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gAMES SCREENINGS - programme

Check out the full prgramme of screening here

Geek to Chic
Ian Livingstone
, Creative Director of Eidos, opens the Festival with an informative and entertaining look behind the scenes on how games have thrown off their geek image to become the global entertainment phenomenom of today.  Where did games come from and where are they going?  Secrets, trivia, history and a glimpse of the future - especially for Lara fans! - are all part of this unmissable Screening.

Ian Livingstone is the Creative Director at Eidos and a leading pioneer of interactive entertainment. In 1975 he founded Games Workshop Ltd with Steve Jackson and launched Dungeons & Dragons in Europe and the Games Workshop retail chain.  In 1977 he launched White Dwarf, the UK’s first interactive games magazine, and was its editor for 5 years. In 1982, again with Steve Jackson, he wrote the first in the series of Fighting Fantasy interactive gamebooks that sold over 15 million copies in 23 languages, including his own best-selling Deathtrap Dungeon.  He has written more than 20 books and has also invented many board games. In 1992 he became Deputy Chairman of computer games company Domark. In 1995 he was instrumental in the merger and flotation of Domark with technology company Eidos and was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of the new interactive entity Eidos plc, a position he served until 2002.  At Eidos he helped to secure many of the company’s major franchises including Tomb Raider, Championship Manager and Hitman. In 2000 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by the University of Abertay Dundee. In 2002 he was awarded the BAFTA Special Award for his outstanding contribution to the interactive entertainment industry. In 2003 he was appointed Creative Industries advisor to the British Council. In 2004 he was made a Creative Industries Luminary for London. In 2004 he was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Bright Things plc. In 2005 he was appointed Chair of the Computer Games Skills Forum.

Break Into Games
What’s it like to work in games? And how do you break into this emergent and dynamic industry? If you’re interested in carving a career for yourself in games, this is the session for you. Featuring behind the scenes footage from games studios, the screening will give you a flavour of life behind the scenes, and show you how to get yourself a desk there.

Break Into Games is hosted by Rebecca Thompson, Commissioning Editor for Channel 4’s IDEASFACTORY Scotland, and features a range of professionals working across all areas of games production including writer Brian Baglow, programmer Mike Dailly, sound consultant and composer John Broomhill, plus games artists and designers. The speakers will reveal how they and others got where they are today, and will be on hand to answer your questions about working in the industry.

A limited number of free tickets are available for this session from the IDEASFACTORY Scotland website: www.channel4.com/ideasfactoryscotland

Battalion Wars
Battalion Wars is a high-octane blend of action and tactics for the Nintendo GameCube.  Command your troops in the heat of battle, issuing orders from the thick of the action. Deploy your forces tactically, direct frontal assaults and call long-range artillery strikes for support.  Jump behind the wheel of tanks, helicopters and fighter jets, or get your hands dirty as an infantry man at the front line.

 The screening of Battalion Wars will discuss the issues and solutions raised by a genre bending title.  Areas of interest will include:

  • Evolution of an original concept including game design and creation
  • Control method – empowering, not frustrating the player.
  • Player focus – providing viable choice between play styles.
  • Level building – a puzzling process.
  • Balancing – meeting requirements for both action and strategy.

Mark Washbrook is the Executive Producer on Battalion Wars and Studio Manager for Kuju’s London studio, which he set up 5 years ago. During this time Mark has also been the Executive Producer on titles: Fireblade; Reign of Fire; FireWarrior (Online aspect) and The Regiment.

Andy Trowers led the level building team at Kuju Entertainment on Battalion Wars and contributed to the development of the game design under the guidance of Creative Director Tancred Dyke-Wells. Prior to joining Kuju, Andy worked at Lego and Bullfrog Studios and is credit with roles on titles such as Magic Carpet 2, Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper.

 “We are delighted to be able to take part in the EIEF Game screenings and share some of our experiences developing Battalion Wars for Nintendo“ – Mark Washbrook

Gary Carr - The Movies
Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios unveil this awe-inspiring simulation that allows you, the player, to control your own movie studio , create your own stars and make your own unique movies.  How do they do that?  How will it play?  What can you do?  All your questions and more answered in this exciting World Premiere.

Creating a virtual world
'How to create a believable virtual gaming world, from the bustling, cosmopolitan city of present day Manhattan as seen in the forthcoming “Tycoon City: New York” from Atari, to the heart of ancient Europe in the upcoming “Heart of Empire: Rome” from Deep Silver.  Two very different games sharing the same philosophy; to make the player believe that their city is living and breathing!'
 
Clive Robert - Managing Director.  15 years of Games Industry experience of which 10 years have been within senior management positions. Initially grounded in traditional board games development eventually heading up Hasbro’s games divisions; Milton Bradley and Parker managing Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Risk and Cluedo amongst others.  As part of Hasbro’s strategic growth, Clive started Hasbro Interactive and managed the European development operation for 3 years after which the company was acquired by Atari.  Having left Hasbro Interactive Clive started Deep Red Games.

EyeToy: Kinetic
Tom Holmes
has worked in the games industry for almost 11 years. He started out as a student tester within SCEE’s Liverpool based Quality Assurance department, working on a series of pillar PSOne titles before taking up a role within their Software Manual Approvals division. His career then took him on to Infogrames where he worked as an Assistant Producer on the esteemed Premier Manager series along with several other titles targeting less mainstream audiences before returning to SCEE’s London Studio in 2002. He produced SCEE’s first foray into online gaming - Hardware: Online Arena (a game still ranked in the top five most popular online games on the platform) prior to joining the London Studios critically acclaimed EyeToy(R) Group. For the past two and a half years he has been Producer of EyeToy: Kinetic - a product developed in association with Nike  which is designed to revolutionise the fitness industry and which was highlighted as one of the most exciting and groundbreaking products on display at this years E3 in Los Angeles.

Darwinia
The world of Darwinia is a surreal and Retro place, filled with epic fractal vistas and populated by iconic video game sprites from the past twenty years of computer games.  The world is locked in warfare and on the verge of self-destruction, as the once peaceful Darwinians are besieged by a massive Red Viral onslaught.  Against the backdrop of this war, the game takes place.  The player initially takes direct control of a small five-man insertion squad, guiding them from a third-person camera view through the many landscapes within the world.  The initial missions involve helping the Darwinians to re-secure the various buildings and structures that exist within the world, and exterminate the Red Viral infection that has taken hold.  The player paves the way for the Darwinian’s to re-secure the world, and his actions have both immediate and global repercussions.  As the game progresses the player’s arsenal of weapons and equipment increases, until he is in strategic control of the entire Darwinian army, acting as a General and overseeing the entire war effort.  Between each major mission and engagement the background story is narrated to the player through a series of cut-scenes and dialog, with the available missions and objectives tying directly into the narrative.

Machinima
It’s not just gamers who are going gaga over the cinematic visuals of contemporary computer games. Hollywood is taking notice, and innovative directors, animators, scriptwriters and designers are co-opting the interactive for their own film fun. An emerging art form in the sub-cultures of both cinema and gaming called Machinima takes game engines of top titles like Halo and The Sims to make movies, complete with witty dialogue, drama and comedy. Machinima has already been incorporated into film production by the likes of Spielberg and Lucas, and is heralded as the next DIY entertainment revolution. Fresh from a stint at the Sundance Film Festival, author Paul Marino (3-D Game-Based Film Making: The Art of Machinima) and machinimator extraordinaire Hugh Hancock (Strange Company, machinima.com) will lead the audience through the thrills, spills and culture of this most independent of film schools. Expect to be inspired.

Nintendogs: Put a puppy inside a Nintendo DS!
The craze that has taken Japan and the rest of the world by storm comes to the UK at EIEF - pick from more than 15 of the most popular dog breeds, including Labradors, Chihuahuas, beagles and more, then care for and train the puppy using the touch screen and microphone.

Pet the pup, acquire and play with more than 100 items like tennis balls, flying discs and even clothing accessories. Teach your dog to
do tricks by creating your own personalized voice commands.
 
Train your pups well and compete in obedience and agility trials. Win these competitions to earn cash, which you can use to buy supplies and even more dogs to keep your first puppy company.
 
Walk puppies around the town to meet neighborhood dogs or interact wirelessly with friends' Nintendogs using the innovative Bark Mode.
 
Marko Hein, Head of European Developer Business, Nintendo Europe talks about what makes this new and unique concept a ‘game’, why it has been so successful and elaborates on Nintendo’s ‘new ways to play’ concept where in Japan they have successfully appealed to non gamers using new, fresh and innovative ideas.
 
EIEF gives you the chance to find out why this game has driven gamers across the world crazy.

Made In Scotland
Scotland has a great deal of experience and expertise in the games industry.  It’s created some of the most popular and enduring franchises in the world. Now a large number of Scottish companies are turning their backs on the console market, with it’s high barriers to entry and huge costs, to focus on other areas, which promise to revolutionise the games industry and introduce more people to gaming than ever before.

New technologies such as mobile phones, digital television set top boxes and online gaming are putting games in front of more people than ever before.  New input devices and controllers like the EyeToy are creating entirely new ways of playing and games are moving beyond the very basic emotions of shock, fear and surprise to create much richer and more compelling games which make the player emotionally involved.

Now you can meet the companies at the heart of the se new areas, the companies who are looking beyond the racing games, the genres and the next generation of consoles to a world where everyone is a gamer and where gaming and play is a natural and accepted part of everyday life.

Insiders Guide: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

Mike Jacob – Executive Producer - Buena  Vista Games 
 
Join Mike Jacob on a fantasy adventure beyond the wardrobe and enter the universe of Narnia. Mike will show how UK developer - Traveller’s Tales creators of Lego Star Wars™, have added unique gaming designs; based on an amazing vision of Andrew Adamson’s blockbuster film releasing this Christmas. Hear about the producer’s vital role in blending the talent of the movie-makers and game-makers to create a unique and exciting gaming experience based on C.S. Lewis' literary masterpiece. Don’t miss the European public screening premiere and find out what it will take to make The Chronicles of Narnia one of the biggest games of the year.
 
Mike Jacob relocated from Seattle in 2004 to take charge of the production of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe for Buena Vista Games, he brings with him over a decade of games development and production experience. Before joining Buena Vista Games, he was Executive Producer for Vivendi Universal Games Publishing’s Sierra Entertainment business unit.  During his tenure at Vivendi Universal Games, Jacob managed game franchises including Tribes™ Vengeance (PC), F.E.A.R.™ (PC), Metal Arms: Glitch in the System™ (Xbox, PS2, and GC) and PGA Championship Golf™ (PC) product line.  Prior to Vivendi Universal, Jacob worked as a producer at the Northern California-based games company, Mindscape.
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, NARNIA, and all book titles, characters and locales original thereto are trademarks of C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd. and are used with permission. © Disney/Walden.

The Curse of The Were-Rabbit
Presented by game’s industry legend David Braben (Frontier Developments) and Rachael Carpenter (Aardman Animations Ltd.) – a look behind-the-scenes of a rare and wonderful collaboration between two of the UK’s most creative and talented companies to produce a game encapsulating the charm, wit and eccentricities of the UK’s most loved animated characters, Wallace & Gromit.

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