Games Eden Launches at New Hall in CambridgeGames Eden, a new business support network for the East of England’s computer games industry was launched on December 5 2007 at New Hall, Cambridge. Hosted by new media pioneer Bill Thompson and featuring guest speaker Andy Serkis, the event brought together more than 70 industry leaders in the region’s computer games and entertainment industries. Hollywood star Andy Serkis, famed for his roles in blockbusters movies, Lord of the Rings and King Kong, also appears in the Play Station Three (PS3) console game Heavenly Sword and spoke of his work in both film and now games and the importance of innovation and the increasing convergence between the two genres. Other guest presenters included industry legend David Braben (founder of Frontier Developments, and co-writer of seminal space trading game Elite in the early 80s) and Fred Hasson, CEO of TiGA. Internationally, nationally and regionally the computer gaming industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the digital content industry. Recent figures from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and Screen Digest show that from the end of 1995 to 2003, more than 25 million dedicated gaming devices were sold in the UK. This is enough for every household in the land to have one. Globally, this rises to a 350 million gaming devices. It is predicted that by the end of 2007, the global computer games market will be worth $21.1 billion. Within the UK, the East of England has been particularly strong in this sector – companies based at the East of England game development community hub in Cambridge employ about 600 staff alone and are responsible for computer gaming hits like ‘Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, 24: The Game, Creatures, MediEvil, Runescape, Bamzooki, GhostHunter and GoldenEye 007, and now the number one selling Heavenly Sword. Throughout the region there are many small games companies and individuals seeking to develop their unique content ideas for the market. The new network will help to promote, support and develop the region’s digital games entertainment community and will provide a dedicated local networking group that will facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer both within academic and commercial sectors as well as inform and discuss the latest developments and opportunities within the industry. As the games industry extends its economic, social and cultural impact, Games Eden is expected to stimulate electronic creativity and business development through an internationally focused website and a program of networking events for those involved in the industry across the region. SpeakersAndy Serkis is an impressive British character actor and master of performance motion capture with over 50 stage, television, and film credits and a highly coveted role in Peter Jackson’s three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Serkis also performed as Kong in King Kong, which won him a Toronto Film Critics Association Award (2005) for his unprecedented work helping to realize the main character in King Kong, and a Visual Effects Society Award (2006) for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture. Serkis began his acting career in theatre. He has appeared on almost every renowned British stage and in a host of popular plays. New media pioneer Bill Thompson is a journalist, commentator and technology critic based in Cambridge, England. He has been working in, on and around the Internet since 1984. He currently has a weekly column which appears in the technology section of the BBC News website, and contributes to other publications both on and off-line, including The Guardian, The Register and The New Statesman. He writes a monthly column for new net users for BBC WebWise, and a technology column for Focus magazine. David Braben is a British computer programmer, best known for co-writing ‘Elite’, a hugely popular and influential space trading computer game, in the early 1980s. Elite was written in conjunction with Ian Bell while both were undergraduate students at Cambridge University. Another seminal game written by Braben was ‘Zarch’ for the Acorn Archimedes (later released on some other platforms as Virus), which is considered to be the first true “solid” 3D game of all time. After ‘Zarch’, Braben went on to found Frontier Developments, a games development company whose first project was a sequel to ‘Elite’ named ‘Frontier’. Braben is still the Chairman and part owner of this company, whose recent projects have included ‘RollerCoaster Tycoon 3’ and games based on the Wallace & Gromit franchise. Fred Hasson brings experience in Film, TV and new media sectors. He has previously represented independent producers in film and TV and the BBC to Government. As a founder member of TiGA, he believes there is a lack of appreciation of development’s creative role in the industry by retailers and publishers and that developers need to be more professional and responsible in their business practices. Games Eden FoundersJeremy Cooke, chair of Games Eden, elaborates on the positive aspects of joining the organization, “The benefits of Games Eden include delivery of a local developer led networking group, membership of TiGA, raising the profile of local creative digital talent and better access to strategic information and assistance.” Games Eden is being funded over the next two years by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), East of England International (EEI), Screen East and FDMX. It is supported by a steering committee with representatives from Cambridge Wireless, TiGA, EMMA, Gameware Development, Zoonami, Geomerics, Sony, Jagex, Nicetech and Ninja Theory. David Marlow, chief executive of EEDA, acknowledges the games industry cannot be ignored: “The computer games industry is a key element of the East of England’s growing creative industries sector. It is vital we help to support and develop it if we are to continue to grow the regional economy in future years. Many businesses within the region are significant international players and we believe that specialised support for the sector, through a dedicated network, will create further success.”
The East of England Development Agency
Laurie Hayward, CEO of Screen East, said: “In a region with massive expertise in feature film and television production we are delighted to help ensure the growth of the computer games sector”. For further information visit www.eeda.org.uk Posted on 06 Dec, 2007 - Event Proceedings
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