edinburgh-interactive-festival
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Peter Moore asks for transparency in marketing, doesn't mind being called ugly
"We're never not interacting with our community," Peter Moore recently claimed at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, MCV UK reports. Apparently the EA Sports prez was advocating the need for more community engagement and developer transparency in the gaming industry, saying, "We needed to get away from the 'dark science' days of making games, when we'd just lob the consumer a screenshot on the odd afternoon." It's reported that he also argued for early and frequent marketing for games, adding that some publishers still don't understand the necessity for sustained engagement. He posits that community interaction and openness is key, though Moore admits he's had to develop a "thick skin" due to some forumgoers on the EA Sports blogs calling him "ugly." Aww, sorry Peter. We still love ya, buddy!
Peter Moore to deliver opening keynote at EIF 2009
MCV reports that Peter Moore, head of EA Sports, will be delivering the opening keynote of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival this year. Moore's address will discuss the reshaping of the EA Sports brand, which has recently expanded its casual offerings, most notably with EA Sports Active and the All Play series of sports games. Considering Moore's role in crafting the new EA Sports, his panache and his ... um ... British-ness, we'd say he's a crackerjack pick for the festival.Our personal advice for Peter's address: You might want to skip the whole Facebreaker thing.
Richard Bartle laments poor state of game education in the UK
Richard Bartle -- the man who co-invented MUDs at the University of Essex in 1978 -- described the poor state of game-related academic study and education when speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival a few days ago.Bartle made a distinction between games-focused training (the acquisition of skills by instruction) and games-focused education (the development of understanding through learning). He said that the United Kingdom's colleges are short on education, even though training is available at some universities.He noted that symptoms of this problem are already apparent: the academic community, such as it is, has been unable to agree (or even engage in cohesive discourse) about the reasons men and women often play as characters of a different sex than their own in MMOs.
LotRO: Mines of Moria to be shown at Edinburgh Interactive Festival
Codemasters has announced that they will be attending the Edinburgh Interactive Festival from August 10th through the 12th to show off some of their upcoming titles. Their Vice President and General Manager, David Solari will be presenting Lord of the Rings Online's first expansion Mines of Moria, as well as their new sci-fi MMO Jumpgate Evolution. In addition, they'll be giving away free copies of LotRO to the first 200 people attending the presentation.This festival will also play host to such giants as Nintendo, Sony and Activision. Be sure to check out the festival's official website for more information on scheduling, attendance and a full event guide in pdf format.
Nintendo supports Edinburgh Interactive Festival 2008
Nintendo UK, along with the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, are teaming up to offer patrons of this year's show a chance to try out some Nintendo products. The show itself is a 3-day event, which is held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, and will be conducted between Sunday, August 10th and Tuesday, August 12th of this year. We have no idea exactly what Nintendo will have available on the show floor, but you can bet the Wii will be there.David Yarnton, Nintendo UK boss, said Nintendo is "very proud to continue our support of EIF for the third year running. Edinburgh Interactive Festival raises our industry's profile into the wider cultural arena and celebrates the input, talent and creativity from all with a common interest in video games." EIFChairman Chris Deering also chimed in, commenting that "Nintendo's support of Interactive Festival in Edinburgh is great news and demonstrates an understanding of the importance of a cultural games event within the landscape of the world's biggest cultural Festival. Games and EIF have been embraced this year by Scotland PLC like no other year and the support of Nintendo is an important factor in encouraging these respected organisations' commitment to us." So, you Edinburghians are in luck, yet again!Having never been to the UK, we honestly don't know what to expect from these shows. Sure, the official website provides some insight, but we'd much rather hear from folks who've attended. So, have you been to EIF in the past?
