GameCity5

Nottingham, 11/10/10 – GameCity, the world’s best-loved videogames festival, today announced the details of its latest panel discussion, What’s the Point? The event will take place on Wednesday 27 ^th, from 12:00pm till 1:30pm in Tonic and is part of GameCity5, running form October 26 – 30 ^th throughout Nottingham.

Always eager to experience the new, reinvigorate the old and generally tackle things in exciting ways, GameCity has this year decided to stir things up by challenging several videogame pioneers to answer a simple question; “what’s the point in making games?”

Featuring the largest panel debate during GameCity5, What’s the Point? will be hosted by IGF Chairman and indie game advocate Brandon Boyer, as the group battle to answer a question older than Pac-Man himself.

The panel will include Adam Saltsman, (Developer, Flixel), Jonathan Blow, (Developer, Independent), Chris Hecker, (Developer, Independent), Paul Taylor, (Managing Director, Mode 7) and Keita Takahashi, (Designer, Uvula).

GameCity Director Iain Simons said, “Developers find their dinner parties plagued by the same question from those outside the industry; ‘Why do you make games for a living?’ It just feels right that we tackle the issue.”

With a diverse line-up of famously strong opinions and outspoken minds, this panel promises to be the most frank and engaging discussions to ever take place.

What’s the Point? is one part of GameCity5, the yearly festival that explores and celebrates videogames culture. For the full details on the festival line-up, go to www.gamecity.org. To book your attendance at this event, go to my.gamecity.org

NOTES TO EDITOR

Follow all the latest GameCity news on our website,  www.gamecity.org

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*GameCityNights is a series of after-dark monthly events that brings together developers, students and players in a celebration and exploration of videogame culture - with prizes. Every month a brilliant headline speaker will be making their way to Nottingham to share their thoughts, passions and give a unique insight into their work.

GameCity is what a videogame festival should be. 

The Centre for Contemporary Play is a research centre based at Nottingham Trent University which pioneers innovative thinking through new partnerships. Since 2008 it has worked with a variety of leading organisations from the commercial and public sector to deliver major research and inclusion projects. These include the ITAG conference, the GameCity videogame festival and the National Videogame Archive - a unique collaboration with the National Media Museum.

Driven by leading thinking at NTU, the Centre for Contemporary Play continues to create radical and innovative projects in the academic and public engagement space.

Gamecity’s aim is to bring together developers and the public to explore and celebrate videogames and videogames culture, with a particular focus on students. We attract the best speakers in the world, offer up-and-coming artists and developers a platform for their games and create totally unique events.

Some of GameCity’s greatest hits include a world-record breaking zombie gathering, Keita Takahashi designing a children’s playground and Masaya Matsuura, Lorne Lanning, Alexey Pajitnov and Media Molecule having headlined.

We’ve worked alongside some of the most prominent names in gaming, including; Warner Bros, TTGames, Crytek, Activision, Namco Bandai, SCEE, Xbox, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Freestyle Games, David Braben, Media Molecule, Splash Damage, Harmonix, Rare, Denki, Monumental Games, Midway, Zoe Mode, ThatGameCompany, Nana-on-Sha and lots more.

Going way beyond just playing games, GameCity offers other new ways for people to interact with videogame culture. Art exhibitions, director commentaries, playground building, live recreations of videogames, gigs, gong-shows, three World Records, arcade trails, club nights – nothing is off limits for this most radical of videogame festivals.

Don’t just take our word for it, see what others have said after working with us,

GameCity looks poised to become our industry’s ?rst Sundance. A truly unique approach for hosting a game festival that seems long overdue.

Lorne Lanning, Oddworld Inhabitants

GameCity is unique. Any games festival that can reunite industry legends, lead to a Japanese game developer designing a playground, and evoke religious sentiments in a shopping centre is doing something very right for sure.

Edge Magazine

The year’s most inventively programmed new arts festival

The Times