Game On Talks

Monday 9th October/...To celebrate the new major exhibition Game On, selected video game inventors, designers and scholars will give special lectures at the Science Museum.

Industry figures, including the people behind the hugely successful character Lara Croft, will give visitors an insight into the creation of computer games from their earliest days to today and beyond. Each event coincides with a special late opening of the exhibition.

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 includes more than 120 classic and modern games, which visitors will be able to play, transporting them back to their gaming pasts, as well as introducing younger gamers to the history of current gaming software and hardware. The world's first computer game from 1962 will take its place alongside today's technologically advanced game systems, as the exhibition explores the history and culture of gaming. Game On, sponsored by Nintendo, runs at the Science Museum from 21 October 2006 to 25 February 2007.

VISITOR INFORMATION

Event tickets: £7. Combination ticket (event & exhibition) £11.

Tickets: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/gameon or 0870 906 3890

Game On exhibition late openings: November 1, 13, 20, 28. 10am-9pm (last entry 8pm). Additional dates will be confirmed soon.

Game On runs from 21 October 2006 to 25 February 2007

Exhibition ticket prices: Adults £8.50; Children and concessions £6.50

Discounted family, group and combination tickets will be available.

The Science Museum is open every day 10am - 6pm.

Nearest tube: South Kensington

-ends-

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Game On is organised and toured by Barbican Art Gallery, London.

2. It is sponsored by Nintendo. Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2.2 billion video games worldwide and more than 375 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as Mario® and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda® and Pokémon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Game Boy family, which has sold over 193 million units. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.

3. And now, at last, the Video Game equivalent of the film guide is here! The first ever comprehensive guide, from the earliest arcade classics right up to the present day hits. The Video Games Guide author Matt Fox is available for interview/comment. For more info contact Emma Giacon - e.giacon@macmillan.co.uk