The London Games Festival kicks off this week, with a load of interesting trade and consumer events planned across the capital, including the BAFTA games awards on Thursday night at the recently spruced-up Roundhouse in grimy old Camden Town.
So, aside from the swanky backslapping media-fest that is the BAFTAs, what else is on for those people who aren’t PR or marketing directors or magazine editors (i.e. normal people) to do?
Whilst both trade and consumer videogame events have a patchy history in the UK of late (Game Stars Live, anyone? ECTS?) this event seems like a good mix of trade seminars, mainstream consumer ‘happenings’ and a more cutting-edge cultural side of things on the LGF Fringe that aims to explore “aspects of interactive entertainment as culture, creative form and a market that often falls outside the recognised games industry.”
For gamers just wanting to play some early code of this Christmas season’s highlights, its certainly something to get excited about, especially seeing as we just spoken with Konami who told us that HMV has the first public showing of the 360 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6. There will be a load of pods to get an hands-on and an hourly tournament for prizes and the like from midday until 6pm through the week. West Ham striker Bobby Zamora will also be involved, if any Hammers fans are in the area.
The festival includes a week-long series of other such previews, appearances and hands-on gaming at HMV Oxford Circus, gaming areas at John Lewis Oxford Street, and a pitching event for new game ideas. It’s the best reason SPOnG’s had all year to brave the hell that is Oxford Street in rush hour.
SPOnG will be bringing you a full report on the BAFTAs this coming Friday, but in the meantime, check out the events happening around town the rest of the week, right here:
Full details on all the above and more can be found at the London Games Festival's website.
So, aside from the swanky backslapping media-fest that is the BAFTAs, what else is on for those people who aren’t PR or marketing directors or magazine editors (i.e. normal people) to do?
Whilst both trade and consumer videogame events have a patchy history in the UK of late (Game Stars Live, anyone? ECTS?) this event seems like a good mix of trade seminars, mainstream consumer ‘happenings’ and a more cutting-edge cultural side of things on the LGF Fringe that aims to explore “aspects of interactive entertainment as culture, creative form and a market that often falls outside the recognised games industry.”
For gamers just wanting to play some early code of this Christmas season’s highlights, its certainly something to get excited about, especially seeing as we just spoken with Konami who told us that HMV has the first public showing of the 360 version of Pro Evolution Soccer 6. There will be a load of pods to get an hands-on and an hourly tournament for prizes and the like from midday until 6pm through the week. West Ham striker Bobby Zamora will also be involved, if any Hammers fans are in the area.
The festival includes a week-long series of other such previews, appearances and hands-on gaming at HMV Oxford Circus, gaming areas at John Lewis Oxford Street, and a pitching event for new game ideas. It’s the best reason SPOnG’s had all year to brave the hell that is Oxford Street in rush hour.
SPOnG will be bringing you a full report on the BAFTAs this coming Friday, but in the meantime, check out the events happening around town the rest of the week, right here:
Mainstream Events Calendar
World Series of Video Games
Trocadero – 6-8th October
World Series of Video Games’ 2007 circuit will feature professional gaming tournaments in Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake 4 and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. Attendees of the event can compete in these tournaments or watch the world's best gamers as they battle for over £40,000 in cash and prizes. Everyone is invited to join this celebration of gaming!
HMV - Oxford Circus
150 Oxford Street – 5-7th October, noon-6pm
The HMV Stage at their flagship store in Oxford Street will kick off the London Games Festival 2006. The stage will bring together well known figures from the world of video games (and the real world too!) throughout the week. The week will kick off with celebrities competing against each other in a series of high profile tournaments, with the winners crowned the kings of the gaming world.
The London Game Career Fair
Café Royal, Regent Street – 3rd-4th October
The London Game Career Fair will provide the opportunity for games industry professionals, recent graduates and individuals from related industries, such as computer graphics, animation and film, to speak with leading companies in the game industry about career opportunities.
Fringe Events Calendar
London Games Festival Fringe
Range of central London locations – 2nd-7th October
This years Festival Fringe will explore aspects of interactive entertainment as culture, creative form and a market that falls outside the recognised games industry. The Fringe will involve performances, exhibitions, master classes and seminars, participatory workshops and, of course, opportunities to play. A full list of events will be released soon. Highlights of the programme include:
Lizards’ Lair
Visit London, Riverside – 2nd October
Got an idea for a new game? Want to meet the makers and work at a games developer? Then this is the event for you. The London Games Festival is inviting you to enter your game idea, and then if successfully picked, present and pitch the concept to a panel of industry experts from some of the most respected publishers and developers. Each panellist will select their favourite game and the winners will receive a week’s hands on experience at a games company.
Playing Films, Watching Games
BFI’s National Film Theatre, Southbank – 7th October
Playing films, watching games will be the forum for an exploration of the convergence between what are arguably the two most powerful entertainment forms. This event will see a panel of some of the most innovative drivers from film and games come together to discuss how the two industries currently relate to each other, and where they are taking us.
Sense of Play – A Game Design Symposium
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street – 6th October
Sense of Play is a one-day symposium, co-sponsored by the University College for the Creative Arts. The event aims to promote lively debate on the nature of game design: what it means to different people – both inside and outside the industry. Games designers are often considered to be key to the medium’s creative future and this event asks how we can best equip emerging talent to square up to the considerable challenges they face as the industry moves forward. Sense of Play will also look at whether talent from other industries could make a difference to the creative process.
World Series of Video Games
Trocadero – 6-8th October
World Series of Video Games’ 2007 circuit will feature professional gaming tournaments in Counter-Strike 1.6, Quake 4 and Warcraft III: Frozen Throne. Attendees of the event can compete in these tournaments or watch the world's best gamers as they battle for over £40,000 in cash and prizes. Everyone is invited to join this celebration of gaming!
HMV - Oxford Circus
150 Oxford Street – 5-7th October, noon-6pm
The HMV Stage at their flagship store in Oxford Street will kick off the London Games Festival 2006. The stage will bring together well known figures from the world of video games (and the real world too!) throughout the week. The week will kick off with celebrities competing against each other in a series of high profile tournaments, with the winners crowned the kings of the gaming world.
The London Game Career Fair
Café Royal, Regent Street – 3rd-4th October
The London Game Career Fair will provide the opportunity for games industry professionals, recent graduates and individuals from related industries, such as computer graphics, animation and film, to speak with leading companies in the game industry about career opportunities.
Fringe Events Calendar
London Games Festival Fringe
Range of central London locations – 2nd-7th October
This years Festival Fringe will explore aspects of interactive entertainment as culture, creative form and a market that falls outside the recognised games industry. The Fringe will involve performances, exhibitions, master classes and seminars, participatory workshops and, of course, opportunities to play. A full list of events will be released soon. Highlights of the programme include:
Lizards’ Lair
Visit London, Riverside – 2nd October
Got an idea for a new game? Want to meet the makers and work at a games developer? Then this is the event for you. The London Games Festival is inviting you to enter your game idea, and then if successfully picked, present and pitch the concept to a panel of industry experts from some of the most respected publishers and developers. Each panellist will select their favourite game and the winners will receive a week’s hands on experience at a games company.
Playing Films, Watching Games
BFI’s National Film Theatre, Southbank – 7th October
Playing films, watching games will be the forum for an exploration of the convergence between what are arguably the two most powerful entertainment forms. This event will see a panel of some of the most innovative drivers from film and games come together to discuss how the two industries currently relate to each other, and where they are taking us.
Sense of Play – A Game Design Symposium
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street – 6th October
Sense of Play is a one-day symposium, co-sponsored by the University College for the Creative Arts. The event aims to promote lively debate on the nature of game design: what it means to different people – both inside and outside the industry. Games designers are often considered to be key to the medium’s creative future and this event asks how we can best equip emerging talent to square up to the considerable challenges they face as the industry moves forward. Sense of Play will also look at whether talent from other industries could make a difference to the creative process.
Full details on all the above and more can be found at the London Games Festival's website.
Comments
zoydwheeler 2 Oct 2006 14:03
1/1
UPDATE: DETAILS ON HMV EVENT
HMV Games Showcase - titles confirmed
October 2nd-7th sees London come alive with a festival celebrating the
very best in contemporary video games. Throughout the week there will
be a series of public and industry events showcasing some of the hottest
games, consoles, topics and people helping to shape the fastest growing
entertainment industry.
The HMV Games Showcase, part of the first London Games Festival, offers
the exciting chance for players to play some of the biggest new games
for the Autumn from 2K Games, Konami, Xbox 360, Ubisoft and Oxygen
Interactive weeks before their release. Starting Thursday October 5th
through to Saturday October 7th people will have the opportunity to
enjoy and see for free this year's thrilling big titles and the greatest
retro classics at HMV's flagship store in Oxford Street. There is also
the opportunity to participate in electrifying tournaments for the
chance to win exclusive prizes.
Xbox 360 and Konami are teaming up to bring the first ever UK preview of
Pro Evolution Soccer 6, which will only be available on one next
generation console, Xbox 360, on Friday October 6th - weeks before the
official launch. There will also be a PES6 tournament running throughout
the day, with the chance to win exclusive Xbox and PES6 prizes.
The weekend of sport is completed with the critically acclaimed Rockstar
Games presents Table Tennis from 2K Games.
The showcase will also provide the first chance to play the eagerly
awaited next instalments in the popular Tom Clancy series, Rainbow Six
Vegas and Splinter Cell: Double Agent, from Ubisoft. Both games are
playable before their final release during the London Games Festival.
From Xbox 360 there will be an 'Xbox Live Arcade' section in the games
department that will provide the opportunity for people to indulge in
retro classics such as Pac-Man, Street Fighter II and Gauntlet, as well
as new games such as Geometry Wars and Lumines.
Keen golfers have the chance to 'putt' their skills to the test in Pro
Stroke Golf on Thursday night, courtesy of Oxygen Interactive. Those
that prefer the nineteenth hole to the green will prefer to try PDC
World Championship Darts, also from Oxygen Interactive.
HMV Games Showcase - titles confirmed
October 2nd-7th sees London come alive with a festival celebrating the
very best in contemporary video games. Throughout the week there will
be a series of public and industry events showcasing some of the hottest
games, consoles, topics and people helping to shape the fastest growing
entertainment industry.
The HMV Games Showcase, part of the first London Games Festival, offers
the exciting chance for players to play some of the biggest new games
for the Autumn from 2K Games, Konami, Xbox 360, Ubisoft and Oxygen
Interactive weeks before their release. Starting Thursday October 5th
through to Saturday October 7th people will have the opportunity to
enjoy and see for free this year's thrilling big titles and the greatest
retro classics at HMV's flagship store in Oxford Street. There is also
the opportunity to participate in electrifying tournaments for the
chance to win exclusive prizes.
Xbox 360 and Konami are teaming up to bring the first ever UK preview of
Pro Evolution Soccer 6, which will only be available on one next
generation console, Xbox 360, on Friday October 6th - weeks before the
official launch. There will also be a PES6 tournament running throughout
the day, with the chance to win exclusive Xbox and PES6 prizes.
The weekend of sport is completed with the critically acclaimed Rockstar
Games presents Table Tennis from 2K Games.
The showcase will also provide the first chance to play the eagerly
awaited next instalments in the popular Tom Clancy series, Rainbow Six
Vegas and Splinter Cell: Double Agent, from Ubisoft. Both games are
playable before their final release during the London Games Festival.
From Xbox 360 there will be an 'Xbox Live Arcade' section in the games
department that will provide the opportunity for people to indulge in
retro classics such as Pac-Man, Street Fighter II and Gauntlet, as well
as new games such as Geometry Wars and Lumines.
Keen golfers have the chance to 'putt' their skills to the test in Pro
Stroke Golf on Thursday night, courtesy of Oxygen Interactive. Those
that prefer the nineteenth hole to the green will prefer to try PDC
World Championship Darts, also from Oxygen Interactive.