Edinburgh Interactive

Edinburgh Interactive 2012: REGISTRATION OPEN!

Alexa — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:44:53 +0000

London, 30^th November 2011: Edinburgh Interactive (EIF), taking place on the 9^th & 10^th August 2012, is pleased to announce the opening of registration for the tenth anniversary event.

The Early Bird rate is currently available until the 31^st March 2012. Early Bird tickets are priced at £175 + VAT for two-days of conference and networking activity.

Tickets increase to £229 + VAT after this date; a very reasonable charge for the longest running games event in Europe considering its prime position in central Edinburgh.

There are also special offers for Scottish Developers (£175 + VAT, with no cut-off date) and students (£90 + VAT).

For those who attended in 2010 and/or 2011, you will soon receive an email with an extra special rate on offer, rewarding you of your loyalty.

All tickets can be booked through the Edinburgh Interactive website, www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk

David Yarnton, Chairman of EIF said “I would encourage and urge people to take advantage of the Early Bird rate. Edinburgh Interactive is the longest running event of its kind in Europe, and the 10^th anniversary event will be bigger and better than ever before”.

Edinburgh Interactive exists to explore and celebrate the social, creative and cultural building blocks of the interactive entertainment and media sectors. Edinburgh Interactive does this with both a conference and a series of public events focusing on the skills and creativity of those working in the industry and the strong tradition of Scottish innovation.

Rob Woodward CEO of STV said “2011 was my first experience of the EIF and it was an outstanding forum. If your business touches the gaming sector in any way you should be there. The quality of delegate, the quality of debate and the refreshing honesty of the discussion make it a must.”

Brian Williamson, Director, JumpStartUK said “As someone who does not come from the games industry, it was a breath of fresh air to come to a conference with so many vibrant people. The conference itself was very well organised and as a presenter I was extremely reassured by the professional set up”

Edinburgh Interactive has a variety of partnership and speaking opportunities. If you’re interested please contact Alexa Turness at alexa@edinburghinteractive.co.uk

To see the 2011 speaker line-up, programme, presentations & photographs please click here

END

About EIF:

EIF started life as the Edinburgh International Games Festival in 2002-3, as the first ‘games’ event to acknowledge the culture of the ‘games’ industry (it’s also the longest running games focused event in the UK). Previous Chairs are: Tom Stone (Giant Entertainment) Greg Ingham (ex-Chairman of Future Publishing) and Chris Deering (ex-President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

Edinburgh Interactive is managed by an Executive committee of industry specialist who volunteer their time; A refreshing change from other conferences who are driven by the almighty buck, and a Board drawn from all areas of the games industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies: The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) http://www.tiga.org and the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (UKIE) http://www.ukie.org.uk. EIGF Ltd is the non-profit company behind the festival.

Edinburgh Interactive levels up for 10th Anniversary

Alexa — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:08:11 +0000

London, 11^th November 2011: Edinburgh Interactive (EIF) is pleased to announce the dates for its 10^th year anniversary, the 9^th &10^th August 2012.

In the energy charged setting of the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe, EIF will continue with its successful eclectic mix of presentations and debates relating to emerging trends and future gazing at the world of interactive media and entertainment. Nintendo, MCV and Develop have already confirmed renewal of their partnership for the 2012 anniversary year.

David Yarnton, current Chair of EIF, (and head of Nintendo UK) said: “I was very proud to be associated with this year’s event (www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk) with visitors coming from Brazil, Canada, Switzerland as well as UK. EIF 2011 delivered provocative insights and key knowledge for anyone involved in the creative arena”

Whether you are a developer or publisher in the games industry, a broadcaster or a producer, an advertising or marketing agency, an internet entrepreneur or an academic or student or government agency, EIF has state of the art knowledge, wisdom and ideas to contribute, and offers a relaxed and congenial setting for celebrating rapidly moving developments in digital media as well as excellent networking opportunities. Many delegates also use the opportunity to indulge in the delights of the other festival and fringe activities.

“Brian Williamson, Director, JumpStartUK said “As someone who does not come from the games industry, it was a breath of fresh air to come to a conference with so many vibrant people. The conference itself was very well organised and as a presenter I was extremely reassured by the professional set up”

Edinburgh Interactive has a variety of partnership and speaking opportunities. If you’re interested please contact Alexa Turness at alexa@edinburghinteractive.co.uk

To see the 2011 speaker line-up, programme, presentations & photographs please click here

END

About EIF:

Edinburgh Interactive 2011 – The best yet!

Alexa — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:20:02 +0000

17^th August 2011 - London, United Kingdom – Edinburgh Interactive 2011 which took place on the 11^th & 12^th August at The Radisson Blu Hotel on The Royal Mile, Edinburgh has been hailed the best Edinburgh Interactive in its 9 year history.

The eclectic mix of the program meant that there was something for everyone, ranging from Mark Gerhard CEO of Jagex discussing MMO’s and the need to put their users at the centre of everything they do, to Brian Williamson from JumpStartUK and Euan Mackenzie CEO of 3MRT giving everyone the inside on how to claim R&D tax credits form HMRC.

If it wasn’t enough getting money from the Government, Anna Cronin, a Commissioning Editor from Channel 4 offered to give money away for good creative ideas that embrace convergence.

Last but not least, one of the more unusual presentations was from Steve Ackerman MD of Somethin’ Else who presented ideas for new revenue streams for Developers that included a video game that had no video!

David Yarnton, Chairman of the Edinburgh Interactive said: “I was very proud to be associated with this year’s event with visitors coming from Brazil, Canada, Switzerland and the UK. All in all, the 2011 Edinburgh Interactive provided insights and ideas for anyone involved in the Creative arena.

Whether you were a Developer or Publisher, whether you were an Academic or Student, whether you were in Government or Private Enterprise, TV, Film or Radio, you would walk away wanting more and ready to sign up for the 10th anniversary Edinburgh Interactive Event in 2012.”

Brian Williamson, Director, JumpStartUK said “As someone who does not come from the games industry, it was a breath of fresh air to come to a conference with so many vibrant people. The conference itself was very well organized and as a presenter I was extremely reassured by the professional set up”

The Edinburgh Interactive speaker presentations are now on the website and the videos of each session are on the Edinburgh Interactive YouTube Channel

You can also view images from the event, taken by David Kane of David Kane Photography – – if you would like high resolution versions of any of the photos, please take a note of the number and contact me directly on the email address below.

- ENDS -

Contacts:

For all enquiries, please contact Alexa Turness, Edinburgh Interactive Event Director on +44 (0) 7990 522 004 / +44 (0) 207 534 0580 or by email, alexa@edinburghinteractive.co.uk

About Edinburgh Interactive

EI has celebrated its ninth successful year and took place at The Radisson Blu Hotel on the 11^th & 12^th August. The event showcased the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. This year, the event was more synchronised with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing – an overall spectacle for all.

As ever, Edinburgh Interactive wouldn’t be complete without the cornerstones of conferences, keynotes, panel sessions, debates, games screenings and even more people than ever jostling to get through the doors.

Edinburgh Interactive is managed by an Executive committee and a board drawn from all areas of the games industry, including publishers, developers and the two industry trade bodies: The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) http://www.tiga.org and the UK Interactive Entertainment Association (UKIE) http://www.ukie.org.uk. EIGF Ltd is the non-profit company behind the festival.

Edge Online: Edinburgh Interactive 2011 Round-up

Alexa — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:44:04 +0000

Social media, educational reform and future tech characterised an exciting, if squeezed, 9th EIF:

Edge online

For its ninth year, last week’s Edinburgh Interactive moved into its most high-profile spot on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Surrounded by the fringe, and buckets of rain, EIF 2011 kicked off with a message that would echo across two days of panels, talks and public sessions: creativity is key. From first-time chairman David Yarnton’s opening speech encouraging creativity in co-operation with the game industry’s rapid technological advancements, to Learning Without Frontiers founder Graham Brown-Martin’s call to arms for more innovative and relevant education reforms (and, ultimately revolution), EIF 2011 touched on a wide range of areas in a very short space of time.

Cramming talks like Jason Daponte’s, of digital consultancy and production company The Swarm, which addressed the future of gaming and gaming tech, into a single hour was a little restrictive but no less interesting. Touching on a number of themes we explored in our Flash Forward feature in issue 229, the potential for visors and “active contact lenses” to take centre-stage in our everyday lives was once again brought to the fore.

In his presentation, titled The Multiplayer Revolution, Jagex CEOMark Gerhard discussed the need for MMOGs to stay relevant in the age of social media. For Jagex’s Runescape (which Gerhard described as “the only MMO that’s continued to grow despite its age”), the realisation that the game was already “a social network” was integral to the company’s decision to veer away from Facebook. EIF 2011 raised more questions than answers, touching on issues such as the psychology of gamification, in a talk by gamification specialists PlayGen, and the future of facial recognition software with Image Metrics’ director of research Mike Rogers.

It wasn’t all business, however, as Sir Ian Livingstone lightened the tone with regular appearances that traversed the public and conference sessions. It was when he chaired the debate: “This House Believes That The UK Games Industry Is Only One Life Away From Game Over”, that the conference showed its lighter side. The debate pitched a team for and against the UK game industry’s current trajectory and descended, at times, into a chaotic mix of opinion and oddball humour. It was this portion of the conference that perhaps best highlighted EIF’s overall sensibility: a mixture of stern business and good humour.

And of course, the conference also saw our presentation of the Edinburgh Interactive Edge Award to LA Noire, for its MotionScan technology’s contribution to taking videogames another step closer to mainstream entertainment.

Next year Edinburgh Interactive marks its milestone tenth year. If it’s given a little more room to breathe, and its speakers are able to provide some answers to the questions raised this year, then it will certainly be a crucial conference.

Edinburgh Interactive Public sessions confirmed

Alexa — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:28:09 +0000

Edinburgh Interactive Public sessions confirmed

^8th August 2011 - London, United Kingdom – Edinburgh Interactive announces details and participants for this year’s two days of FREE Public sessions in The Great Scottish Hall at The Radisson Blu Hotel on The Royal Mile, kicking off next Thursday at 10:00am.

Ian Livingstone, Clive Robert, Ken Fee, Nicholas Lovell, Graham Brown-Martin, Jo Twist and Derek Robertson are just a few of the great speakers we have scheduled to participate at this year’s two days of public sessions starting next Thursday.

Not only is there the opportunity to see Games screenings from Disney, Dynamo Games and Nintendo; and be involved in workshops with BAFTA. You can also find out How to get into the Games Industry, learn how to Make money giving your game away from free and The Craft of Animation and Story Telling in Games.

There is also the opportunity to learn all about Games based Learning in the We Learn, We Play session which is targeted at parents, children and Teachers and put together by Graham Brown-Martin (Learning without Frontiers) and Derek Robertson (Learning & Teaching Scotland).

Edinburgh Interactive Event Director, Alexa Turness said that “this years Public sessions are the best Edinburgh Interactive public sessions to date! With such a fantastic line up and caliber of speakers, with such a variety of topics reaching out to a much broader audience, we’re predicting a very well attended couple of days. The public sessions are free, ticketless and on a first come first served basis, so don’t miss out, get to The Radisson Blu early and we will prove that sometimes best things in life really are free”.

Full public program with timings

Edinburgh Interactive, currently in its 9^th year, is taking place from the 11^th – 12^th August at The Radisson Blu Hotel in Edinburgh. The Public sessions are Free but if you would like to book a delegate Ticket for the conference, they are available for just £175 + VAT from www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk.

- ENDS -

Contacts:

For all enquiries, please contact Alexa Turness, Edinburgh Interactive Event Director on +44 (0) 7990 522 004 / +44 (0) 207 534 0580 or by email, alexa@edinburghinteractive.co.uk

About Edinburgh Interactive

Now celebrating its ninth successful year, Edinburgh Interactive, taking place at The Radisson Blu Hotel on the 11^th & 12^th August, is powered up to showcase the continued popularity, growth and influence of video games. And this year, the Interactive Festival is more synchronised with the world famous Edinburgh Festival than ever, appealing to the press, public and professionals from film, television and interactive media backgrounds alike, offering a bigger event for delegates, more consumer focusing – an overall spectacle for all.

Scottish Developer Special

Alexa — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:49:31 +0000

http://scottishgames.net/2011/08/05/scottish-developers-discount-for-edinburgh-interactive/

Edinburgh Interactive is delighted to offer 2 complimentary places for staff in return for 1 Scottish Developer ticket purchased at the cost of only £125 + vat. This is a £400saving! The Scottish Developer tickets can be booked through this link. Just click on Scottish Developer delegate pass to obtain the reduced rate.

Once your ticket is booked, please contact Ruth Maudlin;ruth@taylorbennett.co.uk 01462 490802 to obtain the 2 complimentary staff places.

Even better – if you’ve already purchased a ticket (or tickets) you can still get the complementary places and take along a colleague/friend/manager.

This is an exclusive and limited offer, so if you are not already heading through to the event, now is your chance.

The Great Debate @ Edinburgh Interactive 2011

Alexa — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:35:20 +0000

The Great Debate: This House believes…

That the UK Games Industry is one life away from Game Over

5^th August 2011 - London, United Kingdom – Edinburgh Interactive announces details and participants for this year’s Great Debate, chaired as always, by our own industry legend, Ian Livingstone!

The games industry has been great for Great Britain. We hit the ground running and at one stage a fifth of the world’s video games were made here. The decline has been steep. Once mighty publishers have imploded or had their ownership taken offshore. A once thriving development sector now has to watch as its most talented core is transplanted to where the pay is higher and the taxes lower. Are we now able to look beyond the tipping point and see the abyss? Or is that just the gloom-mongers? Will doughty, earnest, innovative, punch-above-its-weight Britain triumph again. Have we still got what it takes in this bigger better connected world. You be the judge…

Chaired, as always, by the inimitable Ian Livingstone four industry heavyweights will battle it out! 2 for: 2 against. Arguments will be raised and trashed and then it’s up to you to vote. Don’t miss this year’s Great Debate.

Motion proposed by Fred Hasson (Games Capital) and Sean Dromgoole (GameVision) and opposed by Graham Brown Martin (Learning without Frontiers) and Rob Lowe (Nintendo)

According to Mr Livingstone, ‘The Great Debate is always a highlight at Edinburgh Interactive. It is a serious debate with a light-hearted feel concerning very topical issues about our industry. The cut and thrust of knowledgeable speakers is brilliant. I thoroughly enjoy ridiculing both sides before letting the audience decide who wins the motion. Certainly one not to be missed!’

Edinburgh Interactive, currently in its 9^th year, is taking place from the 11^th – 12^th August at The Radisson Blu Hotel in Edinburgh. Tickets are available for just £175 + VAT from www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk.

- ENDS -

Contacts:

For all enquiries, please contact Alexa Turness, Edinburgh Interactive Event Director on +44 (0) 7990 522 004 / +44 (0) 207 534 0580 or by email, alexa@edinburghinteractive.co.uk

About Edinburgh Interactive

Edinburgh Interactive 2011 Edge Magazine Preview

Alexa — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:57:13 +0000

Check out what Edge Magazine have to say about this years event

http://www.next-gen.biz/features/edinburgh-interactive-preview

Gamesindustry.biz article on Edinburgh Interactive

Alexa — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:30:58 +0000

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-07-25-jagex-boss-confirmed-for-edinburgh-interactive

Why go to Edinburgh Interactive? Develop Magazine investigates…

Alexa — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:10:30 +0000

Event director Alexa Turness explains how the show is bridging the gap between industry and consumer

Edinburgh Interactive, now in its ninth year, has gone through many a changes in its lifetime.

Originally conceived in 2003 and called the Edinburgh International Games Festival, in 2006 the event changed its name to Edinburgh Interactive. The festival prides itself in covering emerging areas of interactivity and content, and visitors can definitely expect something different from this year’s event.

What was once a full operation with full time staff has evolved greatly. The event today is spearheaded by one event director and a group of people, working together more or less for free, to put something on for the love of it. Edinburgh Interactive in born from a love for the industry and what it represents, and it is that culture that has made the event one of the longest running on the UK games calendar.

SHARP THINKING

Apart from being stimulated and informed by some of the sharpest minds in the industry, attendees will have an opportunity to understand the significant impact video games and interactive entertainment have on our culture, creativity and economy.

“It has been the perfect backdrop for the discussion and exploration of new ideas and partnerships in games, and a unique landscape which positions games as much a part of the arts as film, television, theatre, comedy and the irreverence of the Fringe,” says Nintendo UK managing director and Edinburgh Interactive Chairman, David Yarnton of the event.

“I have always been a strong supporter of Edinburgh Interactive as it is a truly bi-partisan event that celebrates all the diversity that is good with our industry and leaves egos at the door.”

Certainly, Edinburgh Interactive brings to the fore a mix of business, education and fun through a focused industry conference that bridges the gap between industry and consumer. For those outside the business of making games, it offers a selection of free public screenings of new titles and technology, and sessions delivering information on how to get involved in to the games industry.

For those in the industry, the Edinburgh Interactive Conference is targeted at high-level business professionals, and provides a focal point for the crème de la crème of the interactive entertainment industry where they can discuss current trends, and look into the future of one of the fastest growing sectors of the creative economy.

Looking back at last year’s show, Kieran O’Neill, co-founder and MD of Playfire remembers his time in the Scottish host city fondly. “It was my second visit to Edinburgh Interactive, and I am well and truly converted into a regular,” he reveals.

“The intimacy with such an amazing group of people is unlike any other games industry conference I’ve been to. A highly enjoyable two days.”

And he’s not the only fan. Gamesbrief’s own Nicholas Lovell describes the show as “a melting pot of culture and technology, of art and business. The sessions weren’t the normal corporate shill; they made you think about this wonderful endeavour we call making games.”

This year’s speakers include Sean Dromgoole, CEO of Some Research, and Edward Williams of BMO Capital Markets, who will discuss their different points of view on recent developments in the games industry and particularly the extent and the value of gamers developing interest in social gaming.

Edinburgh Interactive will also deliver two gamification sessions. The first; Gamification: Building Games – the Mechanics, Rewards and Influences, will include a presentation from Kam Star, chief play officer at Playgen, who will be joined by James Allsopp, Playgen’s games designer and in-house psychology expert. They will discuss what makes a game a game and how the medium has the potential, if carefully handled, not just to entertain, but also influence behaviour and educate users.

TRADE TRICKS

The second gamification session, Gamification: Trick of the Trade, will be a panel discussion and debate that will look at platforms for game developers, TV producers and retailers that provide all that’s needed to acquire, retain and manage gamers.

The panel will include specialist experts Rajat Paharia, CEO of Bunchball; Philipp Mohr, CEO of Comufy; James Sampson, head of product at Enteraction, and Chris Wright from Games Analytics.

Taking place at the city’s Radisson Blu Hotel across August 11th and 12th, Edinburgh Interactive also sits at the heart of the internationally celebrated Fringe Festival. While many of the public sessions are free, full conferences tickets cost £175 plus VAT.

http://www.develop-online.net/features/1360/Why-Edinburgh-Interactive