sponsored by MEDIA Desk at the Free Gaming Business event on Saturday June 21!
Dominique van Ratingen, since April 2001 managing director of MEDIA Desk Netherlands. The MEDIA Desk helps to promote and administer the European Union’s MEDIA Programme in the Netherlands. On the 15th of November the European Parliament and Council adopted a new programme to support the European audiovisual sector: MEDIA 2007. The Programme entered into force on 1 January 2007. Like its forerunners, MEDIA 2007 will focus on activities before and after production offering support for training, project development, distribution and promotion. The Programme will also put in place measures to accompany the changes that digitization is producing in the audiovisual sector at all stages of the production and distribution chain, including in terms of new skills for professionals in the sector. The budget will be €755 million over seven years (2007-13). The funds available will be allocated to the following categories: Acquisition and improvement of skills at least 7%, Development at least 20%, Distribution at least 55%, Promotion approximately 9%, Pilot Projects approximately 4%, Horizontal Costs at least 5%.
Codeglue is a Dutch game development studio that specializes in pick-up-and-play arcade games for mobile, handheld devices, and emerging console platforms. The studio develops premium licensed and original home grown games with devotion towards playability, multiplayer functionality, and driving communities.
Their uniquely comprised management and development teams ensure that fun gameplay and brilliant technical engineering are not mutually exclusive. Codeglue’s portfolio includes the high quality conversion of Worms World Party (Nokia N-Gage); well-known franchise mobile games like Monkeyball, Lemmings, and GoWaku!; and an original intellectual property, named Rocket Riot, in development and bound for XBLA.
About Free Gaming Business
Free Gaming Business, an event where games means business, is one of Benelux’s largest game business events and is part of the world’s largest Free Gaming Festival located in the city center of Rotterdam.
Free Gaming Business is located next to the outdoor festival at the Willem Burger Complex in the De Doelen congress center. The business event will feature several impressive international and local speakers on this year’s theme “Level-Up”.
Registration to the event is free for all people working with or for the Game Industry, service providers, educational institutions, government and investors. You can register at fgbusiness08.bgin.org/register.php
Showcase your company with a free showcase and meeting table and more! Reserve your free table!
For more information visit:
Free Gaming Business at http://FGBusiness08.BGIn.org/
Benelux Game Initiative at http://www.BGIn.org/
Free Gaming Festival at http://www.Free-Gaming.nl/
Next week, San Francisco will be the site of a one-day conference focused on social gaming. The organizers of the Social Gaming Summit have generously offered IGDA members a 10% discount. To claim the discount, use the “IGDA” code on the registration form, and bring your IGDA membership card along with you when you check in at the conference. Here’s some information about the event:
The Social Gaming Summit
The Social Gaming Summit is a one day conference focused on the intersection of casual gaming, immersive worlds, and social networking. Games are becoming one of the most popular activities within social networks and game developers continue to spend increasing amounts of energy figuring out how to leverage and apply the growth in social networking to the games they develop. The conference will bring together leaders in the social networking and gaming industries to share insights into the convergence of these worlds.
What: Social Gaming Summit (http://www.socialgamingsummit.com)
Where: UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco, CA
When: Friday, June 13th 2008
Register Here: http://socialgamingsummit.eventbrite.com/
The conference has a very strong list of confirmed speakers. Please visit the website to learn more about the Social Gaming Summit.
Source: www.idga.org