Event Schedule Announced For London Games Festival

Organizers of the upcoming London Games Festival have finalized the calendar of consumer and industry events that are scheduled to take place during the week-long celebration that begins October 2. The event will combine key public and industry events throughout the capital throughout the week, including the London Games Summit presented by ELSPA and TIGA and programmed by the CMP Game Group, the London Content, Outsourcing and Middleware Market presented by TIGA, and BAFTA's British Academy Video Games Awards. In addition, Gamasutra.com, GamesIndustry.biz and Eurogamer.net will present the London Game Career Fair on October 3-4, which will provide an opportunity for industry professionals, recent graduates and individuals from related industries to speak with companies in the game industry about career opportunities. Other consumer-focused events scheduled for the week include a week long gaming tournament at the HMV store on Oxford Street, the opportunity to relax and play games at Britain’s John Lewis department store on Oxford Street, and a gaming competition to take place on October 7 at the Vue Cinema theater in Leicester Square. Also scheduled during the week is the The CMP Game Group-organized event, GDC London, which will focus exclusively on advanced techniques in game development, with a special focus on the UK. The event will take place October 2-4 at 195 Piccadilly, BAFTA's headquarters. The London Games Festival will also include its annual Festival Fringe, which will involve performances, exhibitions, master classes and seminars, participatory workshops and opportunities to play games. While a full list of the events to be included during the Festival Fringe is pending, one of the most interesting highlights is the Lizards’ Lair on October 2, which invites attendees to submit game ideas to a panel of industry professionals. If picked, the submitter must then present and pitch the concept to the panel, which will include as yet unnamed publishers and developers. Each panelist will select their favorite game and the winners will receive a week’s hands on experience at a game company. Additional events confirmed to take place include a forum titled 'Playing Films, Watching Games' at the BFI’s National Film Theatre on October 7 covering the topic of the merging of games and cinema, as well as a one-day symposium on October 6 titled 'Sense of Play – A Game Design Symposium ', co-sponsored by the University College for the Creative Arts. The latter event aims to promote debate on the nature of game design, particularly what it means to different people – both inside and outside the industry. For more information on the London Games Festival, please visit the official LGF website. Gamasutra will be covering the Festival week in detail on this website.