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Thursday, October 22
 

10:00am BST

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Thursday October 22, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am BST

Gamechangers Football : Football Workshop!

Come and design a new game of football for GameCity, to be played for real on our special pitch on the Old Market Square as a part of the Sheriff's Gauntlet, on Saturday 31st October!  Drop in session; all ages; all abilities; come and get your football thinking caps on and make up some rules!  (Almost) anything goes.


Thursday October 22, 2015 11:00am - 3:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Friday, October 23
 

10:00am BST

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Friday October 23, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

12:00pm BST

GameChangers Football : Warm Up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us at The National Videogame Arcade as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Mink ette and David Austin

Mink creates games of all kinds and loves making excuses to play when you probably should be doing something else. David is a keen footballer and occasional event runner for City Dash.

“Both of us love playing games that have you running around in the streets, but also board games and computer games. We've brought different parts of these different types of games together to make beautiful monstrosities. “

 

 

minkette.weebly.com

twitter.com/mink_ette



THIS IS A FREE EVENT



Friday October 23, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

3:00pm BST

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us at The National Videogame Arcade as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Mink ette and David Austin

Mink creates games of all kinds and loves making excuses to play when you probably should be doing something else. David is a keen footballer and occasional event runner for City Dash.

“Both of us love playing games that have you running around in the streets, but also board games and computer games. We've brought different parts of these different types of games together to make beautiful monstrosities. “

 

 

minkette.weebly.com

twitter.com/mink_ette



THIS IS A FREE EVENT



Friday October 23, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

7:30pm BST

Mario! The Musical
Limited Capacity seats available

SOLD OUT


After a previous sellout show ending in a standing ovation, 'Mario!' the hilarious parody musical returns to the NVA for the Gamecity festival!


When Bowser decides that the whole “kidnapping the princess” thing isn’t working out and captures Mario instead, Peach and Luigi must break out of their traditional roles as damsel in distress and cowardly sidekick and take centre stage as heroes. With other threats hounding them along the way including the dastardly Wario Bros and a vengeful Magikoopa, will they rescue Mario and stop Bowser once and for all?

The show features original songs based on classic Nintendo tunes (including new songs not included in our first performance); all your favourite Mario characters plus cameos from other Nintendo franchises ranging from Pokèmon to StarFox; more jokes and puns than you could shake a Wiimote at; Luigi rapping; unexpected romance and elaborate dance routines. What more could you ask for? Let’s-a go!



Friday October 23, 2015 7:30pm - 10:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Saturday, October 24
 

8:30am BST

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Saturday October 24, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am BST
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am BST

LittleBigPlanet 3 : Workshop
The LittleBigPlanet 3 GameCity creative workshop gives participants the opportunity to experience a wealth of different games developed by the LittleBigPlanet community. Members of the LittleBigPlanet 3 design team will be on hand to demonstrate the games and provide insight into how each of these diverse experiences were created using the LBP toolset.

Get hands on!
Jump in and try a variety of gameplay experiences developed in LittleBigPlanet; including puzzles, shoot ‘em ups, racing games and RPGs.

Learn the fundamentals of Creating in LBP.
Members of the development team will lead you through the key principals of Create and show you how to get started making your own LBP levels


Gain insight into advanced techniques.
The developers will talk you through the techniques used to create some of the diverse game types on show.
These will include:
  • Advanced camera manipulation to create top-down and first person experiences.
  • Lighting and realistic materials to radically change the tone, look and feel of your creations.
  • Advanced logic to develop procedural puzzles.
  • AI behaviours and character animations to create worthy foes to do battle with!

Quiz the developers.
The creative workshop provides an open forum for participants to learn about the games industry, the creative process and the key ingredients that go into developing a LittleBigPlanet level.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Saturday October 24, 2015 10:00am - 5:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am BST

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Saturday October 24, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am BST

Britsoft Weekend : Ian Livingstone's State of the Nation
Limited Capacity seats available

To launch our first Britsoft weekend, the Godfather of the British Games industry, Ian Livingstone, takes to the main ballroom stage to deliver his thoughts and reflections on a lifetime in the British videogame industry. Expect candid opinion from a voice of experience - Ian Livingstone has both been there AND done it. 

With plenty of time to ask questions, this is a valuable opportunity to hear about Britsoft from one of the people central to creating it. 



Saturday October 24, 2015 11:00am - 12:30pm BST
Council House Ballroom

12:00pm BST

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Saturday October 24, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm BST
Old Market Square

2:00pm BST

Britsoft Weekend : The British Chinese Room
Limited Capacity seats available

GameCity welcome Britsoft heroes 'The Chinese Room' to talk about their work.

Fresh from releasing the acclaimed 'Everybody's gone to the Rapture', they're making their GameCity festival debut to show how they made it, why they made it and how they fit into the Britsoft landscape. Expect some trouble. 


Saturday October 24, 2015 2:00pm - 3:30pm BST
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm BST

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

Grant Howitt and Mary Hamilton from Serious Business

Vampire Football

Serious Business run live games that don't take themselves too seriously; we like running, jumping, singing, shouting and getting people to act outside of the norm. 

“Our mission at Serious Business is to make fun, accessible games that as many people as possible can play with as little lead-in time as possible: no tricky rules, no complex strategies, just lots of excitement and lots for the players to do. We draw inspiration from film and theatre and try to boil down narrative experiences into a series of quick events, and from cartoons as we apply a thin veneer of unreality over the surface of the world.”

http://www.srsbsns.co.uk


THIS IS A FREE EVENT



Saturday October 24, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm BST
Old Market Square

8:00pm BST

Britsoft Weekend : The Sensible Lounge featuring Jon Hare & Barn LIVE!
Limited Capacity seats available

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

A CELEBRATION OF ONE OF BRITSOFT'S GREATEST DEVELOPERS!

Our first day of Britsoft concludes with a unique event...

Industry legend Gary Penn extracts the history of Sensible Software, from the people who were there at the time.
A Sensible Soccer tournament plays out on the big screen

The evening ends with a set of Sensible Hits played LIVE by Jon Hare and Barn on ACTUAL instruments. 

It's like an interview, crossed with a tournament, crossed with a gig. 

Folks, this is a night-out. 

NOT TO BE MISSED!



 


Saturday October 24, 2015 8:00pm - 11:30pm BST
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Sunday, October 25
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Sunday October 25, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

LittleBigPlanet 3 : Workshop
The LittleBigPlanet 3 GameCity creative workshop gives participants the opportunity to experience a wealth of different games developed by the LittleBigPlanet community. Members of the LittleBigPlanet 3 design team will be on hand to demonstrate the games and provide insight into how each of these diverse experiences were created using the LBP toolset.

Get hands on! 
Jump in and try a variety of gameplay experiences developed in LittleBigPlanet; including puzzles, shoot ‘em ups, racing games and RPGs.

Learn the fundamentals of Creating in LBP. 
Members of the development team will lead you through the key principals of Create and show you how to get started making your own LBP levels


Gain insight into advanced techniques. 
The developers will talk you through the techniques used to create some of the diverse game types on show. 
These will include:
  • Advanced camera manipulation to create top-down and first person experiences.
  • Lighting and realistic materials to radically change the tone, look and feel of your creations.
  • Advanced logic to develop procedural puzzles.
  • AI behaviours and character animations to create worthy foes to do battle with!

Quiz the developers. 
The creative workshop provides an open forum for participants to learn about the games industry, the creative process and the key ingredients that go into developing a LittleBigPlanet level.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Sunday October 25, 2015 10:00am - 5:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Sunday October 25, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Britsoft Weekend : Mr Hollis goes to Kyoto
Limited Capacity seats available

Martin Hollis is the best of British.
He led the team that made Goldeneye 64.
During and following that project, he worked with the best of Japanese. 

This event is Martin Hollis reflecting and comparing the videogame development cultures of two Nations, in an attempt to reveal more about what Britsoft actually means.


Sunday October 25, 2015 11:00am - 12:30pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A TICKET HERE TO ATTEND: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-2510-tickets-19081316732

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED 

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 



Sunday October 25, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Sunday October 25, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

2:00pm GMT

Britsoft Weekend : What IS Britsoft? All star panel!
Limited Capacity seats available

There was a revolution in the UK of the late 1970s and '80s. Kids began making videogames on home computers, first in their bedrooms, and soon in offices across the nation, forging a new industry and some now-legendary games. In a new book published by Read-Only Memory called Britsoft: An Oral History, some of those makers, along with the journalists and businessmen that helped them form a vast new industry, recount their memories of Britsoft, a time of incredible creativity, imagination and commerce.

 

But now, some 30 years later, what was Britsoft? What does it mean today? Chaired by Alex Wiltshire, the book's editor and former editor of Edge, key special guest figures from the time will describe their experiences and perspectives, alongside some stars of contemporary British game development, charting the rise, the fall and the impacts of an unforgettable time in British history.

 



Sunday October 25, 2015 2:00pm - 3:30pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

Bennett Foddy

No Nonsense Football

 

Bennett Foddy is the designer of several well-known games including QWOP and Get On Top, the trampoline-actuated wrestling game that debuted at GameCity in 2012. In addition, he teaches game design at the NYU Game Center in New York.

“A strong influence for me were the games made in the heyday of videogame athletics, like Summer Games and Daley Thompson’s Decathlon. In the 1980s it seemed like there was so much enthusiasm for Olympic sports, and this enthusiasm was joined by a wave of experimental creativity in game designers trying to capture those sports in digital form. I’ve tried to bring back those things in my work.”

http://www.foddy.net


THIS IS A FREE EVENT




Sunday October 25, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

7:30pm GMT

Britsoft Finale : Argy Bhaji II - The Rematch!
Limited Capacity seats available

Two years ago, we conceived of an event to fit a pun.

It was an argument in an Indian Restaurant. 
The result split the audience and has led to months of further argument and bad feeling.
In order to resolve this, tonight, we are staging a rematch.

Jets vs Sharks
Ali vs Frazier
Theseus vs The Minotaur
Republicans vs Democrats
Science vs Religion

History is littered with great rivalries, but perhaps none more nasty, festering, bitterly contested and pointless than Commodore versus Spectrum.
In one corner, eccentric UK entrepreneur Clive Sinclair and his rubber keyed, everyman computer for the masses; Facing him, the aggressive Shatnered marketing force of Jack Tramiel.

In 2013, the Spectrum triumphed, battering a weary Commodore into the canvas with a surprise final punch delivered by an experimental American indie developer. 

In a dance as old as time itself these two punch-drunk, bruised old fighters have come out of retirement for a rematch.

Commodore vs Spectrum.
Choose your side.
This ends tonight.
Again. 


Sunday October 25, 2015 7:30pm - 11:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Monday, October 26
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Monday October 26, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Monday October 26, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Mike Bithell : Volume - That *difficult* second game
Limited Capacity seats available

'Thomas was Alone' was one of the most unexpected hit games of the last few years, not least for its creator, Mike Bithell.

Here, Mike shares with GameCity how he created 'Volume', the follow up game which some are already describing as "a bit of an improvement" and "another game from Mike Bithell".

Somehow it's doing even better.

Mike will pretend to understand why.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited.  


Monday October 26, 2015 11:00am - 12:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A TICKET HERE TO ATTEND:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-2610-tickets-19081922544

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 



Monday October 26, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Monday October 26, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

2:30pm GMT

Inside the Blockopedia!
Limited Capacity seats available

To really master Minecraft, you need to know the science behind its many kinds of blocks, from birch wood to brewing stands. 

Alex Wiltshire, author of the Minecraft Blockopedia, will take you on a tour of the blocks that make up the world of Minecraft, including how grass grows, fire spreads, redstone conducts and beacons ... beacon. On the way, he'll uncover and share amazing facts and crazy secrets that lie behind this pixelly land, and help you build and survive even better.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited.  


Monday October 26, 2015 2:30pm - 3:30pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!


Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Ricky Haggett of Hollow Ponds

Go Wide

 

Ricky is a founder of London-based gamedev studio Honeyslug (Hohokum, Super Exploding Zoo, Frobisher Says), as well as a founder of the playing-in-public organisation Wild Rumpus. He recently started a new studio called Hollow Ponds.  

“I have a complex relationship with football. I used to play a lot - for my school and a local club, and of course 'World-Cup Willie' at lunchtimes (or World Cup Doubles in some parts).  Then, aged 17, I ruptured the cruciate ligament in my knee playing right-back in very muddy conditions, gave up the very idea sport as a bad idea, and started to spend a lot of time in front of computers, which is most likely how I ended up making videogames for a living. I still have the odd vivid dream about playing in football matches (always in defence).

The rules for Go Wide came partly from memories of playing football at school lunchtimes, adapting the rules depending on where in the school we were. I was also thinking about ice hockey, where I like the fact that play continues behind the goal.”

www.twitter.com/KommanderKlobb


THIS IS A FREE EVENT




Monday October 26, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

6:00pm GMT

National Variety Arcade!
Welcome to the NVA, where tonight the 'V' stands for VARIETY!

That's right folks, we have an AMAZING selection of things to play for you tonight, all carefully arranged across the building...

Control Room:
Back when arcade machines were the most powerful games consoles on the market, coin-op fans would take turns to go one-on-one with an alien empire or roster of warriors. Slot in a coin, and it’s just you and the game.

CONTROL ROOM mixes old-style arcade intimacy with live literary performance from some of the most talented new poets and spoken word artists in the UK. Each performer in the room plays a different game with audience members, whose own choices and input affect the performance and its outcome. ‘Players’ come away with a literary experience unique to them, and maybe even a souvenir!


Softwar : LIVE play testing
Softwar is a tactical tabletop game where hackers, companies and states battle within data networks in a hidden war of cyberespionage.
This is your invitation to test out and help to shape the game with its creator, Ben Green. It's a unique opportunity to play a game before it's completed and to help make it the best it can be!


Board games for EVERYONE!
We always have plenty of games out to play in the Toast Bar, but tonight we're going to be playing some extra special ones...
New games, old games AND a long overdue session of 'Two Rooms and a Boom!' - this is your opportunity to discover some amazing new games in the company of friends!

Also, toast!


THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Monday October 26, 2015 6:00pm - 11:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Tuesday, October 27
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Tuesday October 27, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

Minekraftwerk

A playful, interesting and educational look at the phenomenon of Minecraft in relationship to the mining history of the local area.  

'Minekraft' (2015) is a new short film by artists Simon Raven, Beth Kettel, Bruce Asbestos and Tom Coogan. The film follows a group of Minecraft avatars as they go on an adventure in a real coal mine. Shot at Pleasley Colliery Museum, the film considers how mining past and present can create a strong sense of community.

During the day there will be a chance to view the artists’ new film 'Minekraftwerk' in which Minecraft characters explore an abandoned colliery in North Notts. 

There’s the also the chance to go ‘creative mode’ with activities for everyone!

Exhibit your own avatar artwork, or help to construct a collaborative online version of the Pleaseley Colliery. 



Tuesday October 27, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Tuesday October 27, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

10 Years of LEGO Games
Limited Capacity seats available

It seems so obvious now. But it's hard to believe that a little over a decade ago we hadn't seen LEGO minifigs re-enact classic scenes from our best loved movie franchises. 

A tiny British team set out with a simple idea: to bring together LEGO with Star Wars. In doing so, they created an entertainment juggernaut that has redefined family videogaming and provided an entry point into games for millions of young people.  

Head of Production Jonathan Smith was there at the start - and now he's back at the GameCity festival, to reflect on ten years of LEGO-ness. If you’ve ever played a LEGO game - and of COURSE you’ve played a LEGO game - then come along and find out HOW TT Games have built this UK success story.


Tuesday October 27, 2015 11:00am - 12:30pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A TICKET HERE TO ATTEND:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-2710-tickets-19082088039


Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED 

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET
 

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 

 



Tuesday October 27, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Tuesday October 27, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

2:30pm GMT

Playing to the Crowd - The Creation of a VR Installation Game
Limited Capacity seats available

Virtual Reality is a brand new frontier for developers, and there’s more to it that meets the eye. Creative Director, Katie Goode, one of the UK’s leading Virtual Reality designers, describes the process of creating Unseen Democracy

Hear what Triangular Pixels has learnt about VR, how they moved to room scale VR, and creating a social VR experience. Get the insider knowledge and kick start developing your own VR game!


Tuesday October 27, 2015 2:30pm - 3:30pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

Mike Bithell 

Selfish Football

Mike Bithell is the chap behind two reasonably liked British games, Thomas Was Alone and Volume. He is currently working on future, secret things. He'll probably tell you about them on twitter (@mikebithell) or on his site, www.bithellgames.com

“I used to love playing football as a kid, an aspect I enjoyed was the inter team politics of the thing. The hero scorers, the dependable defenders. When asked for an idea for a football redesign, I wanted to pull that element into focus, with team members having their own self interest come into play. Betrayal, manipulation, altruism, all manner of messy human stuff becoming the focus.”

 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Tuesday October 27, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

7:30pm GMT

MineKraftwerk at Night
Limited Capacity seats available

Minecraft takes a playfully sinister turn in this special night time screening of Minekraftwerk, an artists’ collaborative film project that features dialogue from in -game characters set against footage of the Pleasely Colliery.

The event will feature live performance, audience collaboration, drinks and DJs with a special Minecraft twist!

Minekraftwerk is an artists’ collaboration project that looks at the relationship between the video game phenomenon of Minecraft and the decline of the mining industry, the wider shift to creative work from heavy industry and the impact on local community.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited.  



Tuesday October 27, 2015 7:30pm - 11:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Wednesday, October 28
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Wednesday October 28, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

9:30am GMT

BFI Video Games Day 2015
Limited Capacity seats available

It has now been over a year since the introduction of the video games tax relief, the Certification Unit at the BFI are hosting a day of panels and presentations for the video games sector. 

There will be keynote speeches and the agenda will cover key themes such as: The video games tax reliefs one year on; a Creative England funding case study and other sources of finance and support around the UK. A full agenda will follow shortly including further panels.

The networking reception will take place at the exciting recently opened National Video Game Arcade and there will be an opportunity to play some games from UK video games developers. 

There will also be slots available for 1-2-1 sessions with the BFI’s video games certification analysts and other 1-2-1 sessions with key industry members are being confirmed.

We look forward to seeing you there.

TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT CAN BE BOOKED HERE 

Please note numbers are limited. 



Wednesday October 28, 2015 9:30am - 5:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Wednesday October 28, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A TICKET HERE TO ATTEND:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-2810-tickets-19082264567

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED 

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET
 

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 

 



Wednesday October 28, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Wednesday October 28, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Llaura Dreamfeel

Frogball 

Llaura Dreamfeel writes strange, wonderful and often intense games. She's best known for 'CURTAIN', the story of the destructive relationship between two women in a Glasgow punk band, and is currently creating the intergalactic feline adventure romance ‘SPACE|BLOOD'

“I'm super inspired by punk and DIY attitudes to art. Works created so fast you can see exactly how they were done and the creator didn't have time to hide away the birthmarks and all of their own stubby fingerprints. At the moment I'm inspired in particular by the sensationally broken and the not quite understandable. When carefully crafted and authored affective experiences fail utterly at having an impression on you. So much so that you have no idea what the film, book or game wanted you to understand or feel, except that it REALLY wanted you to do so. When the music and the interaction and the art all jar unexpectedly. Perhaps you're in the middle of an epic fantasy adventure, your trusty party member has died and the music is telling you to feel very sad, but instead you discovered a glitch where you can walk away from this important conversation, and over the edge of the virtual world, falling into a digital void with bemusement as the tragic music loops forever.”

http://dreamfeel.org/


THIS IS A FREE EVENT




Wednesday October 28, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

7:00pm GMT

East Midlands Indies invite you to come play their games!
Every month, at a location in Nottingham, the East Midlands Indies meet up and swap ideas, solve problems and make games! 

Tonight, you're invited to come along, hang out and play some of their awesome creations.

If you're in the East Midlands and want to make videogames, this is LITERALLY FOR YOU!

 

Wednesday October 28, 2015 7:00pm - 8:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

8:30pm GMT

The Wise Old Games Owl
Limited Capacity seats available

A brand new game show about (and with the implied consent of) the games industry. Video game nonsense, jokes, and sarcasm. Perhaps booze. Maybe prizes. Hosted by everyone’s favourite embittered CXO-level puppet strigiforme: The Wise Old Games Owl.

Last year The Wise Old Games Owl brought Nottingham to a virtual standstill with his combination of wit, wisdom, and sanctimonious pellets of games industry scuttlebutt. Since then he has starred in his own “hit” game HootStory (an entirely original concept about solving a riddle through a series of video clips, and a 90s style computer interface), been rejected from the Develop conference for the eighteenth successive year, and narrowly escaped being given a ceremonial burial at sea.

Another year later, another five owl years older, and he’s back ready to put the world to rights, and discover a brand new light entertainment format in the process.


Wednesday October 28, 2015 8:30pm - 10:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Thursday, October 29
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Thursday October 29, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Thursday October 29, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Fabulous Beasts!
Limited Capacity seats available

We are very pleased to be welcoming Sensible Object, a new game studio from Alex Fleetwood and George Buckenham to The GameCity Festival.They will be launching FABULOUS BEASTS, which is indeed, fabulous!

Join us and them for a special event as they demo Fabulous Beasts, explain what a fabulous beast is and why they do what they do and their vision for Fabulous Beasts and beyond.

We really hope you can come along!

Visitors will be able to play Fabulous Beasts throughout the festival – but that’s not all folks!

Over the week of Gamecity, we’ll also be holding a tournament for the prize of Fabulous Beasts World Champ 2015. Imagine holding that trophy aloft, the first-ever holder of a title for a future e-sport! So we’re looking for a special few entrants. If you’d like to take part, let us know! You can approach the lovely folks at Sensible Object here: hello@sensibleobject.com for details.

We promise you’ll find it fun, challenging, competitive, AND richly rewarding!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 



Thursday October 29, 2015 11:00am - 12:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A TICKET HERE TO ATTEND:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-2910-tickets-19082304687

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED 

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET
 

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 



Thursday October 29, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Thursday October 29, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

1:00pm GMT

Lorenzo Pilia, Small in Japan: the incredible world of Japanese mobile mini-games
You might be familiar with Neko Atsume, the cat-collecting simulation app that has found a cult following in Europe and the US, despite being entirely in Japanese.
It’s cute, fun, and quite different from the mobile games we usually play in the Western world.

There are plenty of other games made in Japan sharing a similar spirit, hidden in the app stores. In this talk Lorenzo Pilia is going to showcase some of these games, so you’ll have something new to play and show your frienda, and highlight a few design decisions and details that game makers might find inspiring.


Thursday October 29, 2015 1:00pm - 1:45pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

2:30pm GMT

"Slow news day?" - Lessons from 20 years in games journalism
Limited Capacity seats available

From staff writer on Edge Magazine to games editor of the Guardian, Keith Stuart has spent the last two decades writing, thinking and arguing about video games.

Here he tells us what he’s learned about journalism, psychology and video games along the way, including such insights as “what Russian nuclear scientists do when they’re made redundant” and “how to improve your interview technique by watching Columbo”.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited.  


Thursday October 29, 2015 2:30pm - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm GMT

Malath Abbas : Killbox, collaboration and collectives
"Kill Box" is the Military term used to describe an area on a grid map that a mission planner designates targets to be destroyed.

Killbox is an online game and interactive installation that critically explores the nature of drone warfare, its complexities and consequences. It is an experience which explores the use of technology to transform and extend political and military power, and the abstraction of killing through virtualisation. Killbox, will involve audiences in a fictionalized interactive experience in virtual environments based on documented drones strikes in Northern Pakistan. The work is an international collaboration between U.S. based artist/activist, Joseph DeLappe and Scotland-based artists and game developers, Malath Abbas, Tom Demajo and Albert Elwin.

Please Note: Killbox is about Drone warfare which is a sensitive subject. The graphics are realistic in parts and abstracted in others. No explicit or violent graphics are used but parental guidance might be appropriate.

 


Thursday October 29, 2015 3:00pm - 3:45pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Simon Johnson

Thiefa

I'm a Founder/ Director of iGfest, Slingshot, a director/ designer 2.8 hours later and founder member of the pervasive media studio. I've been working as a real world game designer for 12 years now. Having had a hand on over 40 real world games,and sold more than 60,000 tickets to play, I have fairly unique and extensive experience.

“I have a real love of what I call ambitious forms. Things like monster comics, B-movies and gory games. I grew up on Star Wars and Sega. Then as a teen it was all about Tekken and Twin Peaks. At best these forms push the boundaries of what is possible. When they over reach themselves and become ridiculous for me it just exposes the scale of their ambition. 

In the late 90's when companies like Blast Theory and Nottingham's Mixed Reality Lab started to combine games, physical play and urban exploration I took interest. Then in 2007 the New York based collective "Come Out and Play" really crystallised this kind of urban play when they started staging urban games festivals.  

For the first time games that took place in the real world looked like they could be a form as ambitious as those I loved, but all the more powerful because of the immediacy of the experience. Add a dash of science and philosophy too and you've got games that have gore and meaning. Or perhaps that’s over reaching. :)”


THIS IS A FREE EVENT




Thursday October 29, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

7:00pm GMT

Off the Map - the 2015 Awards
Limited Capacity seats available

It's here!

Join us for the THIRD Off the Map awards, our extraordinary competition created in collaboration with the British Library.

This year, students from around the UK have been creating new works in response to assets provided to them by curators at the BL. The theme this year has been 'Alice in Wonderland' and the entries have, as ever, been remarkable.

You can read more details about the competition and view the assets here. 

Tonight, the winner will be revealed! Join us to see the entries and find out who the winning team will be, as well as learning details about the 2016 competition!
 


Thursday October 29, 2015 7:00pm - 8:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

8:00pm GMT

Crows Crows Crows
Limited Capacity seats available

GameCity 2015!

An October night!

A grand and momentous reveal of the debut title by Crows Crows Crows, a new studio formed by William Pugh (BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, Designer of The Stanley Parable) but look...
 
That’s not important right now.

What’s important is that you listen very carefully.

Everything has been timed to perfection, so we have to work fast!
I’m going to need you to drain the lake so the water coolant system in the vault is disabled. The code is 17-4-17-6. It’s - Are you still there? Wait, did the - did the loading screen malfunction?

THIS IS A FREE EVENT
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited.  


Thursday October 29, 2015 8:00pm - 10:00pm GMT
Cobden Chambers

9:00pm GMT

Checkpoints : Live Show!
Limited Capacity seats available

This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest on the show talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that forged connections with others and games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints! 

To celebrate ten years of Gamecity, we'll be presenting a live show with a panel of guests talking about the year 2005, and the games that shaped their year and the decade ahead.

declandineen.com/checkpoints

'If we had a podcast network, Checkpoints would be on it.' - One Life Left

'Declan Dineen’s Checkpoints is one of my favourite podcasts about games - in fact, the only one about games I listen to regularly.' - Kieron Gillen

'Checkpoints is great!' - Richard LeMarchand 


Thursday October 29, 2015 9:00pm - 10:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
Friday, October 30
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Friday October 30, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Friday October 30, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:30am GMT

Playing Beowulf: Gaming the Library Workshop
Limited Capacity seats available

Join experts from the Institute of Education to create first person game worlds based on the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, and his battle against the monsters. Discover a land of swamps, caves, mythical creatures and dragons, make mazes, missions and combat scenes, and learn how to create your own 3D action adventure game using our Missionmaker game design tool.

This one day workshop will allow you to understand some of the basic principles of game design and learn how to create simple game rules and procedures. 

Suitable for 10+


Friday October 30, 2015 10:30am - 3:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Forest of Films
Limited Capacity seats available

Ed Key and Nicolai Troshinsky will introduce a selection of classic Soviet animated films and talk about how the style of these films informs the design of Forest of Sleep, their work-in-progress experimental storytelling game.

Inspired by the work of Yuri Norsteyn, Eduard Nazarov and Fiodor Khitruk, they are building a visual language that is “cinematic” while looking nothing like the Hollywood style cinema most commonly referenced in videogames.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT
Please sign in to Sched to book your place as numbers are limited. 


Friday October 30, 2015 11:00am - 12:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy
Book your free ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-3010-tickets-19082930559

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED 

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET
 

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME

 

 



Friday October 30, 2015 11:00am - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Friday October 30, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

1:00pm GMT

"Not Bad For A Human": The Quest for AI Game Designers : Tommy Thompson
Limited Capacity seats available

What makes a good game? How do we know when our levels and mechanics are built just right? It's an iterative process to refine each aspect of our games to a point where everything fits and feels just right. This talk explores the ongoing research in game design and how human knowledge is being refined and processed to build the first generation of AI game creators.

Game design is an intricate combination of common sense with video game aesthetics to create something fun and interesting for players. It is an entirely subjective process that varies depending on the type of game we are making and the experience the designer hopes to invoke. While we know good design when we see it, it often takes time for these to take shape in the final version of a game.

So how do you translate this intrinsically creative process to a piece of artifically intelligent software? Can an AI be creative? Can it build something that resonates with humans? How do we quantify that? How can an AI know what might be 'cool' or 'interesting'?


Friday October 30, 2015 1:00pm - 1:45pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

2:30pm GMT

Ian Matthews, Empathy and Learning in the Videogame World
Limited Capacity seats available

When and where do we learn best? Schools? The workplace? How about games? When players are willing to dedicate huge amounts of time replaying and retrying the best ways to best a game system, might the best teachers be videogames? Join Ian Matthews to see and hear how schools are revitalising learning by helping teachers engage with the tech that gives them a fresh way of helping their learners engage and create. Work with him in discussing how certain games make you feel and what they have taught you before participating in a game class yourself!


Friday October 30, 2015 2:30pm - 3:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

2:30pm GMT

What is a Boneloaf?
Limited Capacity seats available

Boneloaf was setup in 2011 by three brothers (James Brown, Jon Brown, and Michael Brown) to make games and toys informed by their shared adolescence playing multiplayer arcade games and making silly drawings. For three years members of the company prototyped a series of experimental games working from geographically remote locations or meeting for game jams when members could take time off from their individual work and educational commitments. In August 2013 the three members of Boneloaf were joined by friend and illustrator Jason Pugh to work on pre-viz for a series of high fantasy and Space Opera game prototypes named “Grim Beasts” and “Star Beasts”. In late 2013 a basic punch mechanic was added to a high fantasy game prototype to test if it could be adapted into a mêlée fighting party game similar to Capcom's Final Fight, Sega's Streets of Rage, Konami's Crime Fighters, and Taito's Double Dragon games. In mid-November of 2013 the company committed to making the mêlée fighting party game prototype their first commercial game (giving it the working title “Gang Beasts”). On the 11th February 2014 Boneloaf showed Gang Beasts publicly for the first time at the TGDN x Animex event in Middlesbrough (UK), an event organised by the Teesside Game Developer Network (now called Game Bridge) for the Animex International Festival of Animation & Computer Games. The first public pre-alpha build of the fighting game was published through IndieDB.com (an Independent game development site) on the 14th of February 2014 concurrently with a Steam Greenlight submission. Gang Beasts was greenlit by the Steam Greenlight community on the 4th of March 2014 with a significant number of votes coming from the Giant Bomb and Nerd³ audiences. In late March 2014, a month after Gang Beasts was greenlit, three members of the company started renting a small room in a gallery in Sheffield (UK) to work together full time on Gang Beasts. In July 2014 Jason Pugh left his previous employer and moved to Sheffield to work with Boneloaf full time. Since showing Gang Beasts at EGX Rezzed in Birmingham (UK) in March 2014, the game has been played at hundreds of gaming events including A Maze (Berlin, Germany / Johannesburg, South Africa), E3 (Los Angeles, US), EGX (London, UK / Birmingham, UK), Fantastic Arcade (Austin, US), Gamescom (Cologne, Germany), Feral Vector (Hebdon Bridge, UK), GDC (Cologne, Germany / San Franciso, US), IndieCade (Culver City, US), Insomnia (Coventry, UK), PAX (Seattle, US), Screenshake (Antwerp, Belgium), and Wild Rumpus (London, UK / San Francisco, US). Currently Boneloaf are working to finish the development of Gang Beasts with additional Boneloaf members Matt Thomas and Jemma Pugh, and independent Sound and Music designers Robert Larder and Adam ‘Doseone” Drucker, The company name comes from a misnomer used to refer to the hunks of collectable meat in classic arcade games. Gang Beasts is published by Double Fine but is exclusively funded by Boneloaf members, their friends and families, and sales from Steam Early Access and the Humble Store.


Friday October 30, 2015 2:30pm - 4:00pm GMT
Council House Ballroom

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Ian Hardingham of Mode7 Games

Frozen Football

Designer and lead programmer of hit indie games Frozen Synapse and Frozen Cortex.  Joint director of Mode 7 Games.

“I've always wanted to create short, sharp, competitive experiences full of interesting decisions.  A player should never be bored, and starting a new game should always be exciting.  I grew up playing Goldeneye, Thief, and Tribes.” 

http://www.mode7games.com/


THIS IS A FREE EVENT




Friday October 30, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

6:00pm GMT

Gamer, Gamer!
Limited Capacity seats available

Attention all GamerGamer attendees: 

If you added Gamer Gamer to your SCHED before 12noon on Thursday 22nd if October you're ticket is safe, and Free. 

If you have added this event to your SCHED after this time you will need to purchase a ticket.

Award-winning comedians play classic, rare and brand new videogames in the battle to become the Games Master!

Gamer Gamer is the brainchild of Joe Dickens - an avid videogamer and comedy fan.
Face-offs, rants and the minimum necessary actual physical violence – with different guests every show!


BUY TICKETS HERE



Friday October 30, 2015 6:00pm - 7:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

8:00pm GMT

Gang Beasts Football!
Limited Capacity seats available

Gang Beasts, one of our very favourite games at the NVA Toast Bar, is getting a brand new and EXCLUSIVE new level for GameCity!

The brilliant Boneloafers have looked carefully at one of the themes of the festival this year, considered at length and then unleashed the only possible response...

Gang Beasts FOOTBALL!

For one extra-special evening, we invite you to be the first to play the beautiful game with added shouting, laughing and fighting. 


THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Friday October 30, 2015 8:00pm - 11:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

9:00pm GMT

One Life left : Marioke!

250 all-new, sing-a-long classics and a night in a private, irony-free universe where we’re all superstars and everything is amazing. If you haven’t joined the Marioke army yet, maybe it’s time?

Marioke is a night of karaoke classics rewritten to be about videogames. Perhaps that sounds like a joke and that’s how it began — a one-off show at Nottingham GameCity in 2011 — but now it’s a cult event with a monthly residency at the Loading Bar in London and an international army of boisterous, vocal fans. And when they’re not entertaining the capital, the One Life Left team take Marioke around the world, performing their ever-growing roster of songs with audience members at studios, conferences and parties

If you’ve never been to Marioke just imagine it as a karaoke night in an alternate universe; one where popular culture is entirely defined by games.  The rules for each evening are simple, just like karaoke: sing your heart out, whether you can sing or not, and support the people on stage like they’re rock stars. Attendees pick a song from the songlist and sign up with the team at the front. When their names are called they come on stage with the Marioke team ready to back them up, and four minutes later they leave as heroes.

 

While there are in-jokes aplenty (“Hello” is about Halo, “Purple Rain” about Heavy Rain and “Common People” is a song about a PC gamer who wants to live life like Console People), the lyrics are broad enough to ensure you don’t need to be obsessed with videogames to enjoy Marioke. “I’m a Believer” is about Windows mainstay Minesweeper; “Take On Me” recalls platform classic Donkey Kong. Videogames are for everyone now and so, it turns out, are stupid songs and stupid jokes.

 

http://singmarioke.com

 

follow on twitter @singmarioke


THIS IS A FREE EVENT



Friday October 30, 2015 9:00pm - Saturday October 31, 2015 2:00am GMT
Spanky Van Dykes
 
Saturday, October 31
 

8:30am GMT

Wake up with the Guardian
There's only ONE way to start a GameCity day!

Join esteemed and punctual Guardian Games journalists Keith Stuart and Jordan Erica Webber for an hour or so of talk to ease you gently into the festival day. 

There will be special guests. 
There will be coffee.
There will be toast. 

Wake up with the Guardian at the NVA Toast bar...
It's the most important meal of the day! 

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Saturday October 31, 2015 8:30am - 10:00am GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

10:00am GMT

STARBOUND : OPERATION COLONISATION

You love Starbound.
We love Starbound.
We’re hugely excited to be able to tell you that we’re going wholly out of this world during GameCity this year with a massive Starbound residency at the National Videogame Arcade!

Not only will GameCity visitors get to play the latest update of Starbound with ALL NEW FEATURES like missions, teleporters and challenge rooms, there’s also an amazing new invitation to builders…

We need your help! Take part in our ambitious extraterrestrial building project exclusive to GameCity – Operation Colonisation! Make your mark on the construction of a vibrant new colony; build a brand new home for a citizen of the stars, furnish it with your favourite treasures and see who moves in!

Come and join Chucklefish in this extra-special, extraterrestrial project – ONLY at The GameCity Festival!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT 


Saturday October 31, 2015 10:00am - 6:00pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade

11:00am GMT

Unseen Diplomacy
Book your free ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unseen-diplomacy-3110-tickets-19083022835

Play the first ever game to combine both Valve’s HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift VR systems in one intense collaborative challenge. 

Developed by Triangular Pixels, the team behind last year’s Festival favourite Smash Hit PlunderUnseen Diplomacy casts you as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world.

With a real-life obstacle course enhanced by the Vive’s incredible virtual reality environment, you will run and roll, sneak and solve your way through volcano lairs and moon bases. Go in alone or join up as a team, with squad members by your side in the Oculus Rift!

PLEASE NOTE THAT PLACES FOR THIS EVENT ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED

IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE YOU WILL NEED TO BOOK A FREE TICKET

PLEASE REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK AT THE NATIONAL VIDEOGAME ARCADE 15 MINS BEFORE YOUR BOOKED TIME



Saturday October 31, 2015 11:00am - 2:30pm GMT
Council House Dining Room

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THISIS A FREE EVENT


Saturday October 31, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Saturday October 31, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

12:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Warm-up!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

From 11am each morning, we're going to be staging a final warm-up for the game of the day. 

JOIN US ON THE SQUARE to see the practise sessions and offer your opinion on how the rules might be improved!

THIS IS A FREE EVENT


Saturday October 31, 2015 12:00pm - 2:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

3:00pm GMT

GameChangers Football : Kick Off!
Nottingham is the UK’s first City of Football!

To celebrate the fact, we’ve been working with ten designers to create ten NEW versions of the beautiful game which are going to be ready for everyone to try out and take away.

Join us in the Market square as we explore bending the rules of the beautiful game!

 

Saturday’s match is part of the Sherrif’s Gauntlet... all will be revealed!

 

 

 

 

 

Curated by Matheson Marcault

 

Bio: Matheson Marcault work with culture, history and physical space. We use game design to engage people with places and ideas. Our work fits in museums, in public squares, at arts festivals, and online.

 

http://mathesonmarcault.com

THIS IS A FREE EVENT

 




Saturday October 31, 2015 3:00pm - 5:00pm GMT
Old Market Square

6:00pm GMT

Gamer, Gamer!
Limited Capacity seats available

Attention all GamerGamer attendees: 

If you added Gamer Gamer to your SCHED before 12noon on Thursday 22nd if October you're ticket is safe, and Free.

If you have added this event to your SCHED after this time you will need to purchase a ticket.

Award-winning comedians play classic, rare and brand new videogames in the battle to become the Games Master!

Gamer Gamer is the brainchild of Joe Dickens - an avid videogamer and comedy fan.
Face-offs, rants and the minimum necessary actual physical violence – with different guests every show!


BUY TICKETS HERE



Saturday October 31, 2015 6:00pm - 7:30pm GMT
The National Videogame Arcade
 
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