GAME ON Exhibition: Latest Details Inside
Development boffins and psychologists lecture at Science Museum.
SPOnG told you all about the return of the mighty GAME ON Exhibition last month which returns to London’s Science Museum this month.
The exhibition’s organisers have just sent us word on a few intriguing-sounding talks which are taking place to mark the return of GAME ON, with selected video game inventors, designers and scholars speaking at the Science Museum throughout November – so read on, and get your diaries ready.
GAME ON is an updated show to that which some of you may remember visiting at the Barbican back in 2002/2003, aiming to explore “The history and culture of gaming” and featuring more than 120 classic and modern games, most of which are playable, so dads can get all teary-eyed and nostalgic, whilst their offspring can crow about how much better most games are today!
Each of the special events also coincides with a late-night opening of the exhibition, so you really have no excuse to miss it this time around. The talks on offer are as follows:
Wednesday 1 November 19.00-20.00
Dancemats and Joysticks: Who’s playing now? - Nicolas Rodriguez, Kuju.
Gameplay used to be all about waggling joysticks and the frantic pressing of buttons. But now we can use buzzers, microphones, cameras and dance mats to entertain ourselves. Find out how these devices are changing the video games we play and the people who are playing them, with Nicolas Rodriguez, producer, Kuju studios. Kuju Entertainment is one of Europe’s leading independent games developers. Operating at six studios in the UK, Kuju has been creating top-rated games for over sixteen years. Games include SingStar: Anthems, Pilot Academy, Battalion Wars and Call Of Duty: Finest Hour.
Monday 13 November 19.00-20.00
10 years of Lara - Ian Livingstone, Eidos Interactive.
In 1996 a new video game and its star burst on to the scene. A decade on and Lara Croft is now a major gaming icon, starring in her own movies and comic books. Join Ian Livingstone of Eidos Interactive for a special ten-year anniversary talk about this virtual heroine’s past, present and future. Eidos was founded in 1990 as a video compression R&D company. In 1996 Eidos released Tomb Raider. Subsequent releases have included Championship Manager, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Hitman and Commandos.
Monday 20 November 19.00-20.00
Gaming: Now and then - David Braben.
Video games have changed in many ways over the last twenty to thirty years. Once we were content with electronic ping-pong, now our games have storylines, characters and amazing graphics. Join David Braben, UK games designer, as he looks at how games have developed and his experiences of developing the classic game Elite, as well as recent and new titles like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Dog's Life, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and The Outsider. The first 3D game on a home computer, Elite is viewed by many as one of the best and most influential computer games of all time. David went on to found Frontier Developments, whose first release was a version of the game Frontier, the best selling home computer game in Europe in 1993. Frontier continues to develop innovative games for PC, PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox and Xbox 360. David is now Chairman of Frontier, devoting his full attention to game projects.
Tuesday 28 November, 19.00–20.00
Gaming in Mind - Professor Mark Griffiths.
Do video games represent a new way to learn and interact in our increasingly digital world? Or do they make us more violent and addicted to the gaming buzz? Find out about the psychology of interactive technology and video games today with Professor Mark Griffiths, Division of Psychology Nottingham Trent University. Prof. Mark Griffiths is a Chartered Psychologist and Professor of Gambling Studies. After completing his PhD on fruit machine addiction at the University of Exeter, he secured his first lectureship at the University of Plymouth. Since then, he has established an international reputation in the area of gambling and gaming addictions. In 1994, he was awarded the prestigious John Rosecrance Research Prize for ‘outstanding scholarly contributions to the field of gambling research’ and, in 1998, the Celej Prize for best paper on gambling.
GAME ON is sponsored by Nintendo, runs at the Science Museum from October 21, 2006 to February 25, 2007. You can book tickets by phone on 0870 906 3890 or at the Science Museum's website. We'll see you there.
The exhibition’s organisers have just sent us word on a few intriguing-sounding talks which are taking place to mark the return of GAME ON, with selected video game inventors, designers and scholars speaking at the Science Museum throughout November – so read on, and get your diaries ready.
GAME ON is an updated show to that which some of you may remember visiting at the Barbican back in 2002/2003, aiming to explore “The history and culture of gaming” and featuring more than 120 classic and modern games, most of which are playable, so dads can get all teary-eyed and nostalgic, whilst their offspring can crow about how much better most games are today!
Each of the special events also coincides with a late-night opening of the exhibition, so you really have no excuse to miss it this time around. The talks on offer are as follows:
Wednesday 1 November 19.00-20.00
Dancemats and Joysticks: Who’s playing now? - Nicolas Rodriguez, Kuju.
Gameplay used to be all about waggling joysticks and the frantic pressing of buttons. But now we can use buzzers, microphones, cameras and dance mats to entertain ourselves. Find out how these devices are changing the video games we play and the people who are playing them, with Nicolas Rodriguez, producer, Kuju studios. Kuju Entertainment is one of Europe’s leading independent games developers. Operating at six studios in the UK, Kuju has been creating top-rated games for over sixteen years. Games include SingStar: Anthems, Pilot Academy, Battalion Wars and Call Of Duty: Finest Hour.
Monday 13 November 19.00-20.00
10 years of Lara - Ian Livingstone, Eidos Interactive.
In 1996 a new video game and its star burst on to the scene. A decade on and Lara Croft is now a major gaming icon, starring in her own movies and comic books. Join Ian Livingstone of Eidos Interactive for a special ten-year anniversary talk about this virtual heroine’s past, present and future. Eidos was founded in 1990 as a video compression R&D company. In 1996 Eidos released Tomb Raider. Subsequent releases have included Championship Manager, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Hitman and Commandos.
Monday 20 November 19.00-20.00
Gaming: Now and then - David Braben.
Video games have changed in many ways over the last twenty to thirty years. Once we were content with electronic ping-pong, now our games have storylines, characters and amazing graphics. Join David Braben, UK games designer, as he looks at how games have developed and his experiences of developing the classic game Elite, as well as recent and new titles like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Dog's Life, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and The Outsider. The first 3D game on a home computer, Elite is viewed by many as one of the best and most influential computer games of all time. David went on to found Frontier Developments, whose first release was a version of the game Frontier, the best selling home computer game in Europe in 1993. Frontier continues to develop innovative games for PC, PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox and Xbox 360. David is now Chairman of Frontier, devoting his full attention to game projects.
Tuesday 28 November, 19.00–20.00
Gaming in Mind - Professor Mark Griffiths.
Do video games represent a new way to learn and interact in our increasingly digital world? Or do they make us more violent and addicted to the gaming buzz? Find out about the psychology of interactive technology and video games today with Professor Mark Griffiths, Division of Psychology Nottingham Trent University. Prof. Mark Griffiths is a Chartered Psychologist and Professor of Gambling Studies. After completing his PhD on fruit machine addiction at the University of Exeter, he secured his first lectureship at the University of Plymouth. Since then, he has established an international reputation in the area of gambling and gaming addictions. In 1994, he was awarded the prestigious John Rosecrance Research Prize for ‘outstanding scholarly contributions to the field of gambling research’ and, in 1998, the Celej Prize for best paper on gambling.
GAME ON is sponsored by Nintendo, runs at the Science Museum from October 21, 2006 to February 25, 2007. You can book tickets by phone on 0870 906 3890 or at the Science Museum's website. We'll see you there.