Wayne Hemingway, Charlie Higson, Lord Puttnam, Jo Whiley and Louise Brealey Join The Gamecity Prize Jury
GameCity Prize line-up unveiled and public consultation opened
17th May 2012: The most diverse panel of critics ever assembled will debate the winner of the GameCity Prize, a unique award focusing on the cultural significance of videogames.
Members of the jury for the second GameCity Prize hail from all areas of culture, including personalities from newspaper, film, TV, radio and fashion.
The jury was announced yesterday evening during the BFI debate "What's the point of videogames?", chaired by Lord David Puttnam.
The GameCity Prize will be awarded as part of GameCity7, the annual videogame culture festival running from October 20-27th, and is an accolade of international importance; one that’s contemporary, esteemed and provocative - creating an annual benchmark for one of the most significant cultural forms of our age and providing a mainstream entry point into videogame culture. It’s the Turner / Booker / Mercury Prize of the videogame world that sparks conversations about which game should have won, and ignites a broader, ongoing conversation about the role that gaming plays in 21st century culture. Last year, it was presented by labour MP Tom Watson to Minecraft, created by Markus ‘Notch’ Persson at Mojang.
The full GameCity Prize 2012 jury is as follows:
Samira Ahmed, writer and broadcaster
Louise Brealey, actress and writer – most recently on our screens alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock.
Ekow Eshun, writer, critic and former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Dave Gibbons, comic book artist and writer and co-creator of The Watchmen
Wayne Hemingway, MBE, fashion designer and founder of Red or Dead
Charlie Higson, actor, comedian and author
Lucy Kellaway, columnist, The Financial Times
Lord David Puttnam CBE (Chair), film producer
Jo Whiley, disc jockey and TV presenter
“I am absolutely thrilled with this year’s jury,” says Iain Simons, GameCity Director at Nottingham Trent University. “To draw such culturally significant individuals together to celebrate and reward the very best videogames is a bold statement about how seriously the medium is considered.”
In creating an award focusing on cultural impact, and responding to the overwhelmingly positive public feedback from last year’s launch ceremony, the GameCity Prize will this year include a public consultation period. A dedicated site will allow audiences the world over to engage with and join in the conversation to create a longlist of nominations, as well as share their views as to why the nomination is worthy of recognition. After the longlist has been finalised, a shortlist will be collected and presented to the jury for deliberation.
”The GameCityPrize is about creating new conversations about videogames, and in 2012 we’re inviting everyone to join in, discuss and vehemently argue with our jurors”, Simons added.
Any game released between June 1st 2011 and June 1st 2012 is eligible for nomination, regardless of format or budget. To contribute a title for consideration to the longlist, please visit prize.gamecity.org
Note: panelists in accompanying photos from BFI debate (from l-r), Charlie Higson, Ekow Eshun, Helen Lewis, Lord David Puttnam, Lucy Kellaway, Ian Livingstone, Tom Watson.
Members of the jury for the second GameCity Prize hail from all areas of culture, including personalities from newspaper, film, TV, radio and fashion.
The jury was announced yesterday evening during the BFI debate "What's the point of videogames?", chaired by Lord David Puttnam.
The GameCity Prize will be awarded as part of GameCity7, the annual videogame culture festival running from October 20-27th, and is an accolade of international importance; one that’s contemporary, esteemed and provocative - creating an annual benchmark for one of the most significant cultural forms of our age and providing a mainstream entry point into videogame culture. It’s the Turner / Booker / Mercury Prize of the videogame world that sparks conversations about which game should have won, and ignites a broader, ongoing conversation about the role that gaming plays in 21st century culture. Last year, it was presented by labour MP Tom Watson to Minecraft, created by Markus ‘Notch’ Persson at Mojang.
The full GameCity Prize 2012 jury is as follows:
Samira Ahmed, writer and broadcaster
Louise Brealey, actress and writer – most recently on our screens alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock.
Ekow Eshun, writer, critic and former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Dave Gibbons, comic book artist and writer and co-creator of The Watchmen
Wayne Hemingway, MBE, fashion designer and founder of Red or Dead
Charlie Higson, actor, comedian and author
Lucy Kellaway, columnist, The Financial Times
Lord David Puttnam CBE (Chair), film producer
Jo Whiley, disc jockey and TV presenter
“I am absolutely thrilled with this year’s jury,” says Iain Simons, GameCity Director at Nottingham Trent University. “To draw such culturally significant individuals together to celebrate and reward the very best videogames is a bold statement about how seriously the medium is considered.”
In creating an award focusing on cultural impact, and responding to the overwhelmingly positive public feedback from last year’s launch ceremony, the GameCity Prize will this year include a public consultation period. A dedicated site will allow audiences the world over to engage with and join in the conversation to create a longlist of nominations, as well as share their views as to why the nomination is worthy of recognition. After the longlist has been finalised, a shortlist will be collected and presented to the jury for deliberation.
”The GameCityPrize is about creating new conversations about videogames, and in 2012 we’re inviting everyone to join in, discuss and vehemently argue with our jurors”, Simons added.
Any game released between June 1st 2011 and June 1st 2012 is eligible for nomination, regardless of format or budget. To contribute a title for consideration to the longlist, please visit prize.gamecity.org
Note: panelists in accompanying photos from BFI debate (from l-r), Charlie Higson, Ekow Eshun, Helen Lewis, Lord David Puttnam, Lucy Kellaway, Ian Livingstone, Tom Watson.