BAF Game 2010

The countdown to the National Media Museum’s BAF Game 2010 is on, and with only one week until the festival begins, the 9 and 10 November are turning into two of the most exciting dates in the UK’s gaming calendar.  

Adding to an already packed programme, BAF Game organisers have confirmed even more guests, including the creators of The Curfew, the team behind The Guardian’s technology podcast, mods specialist Daniel Pinchbeck and indie games expert David Hayward.

Tom Woolley, director of BAF Game and curator of new media at the National Media Museum said: “BAF Game 2010 has a strong focus on the future of gaming, including discussions on the influence of independent gaming and new technology, so it’s great to have so many leading industry experts attending the festival to share their secrets to success.  Everyone who would love to work in the industry or is a keen gamer will love BAF game.” 

Littleloud’s creative director, Darren Garrett, producer, Simon Parkin, and writer Kieron Gillen will be telling gamers all about their latest title, The Curfew.  Working with the Channel 4 education team, Littleloud has created a point-and-click web adventure set in an Orwellian near-future that provokes players to think about politics, authority and injustice. 

If you’ve ever wanted to know how The Guardian’stechnology podcast comes together, you can find out by watching as it’s captured live in the National Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema.  Hosted by The Guardian’s games columnist, Keith Stuart, this session will feature interviews with acclaimed director Charles Cecil, writer and journalist Kieron Gillen and games artist Dan Pinchbeck. This panel discussion will also provide a chance for the audience to ask the questions they want answered.

The BAF Game audience will be able to find all about Dan Pinchbeck’s latest work and his experimentation in the world of gaming during his session at the festival. Dan is researcher and lecturer in games and interactive media at Portsmouth University.  He also works as the creative director of thechineseroom, an independent game studio, whose work focuses on creating new and original first-person game experiences that play with convention.  Thechineseroom released Dear Esther in 2008, a free game that has been downloaded over 40,000 times and won the ‘Best World and Story’ category in the 2009 IndieCade Independent Game awards. 

David Hayward, producer at cross-platform media agency Mudlark, will provide an insight into the history and influence of independent games at BAF Game.  In addition to his work at Mudlark, David curates the Indie Games Arcade every year as part of the Eurogamer Expo and runs the Gambling Lambs board gaming social club David will be looking at the independent gaming scene, which is thriving at the moment thanks to the internet and console environments such as Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.

BAF Game gives everyone dreaming of a career in the games industry the rare chance to learn some inside secrets from those in the know while enjoying screenings, workshops, late night gaming, talks and discussions.

The line up also includes Ninja Theory’s lead animator Guy Midgely and senior animator James Stevenson who have been working on Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.  The title has been produced by some of the world’s leading talents in games, film and writing, who have come together to create one of the best adventure titles of the year, with animated cut-scenes co-directed by Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) and an original story co-written by famed novelist and scriptwriter Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine).  Animating characters, working with motion capture and merging story with interactivity will all be covered by Midgely and Stevenson at BAF Game.

Splash Damage’s lead character artist, Tim Appleby, and senior concept artist, Laurel Austin, will lead an exclusive session about the concept art and character design behind the much-anticipated, Brink.  Set for release in spring 2011, Brink marks the next generation in first-person shooters by combining acrobatic movement, unique character customisation and tactical team play. A sci-fi floating city environment, distinctive visual style and smooth game play made Brink one of the ‘most-queued for’ games at this year’s Eurogamer Expo.

BAF Game will also uncover the secrets of how TV’s most beloved time traveller was brought to the PC from festival favourite Charles Cecil who will be back, alongside Sumo’s creative evangelist, Sean Millard, and BBC executive producer, Anwen Aspden.

Released through the BBC website as free interactive episodes, Doctor Who: The Adventures Games have been downloaded over 1.6 million times.  Produced by legendary developer Charles Cecil and developed by Sheffield-based game studio Sumo Digital, the interactive episodes have proven so successful a second season of free downloads will reappear in 2011.

Tickets for BAF Game are on sale now from the National Media Museum Box Office (call 0844 856 3797 or visit www.baf.org.uk).   Passes for both days are priced at £55 (£45 concessions).  Day passes cost £40 (£30 concessions) and group discounts are also available.  Bradford Animation Festival runs from 9 – 13 November at the National Media Museum.

The Department of Creative Technology at the University of Bradford, development partner for BAF Game 2010, organises the festival strand in conjunction with BAF and provides venues for a selection of events and talks.  Creative Technology offers a high quality student learning experience on dynamic, dedicated and industry focussed Animation and Games courses.  Blending their extensive teaching experience as one of the earliest Departments to offer courses in Animation and Games and working with an extended family of professional partners, Creative Technology are also members of the Yorkshire and Humberside Skillset Media Academy.  Information on the Department and its courses can be found at www.scim.brad.ac.uk.

The principal sponsors of BAF 2010 are The WOW Academy and Bradford College. Housed within the Innovative Technologies Centre at Bradford College the WOW Academy is a unique educational training facility aimed at inspiring young people, students, graduates, trainees, and employees to develop an interest in digital and creative media using state-of-the-art technology. Find out more at www.wowacademy.org.uk or take a special guided tour during the Festival. In addition, Bradford College provides facilities for Games Technology in both Further and Higher Education and an extensive range of art, media and graphics programmes in the renowned Bradford School of Arts and Media – www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk

For full BAF Game and BAF listings and prices visit www.baf.org.uk

-Ends-

For further information, interviews, images or press passes please contact:

Louise McKenzie, Press Officer, National Media Museum

01274 203305 louise.mckenzie@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Notes to Editors

BAF Game prices

Day Pass: £40/30/25

Full Game pass: £55/45/35

Groups:

The group rate applies for groups of 10 or more. Includes 1 free pass for the group leader for every 10 passes sold. (i.e. If you buy 50 passes you’ll receive 5 free passes. 55 in total)

About the Bradford Animation Festival:

The 17 ^th Bradford Animation Festival (BAF) takes place from Wednesday 10 to Saturday 13 November 2010 at the National Media Museum.  This year, Ray Harryhausen will receive the lifetime achievement award – a video of his presentation will be screened at the festival on Saturday 13 November.  Guests will include Paul Franklin from Double Negative, Clare Kitson, Tim Searle from Baby Cow Animation, Nexus Productions, Phil Mulloy and Gary Jackson from ScaryCat Studio. 

BAF Game is a strand of BAF and takes place on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 November at the National Media Museum and University of Bradford.

The National Media Museum

The National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, opened as the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford in 1983, with a remit to explore the art and science of the image and image-making, and has since become one of the most visited UK museums outside London.

The National Media Museum aims to be the best museum in the world for inspiring people to learn about, engage with and create media.

It is devoted to film, photography, television, radio and new media and looks after the National Photography, Photographic Technology and Cinematography Collections.  Its Television Collection incorporates an unrivalled collection of objects relating to the history and development of television, including John Logie Baird's 1925 experimental apparatus.

The National Media Museum organises three major film events every year – Bradford International Film Festival and Bradford Animation Festival and Fantastic Films Weekend.  It also hosts three cinemas – Pictureville, Cubby Broccoli and the first IMAX screen to open in Europe.  The Museum shows films in all of the major formats from Cinerama three-strip, to digital, to IMAX 3D.

It is also home to two temporary exhibition spaces - recent programme highlights include Simon Roberts – We English and Robbie Cooper - Immersion.

Other attractions include a host of permanent galleries including Experience TV, a hands-on visitor experience about the history, present and past of television; the Kodak gallery, charting the history of photography; the Animation gallery and the Magic Factory for the young and young at heart. Learning activities for families and schools bring the Museum’s subject matter to life and there are regular cultural events for adults to complement the Museum’s changing programme.

For more information visit: www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk.