Edinburgh Interactive Preview

Now with E3 behind us, the UK games industry can look forward to its next key event.

Now in its ninth year, Edinburgh Interactive invites attendees to explore and discuss the significant impact video games and interactive entertainment have on the UK’s culture, creativity and economy.

The conference features a series of keynote speeches and panel discussions, which will focus on a broad range of topics, including gamification, games-based learning, animation and development, and new business models.

Each of these is hosted by experts in various field of games development and interactive entertainment.

Edinburgh Interactive 2011 will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh and runs from Thursday, August 11th to Friday, August 12th.

Tickets are available for 175 (plus VAT), which covers all conferencing and networking events over the two days. These can be purchased through the official website at www.edinburghinteractive.co.uk

PLANNED SESSIONS

* Gamification: Building Games – the Mechanics, Rewards and Influences

* Gamification: Tricks of the Trade

* How we got Benedict Cumberbatch on a Spaceship and how you could too – Games, Stories and New Funding Models

* Leave Your Phone At Home, This Is Mobile Media

* The Craft of Animation and Story-Telling in Games

* The Napsterfication of Learning

* We Play, We Learn

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

James Allsopp – Design Director, PlayGen
Allsopp began his career in the games industry at Sega, joining PlayGen in 2008. He will contribute to ‘Gamification: Building Games’.

Kevin Beimers– Art Director, Straandlooper Animation
During his time at Straandlooper, Beimers has worked on properties such as iPhone game Hector: Badge of Carnage. He will be the speaker for ‘The Craft of Animation and Story-Telling in Games’.

Paul Bennun– Executive Director, Somethin’ Else
A multi-award-winning game designer, Bennun also presents programmes for the BBC. He will host ‘Games, Stories and New Funding Models’.

Graham Brown-Martin– Founder, Learning without Frontiers
An activist in the field of learning, whose career spans technology, entertainment and education. He will present the ‘Napsterfication’ session and join the panel for ‘We Play, We Learn’.

Jason DaPonte– MD, The Swarm
Before running The Swarm, DaPonte was managing editor of BBC Mobile and has held senior digital roles at The Economist and FOX. He will present the ‘Mobile Media’ session.

Sean Dromgoole– Owner, GameVision
Dromgoole administers the GameVision reports, which are the industry standard for usage tracking in Europe and the US. He also runs Some Research.

Ian Livingstone– Life President, Eidos
One of the UK’s founding fathers of games and fiction. Livingstone founded Games Workshop with Steve Jackson in 1975 and is well known for his work at Eidos. He will be a panelist for ‘We Play, We Learn’.

Phillipp Mohr– CEO, Comufy
In addition to strategy consulting, Mohr’s team at Comufy also provides the tools and CRM systems needed to run social media campaigns. He will be a panelist for ‘Gamification: Tricks of the Trade’.

Rajat Paharia– Founder, Bunchball
Before Bunchball, Paharia served at design firm IDEO, working with clients including AT&T, Microsoft, McDonald’s, HP and Philips. He will be on the ‘Gamification: Tricks of the Trade’ panel.

Derek Robertson– National Advisor, Education Scotland
With a background as a primary teacher and University lecturer, Robertson has been at the forefront of exploring game-based learning in Scottish schools. He will contribute to the ‘We Play, We Learn’ debate.

James Sampson– Head of Product, Enteraction
Prior to his time at Enteraction, Sampson directed digital agency Lightmaker, where he worked with clients such as Manchester United and Pepsi. He will be a panelist for ‘Gamification: Tricks of the Trade’.

Kam Star – Chief Play Officer, PlayGen
An award-winning games developer, Star is the founder of PlayGen and has created games for well-known brands such as BBC, Eden Project, NESTA and more. He will present ‘Gamification: Building Games’.

Jo Twist – Commissioning Editor for Education, Channel 4
Twist joined the channel in 2010 from the BBC, where she was multiplatform commissioner for Entertainment & Switch. She started her career as a journalist for Newsround. She will be on the ‘We Play, We Learn’ panel.

Edward S. Williams – MD, BMO Capital Markets
Having joined research firm BMO in 1999, senior analyst Williams covers the interactive entertainment and leisure industries. He also publishes GamePlay, a monthly review of the interactive entertainment sector.