Tag Archives: Tandem Events

Train2Game News Ed Vaizey at Develop Conference

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Tandem Events, organisers of Europe’s leading video games developer conference Develop:Brighton, announced Minster for Culture and the Digital Economy, Ed Vaizey MP, will address attendees on Wednesday 15 July.

Speaking directly after the opening keynote at 10.30am, Vaizey MP will deliver a speech on his department’s outlook for the video games industry in the United Kingdom.

Ed Vaizey MP first attended Develop:Brighton in 2010 and will look back on what has changed in terms of policy over that time period, how tax credits will affect the industry and his ambition for the next five year while in office.

Appointed Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with responsibility for digital industries on 15 July 2014, Ed Vaizey MP was first elected as the MP for Wantage in 2005. He was re-elected in 2010, and May 7 2015.

“We are delighted to welcome back Ed Vaizey MP to Develop:Brighton,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events. “It’s fantastic the Minister continues to champion the video games industry in the UK and that he’s chosen to deliver his address here at Develop:Brighton once again.”

Registration is open at www.developconference.com with passes starting from as little as £125. Entry to the Expo is free.

Train2Game News Develop 2015

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Today, Tandem Events, organisers of Develop:Brighton, announced Neil Young, industry veteran and CEO of N3TWORK will deliver the Evolve:Brighton track keynote on the opening morning of the conference.

In his session entitled, ‘Peak Mobile, Are We There Yet?,  Neil –former General Manager at EA and founder of ngmoco- will discuss the potential for mobile games, exploring what native mobile quality means and how it’s important to building the games that truly leverage the power of the platform. He will delve into why the industry hasn’t seen the peak of mobile games market yet and will also share his approach to the role of talent in building the next great games company.

Evolve:Brighton takes place on Tuesday 14 July and is the start of the content packed three day Develop:Brighton conference. Evolve:Brighton, a one day track, focuses on all that is cutting-edge and innovative in game development – new platforms, new technologies, new business models and new markets.

To celebrate the tenth year of the conference, big hitting companies such as Nickelodeon, Amazon and Google will be joined by exciting and up and coming first time speakers, offering the insight of the next generation in video games development.

Following on from the Evolve:Brighton opening keynote there will be 13 sessions from some of the most forward thinking companies in the industry including:

1.      ‘We’re not playing very hard!’ Using Children to Design Games – Dr Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Digital Cultures Research Centre, UWE
2.      Advertising and Games Two World Class UK Industries and How VR will connect with them – Seamus Masterson, Maverick; Ian Chambers, Freelance; Katie Grayson, Inition
3.      Big $ In Japan – Harry Holmwood, Marvelous Europe
4.      Everything is and Will be a Game – Javier Marti, JavierMarti.co.uk
5.      How SMITE Became a Top Global eSport Using Community, Crowdsourcing and Stupid Videos – Todd Harris, Hi-Rez
6.      Studios Kids, Consoles, Content, Coolness – Alison York, Nickelodeon UK
7.      The Develop Panel: What Next Big Thing is Around the Corner? – Chair: James Batchelor, Develop Magazine
8.      The World As Your Game Map: Blending Virtual Experiences with Real World Activity and Exploration – John Hanke, Niantic Labs (a division of Google)
9.      User Generated Content – The Next Generation – Lee Bamber, The Game Creators

“Evolve:Brighton is all about being at the cutting edge of games development,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events. “With a fantastic mix of brand new speakers and big name companies there is great potential for some exciting new ideas to emerge. Added to that it gives me great pleasure to welcome Neil Young as our opening keynote focusing on the ever changing mobile space. It is a cracking line up for the first day of our tenth Develop:Brighton conference.”

Registration is open now at  www.developconference.com  and Early Bird rates are available until midnight on Wednesday 3 June, saving up to £160 off a three day pass.

Train2Game News Develop looking for Indies

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DevelopDevelop in Brighton’s annual search for the next big thing in independent games development is underway again as submissions open for its fourth Indie Showcase at www.developconference.com.

The conference’s Indie Showcase celebrates the very best of indie game development with an exhibition featuring the ten best entries as chosen by a panel of experts led by Assyria Games’ Adam Green. One of these 10 games will be judged overall Indie Showcase Winner by the judging panel, one will be selected by journalists in the Editors Choice Award and there will also be the chance for all delegates to vote for their favourite game during the event in the People’s Choice Award.

All 10 finalists receive two free Indie Dev Day conference passes, up to five Expo passes, pre-event publicity and a profile on the event website, plus the opportunity to show off their games to around 1,600 developers and publishers at the event.

Last year, a record number of indie developers submitted their games to the judging panel. Winners included People’s Choice award That Dragon, Cancer, a game created to help developer Ryan’s four year old son in his battle against cancer and financed by OUYA to launch this year; Editors’ Choice award Gunpoint, out on Steam which received an 83 metacritic score on launch and Indie Showcase overall winner Ibb and Obb which launched in Europe and America on the PlayStation Store a month after winning the award.

“It is fantastic that The Indie Showcase is back for a fourth year. Last year produced a record number of submissions and I think it is safe to say we are in a golden age for indie developers. I have high hopes there will be even more amazing games submitted this year and I can’t wait to check them all out,” said Adam Green, managing director Assyria Games.

“The showcase remains an excellent opportunity for indies to put their game in the spotlight at the Develop in Brighton Conference and get in front of publishers, the press and over 1600 delegates.”

Andy Lane, managing director of conference organiser Tandem Events, added: “For the last four years, we’ve been fully committed to giving a platform to the very best indie talent that’s out there. It’s completely free for indies to enter and the top ten games not only get the great opportunity to be showcased to the wider development community who come to be part of Develop in Brighton each year, but the shortlisted Indies will get direct feedback on their games from other developers playing them.”

Entry to the Indie Showcase is open to the following at www.developconference.com:
– Studios with no more than 15 people
– Studios – and games – that are non-publisher funded
– Games which are not published by a third party at the time of submission
– Games that have a development budget of less than £1million
– Games that are created in the “indie spirit”

The deadline to enter is 12 May 2014 and the Indie Showcase, Editors’ Choice and People’s Choice winners will be announced to press and delegates at the Develop in Brighton Conference on Thursday 10 July 2014.