The first set of special guests and events for GameCity 5 have been announced. The video game festival takes place in Nottingham this October.
Creator of Canabalt and Gravity Hook, Adam Saltsman (aka Adam Atomic) will attempt a herculean feat to create an original game in 72 hours. Visitors will donate character designs and plot ideas to the game designer, who will then work solidly to create an original game using as many of the suggestions as possible. Visitor will see the creative process in action and be able to play the final game.
A huge oval tent will again be hoisted into position in Market Square when GameCity takes place on October 26-30. It will be split into two sections: game lounges complete with cushioned-seating and another area for the festival’s first interactive health club. During the event, a celebrated illustrator will decorate each game lounge in their own unique visual style, with Sarah McIntyre, Keita Takahashi, Mark Wigan, Rex Crowle, Tom Brown and Daniel Gray lending their talents.
GameCity, in partnership with NHS Primary Care Trust and EA, will be working to help bring the Decade of Better Health initiative to attendees with the UK’s first public play of EA Sports Active 2.0. Demonstration units will be located in the tent’s health club area.
Renowned British composer, James Hannigan, responsible for game soundtracks such as Freelancer and C&C: Red Alert 3, will be performing a musical anthology of his work for visitors of all ages. Accompanied by the Pinewood choir, the event will end on a magical note with the soundtrack from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows game played live for the first time.
Guardian games correspondent, Keith Stuart, will be hosting the Gamesblog breakfast for enthusiastic early risers. Relaxed discussion, prizes and special guests are promised.
The One Life Left crew – Ste Curran, Simon Byron and Ann Scantlebury – shall also be making a return with another late-night live podcast, featuring original game music and irreverent chat. Furthermore, the trio will debut an evening of game-themed stand-up comedy, One Laugh Left.
In addition to these attractions a number of other events are to take place. Warner Bros. will be presenting Lego Universe for visitors to play ahead of its release. The festival will be celebrating 30 years of Pac-Man with a citywide rendition of the classic game in the streets of Nottingham using GPS. And talented animators Spite Your Face Productions are returning this year with more workshops to give children and parents the opportunity to create their own stop motion videos.
The BAFTA Vision Keynote, a regular feature of the festival, is soon to be announced. Previous speaks include PaRappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura, Media Molecule’s Alex Evans, and Noby Noby Boy visionary and playground pioneer Keita Takahashi. Other events and special guests will be revealed in the coming weeks.
On Friday, the festival organisers announced OpenGameCity, a new initiative which effectively puts the festival in the hands of citizens.
GameCity 5 takes place in Nottingham on Oct 26-30, 2010.
Stick with Platform over the coming weeks for more updates and festival listings.
Aaron Lee
Tags: adam atomic, gamecity, list, nottingham, sarah mcintyre
