Doodles by Jon Burgerman, world-renowned artist and level designer, who will be taking part in the GameCity art clinic.
Okay, we've done quite a bit on GameCity this week, so here's a final piece - at least for today. I managed to get some questions to organiser Iain Simons about the event, and about what he's most looking forward to. I hope by now you've been tempted to put aside some time between October 24-28 for a trip to Nottingham. If not, try this...
So what are the elements of GameCity you're most excited about? Two things I guess. I'm very interested to see how the 'who's afraid of videogames' sessions for parents are received. Attempting to specifically throw open gaming to new audiences usually yields unexpected results... Other than that, Takahashi. I'm really pleased we've been able to show so many other less high-profile developers and titles. The indiecade studio has some amazing and often less well profiled work - and to have Alex from WeeWar along is a great addition.
What kind of support are you getting from the industry? is it easier than last year? Again, this year the support from the development community has been fantastic. The kinds of extra miles that all of the developers have put in this year is just so encouraging. From volunteer portfolio clinics to bespoke papercraft made by Takahashi, the creative community has been incredibly generous. This year too, publishers have been a lot more imaginative. Activision in particular has really understood what it is we're trying to do and has had a really collaborative approach to what's possible. I should also mention that Sony/SCEE has been fantastic - particularly with sending senior art guys like Sam Coates to spend time talking to students at Angel Row.
Is the festival known in America and Japan now? I'm hoping Lorne Lanning took back some good experiences from last year... I don't know about Japan, but certainly in America, Lorne and Jamie Fristrom have been enthusiastic evangelists of the festival. I was delighted, and to be honest surprised how many developers knew about the event at GDC. There were a few great pieces of work we were really hoping to bring over to show this year which didn't quite work out - we're hoping by next year the word will have spread slightly more to publishers.
What are some of the new venues you're using this year? The big addition is the use of the market square, which is going to provide a great centrepiece to the event. Beyond that, it's a mix of cinemas, cafes, bars, bookshops and of course Indian restaurants.
How many events are there this year, compared to last time? Last year we had just over 40 - so far this year there's going to be about 75, including the fringe events which the community have curated all by themselves. For us, this year is very much about proof of concept, making sure that this really does work and that people want to come to it. All the signs are that that is the case. I think GameCity 2008 is going to be quite a step-up in developing the festival. This is a terrible bad-habit of mine, but to be honest a lot of my thoughts are about that at the moment. We've got some great ideas and I think it's going to be quite a different event.
