Game On Rises To Level Two

Thursday 28th December/... The Science Museum has announced details of the Game On evening events for January and February 2007. Coinciding with special late openings of the acclaimed exhibition, the events see expert speakers from the videogames industry taking to the stage to provide unprecedented insights into world of interactive entertainment.

Game On has been impressing visitors since October this year. Its series of events in November and December allowed the public access to key industry figures such as Eidos' Ian Livingstone and programming legend David Braben. The early 2007 events will include hosts such as Edge editor Margaret Robertson, who will host the first January talk, and Jonathan Smith from Lego Star Wars developer Traveller's Tales.

Topics for discussion will include the motivation behind playing games, prospects for the future of video gaming, insights into the history of video game development and the challenges of designing a game for the modern market.

Gaetan Lee, Game On events co-ordinator at the Science Museum said: "With this final series of events, we are presenting a thorough view of video gaming's past, present and future. Jonathan Smith will show us how we make games today and we'll look back to where games have come from with Games Gone By. We'll take a look into the future of video game environments with Dr Chris Doran and to put gaming as a whole into context, Margaret Robertson looks at why we play games in the first place in the opening lecture on January 16th."

The 2007 events in full:

16 January, 19.00 - 20.00

Why We Play Games

Margaret Robertson, Edge magazine

Forty years ago, video games were played on large laboratory computers by a few scientists. Today they are a multi-billion-pound industry with millions of players worldwide. But what effects are games having on society and us? Join the editor of Edge magazine, Margaret Robertson, as she looks at this question and how the design of video games makes them such a popular and compulsive medium.

22 January, 19.00 - 20.00

Video Games: Look of the future

Dr Chris Doran, Geomerics

Our computers and consoles have an amazing amount of processing power, creating realistic lighting, textures and characters. How is this done and are there limits to what can be re-created on a screen? Discover, with Dr Chris Doran of Geomerics, what the games of the future will look like.

2 February, 19.00 - 20.00

Games Gone By: A history of video games

Most people think that video gaming starting in the 1970s and 1980s with classic games such as Pong, Space Invaders and Pac-Man, but the real story of video games goes back even further. Come along and discover the machines, the people and true stories behind the birth of the games industry as speakers from the International Game Developers Association delve deep into gaming's past.

Please note that the Game On exhibition will close at 21.30 not 21.00 on this night.

6 February, 19.00 - 20.00

Building a Computer Game

Jonathan Smith, TT Games

Modern video games aren't made by just one person, but by large teams of artists, programmers and designers. Uncover the true story of their creation as Jonathan Smith of TT Games reveals the process and the people behind the Lego Star Wars series from concept to shop shelf.

Entry to the Cyber Suits: Capturing human motion event is free. Prices for all other events are as follows:

Talk only £7

Talk and exhibition £10 (normal exhibition admission price £8.50)

To book tickets now call 0870 870 4868 (booking fee applies). Online booking will be available from www.sciencemuseum.org.uk shortly.

Tickets are strictly limited so early booking is strongly advised. All talks are 45 minutes long with an opportunity to put questions to the speaker at the end.