Whether you’re after LEGO, wish to build in Minecraft, fancy taking a chance at being a cook in Overcook or just want to sit down with The Last of Us, the Yorkshire Games Festival will be hitting Bradford in the UK in just a few short weeks. And today some interesting schedule notes have been unveiled.
Running between 8th-12th November, The Yorkshire Games Festival will be celebrating games culture as it introduces a new generation to the science and art of games development. Held at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, the show is back for its second year – you can check out our thoughts of the opening year of the festival right here – and attendees will be treated to many exciting opportunities.
You’ll find talks from the likes of Warren Spector, John and Brenda Romero, Rhianna Pratchett (our exclusive interview with Rhianna from last year’s event is here) and Charles Cecil amongst others, whilst further speakers would have worked for the likes of award-winning studio TT Games, Frontier Developments, Criterion Games, Ninja Theory, Wargaming, Naughty Dog, and the talent that created mega multiplayer hit Overcooked. They’ll all be taking to the stage to offer their insight on the industry.
But whilst the speaking is all well and good, the festival isn’t just about that. The first day – Wednesday 8th November – will serve as a dedicated ‘School’s Day’, expanding the festival to KS2 and KS3 kids looking to learn how to make a great game; from teaching how to code through to creating a cracking story. It’s all part of a package designed to bridge the gap between gaming fans and the talented folks who make them.
“There are scores of brilliant games events all across the UK, across Europe even, but we want to take a different approach with the Yorkshire Games Festival,” offers Festival Director, Kathryn Penny. “Across the five days, we’ll be bringing some of the industry’s brightest and best to Bradford to discuss frankly what they’ve learned from being behind some of the most creative and successful titles out there. In the midst of all this will be the next generation – the games industry’s future stars, lapping up that expertise and that knowledge for the years ahead.”
And all of this is all in addition to Let’s Play! – a weekend of gaming designed with families and gamers of all ages in mind.
The brief schedule of events includes:
Wednesday 8th November, 2017
- School Day: A free day of activities for schools, with special events for KS2 and KS3 children to cover all elements needed to make a great game
Thursday 9th November, 2017
- Talks: Presentations by Destiny 2 videogame writer Martin Korda, Arthur Parsons – Head of Design, TT Games – who will examine the legacy of TT Games and delve into the making of his current game, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, Director of Special Projects at Wargaming.net Tracy Spaight, Louise McLennan and Sebastian Hickey of Elite Dangerous developer Frontier Developments, and Dominic Matthew from Ninja Theory
- Workshop on the Business of Video Games
Friday 10th November, 2017
- Talks: Keynote speech from former Naughty Dog VFX artist Iki Ikram to talk about his work on The Last of Us and Uncharted 4, legendary composer and musician David Wise, Overcooked’s Oli De-Vine and Phil Duncan, Kieran Crimmins and James Svensson of Criterion on Star Wars: Battlefront VR Mission, Gang Beasts’ creators James Brown and Michael Brown of Boneloaf
- Meet the Developers networking event
Saturday 11th November, 2017 and Sunday 12th November, 2017
- Let’s Play Weekend – Scores of special events, many of them free, extending beyond the National Science and Media Museum, encompassing games showcases, arcade games, WiFi Wars (charge applies), Minecraft workshops and The Displaced, a live-action multiplayer game!
If you want to check out the full schedule, then make sure you head over to scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/
