Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: succesful panel at SXSW interactive
October 19, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Innovation | Bristol | pervasive | Add a commentOne of the panels that I submitted (in conjunction with people from last year's Arts Council funded SXSW delegation) is now officially programmed for South by South West Interactive 2010:
Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: Rendering the Real World - The most photorealistic, networked environment you can play in is real life”. Mobile internet, pervasive gaming and sensor-enriched public spaces enable new possibilities in game-play, distributed story-telling and immersive events. Building on previous SXSW events,
leading practitioners will explore the ethics, design challenges and business potential of this new form.
I submitted the idea over the summer and it went to community vote, the SXSW Advisory Boards and SXSW staff before making it through to the first batch of events to be programmed this year.
Now to confirm panelists, which will be really tricky as there are so many brilliant people from all over that would make a valuable contribution…
Attending C&binet - what can it possibly achieve?
October 13, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Watershed | Innovation | Technology | Add a commentIn a couple of weeks time I am attending C&binet (The Creativity and Business International Network), a three day conference bringing together creative businesses and leaders from around the globe.
C&binet was created by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of Creative Britain's 26 commitments to bring the creative industries into the mainstream of the UK economy. The event's themes include access to finance, new business models, developing talent and securing creative rights. I am participating in a digital economy fringe panel led by Simon Evans of Creative Clusters and was asked by Alastair Findlay of the C&binet team to put together some thoughts for the conference blog on what I hope it will achieve:
What can C&binet achieve?
Producing a purposeful international dialogue around the challenges and opportunities of the creative economy is no small undertaking given the diverse set of interests, disciplines, business models and organisational cultures at play. What then are my hopes for C&binet? It is this very diversity (in attendee and theme) which plays into the concerns of Watershed, a ‘cross art form’ media centre established in Bristol in 1982:
As we know, the creative industries are going through a period of rapid change. As technologies converge and platforms proliferate, finding time and space to develop content, applications and services which capture imagination and deliver value has become even more tricky.
Across our artistic programme, through investment and support schemes like Media Sandbox and in The Pervasive Media Studio (an open innovation research space), Watershed seeks to develop meaningful opportunities for future, emerging and established talent. By joining up creative businesses, artists, researchers, technology firms and (critically) an engaged population of early adopters, we are able to link knowledge, explore new markets and produce innovative ideas, products and processes. But this space is high-risk and there is both challenge and opportunity in responding to demand with an open approach. A need for new thinking is required:
Public service content for instance is being redefined by the inexorable spread of digital connectivity. Digital Britain says 'Public service content in Digital Britain now comes from a much wider range of sources than in the analogue age’. Like Tate, the Royal Opera House and RSC, Watershed’s creative content now reaches a wider public online than through our physical building.
The combination of digital disruption and the UK’s global advantage in high-quality arts and broadcast provision provides huge opportunity: to engage more widely, to explore the pervasive power of 'prosumer' creative energy and to pioneer new forms of economic, cultural and social value. But significant culture shifts will need to occur to enable meaningful, equitable models of collaboration in this space.
For the UK the policy challenge is how we resource risk in a public funding climate that defaults to tangible known and measurable outcomes in conventional economy terms.
To push the boundaries of new technologies, engage the broadest pool of talent and stay internationally competitive we must involve a diverse range of producers and users from across the value chain, understanding that current mechanisms of support and development will be challenged to their core.
My hope is that C&binet will inform and sustain a genuine and meaningful commitment (from those working in the creative economy as well as from policy makers) to cross-sectoral collaboration which responds to this fast moving world with open, engaged ways of thinking and working.
____________
If you want to get involved, C&binet will be streamed live. You’ll be able to comment on the sessions during the live streaming and feed in to the debate. You can also submit your comments and questions in advance and follow the ongoing debate through the blog and via the c&binet twitter feed.
Hunt moose, dodge zombies, game the city: igfest 09
August 13, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Bristol | Add a comment
There is a festival where you hunt moose with your mobile phone and run away from zombies. Where you treasure hunt and throw paint over strangers. Where the city becomes a giant playground for the weekend and the consoles and computers are left behind. That festival is igfest: Bristol's international celebration of street games, social play and mucking about. It’s back, and they want to play with you.
igfest is based around Bristol’s stunning Harbourside and returns from 11-13 Sept. There are dozens of games from the best international artists and street games designers to choose from. Best of all, it's entirely free, thanks to support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The festival will kick off on Fri 11 Sept with La Noche de los Muertes (The Night of the Dead), a giant chase game across the city. Based on last year's huge hit Journey to the Middle of the Night, players are pursued by zombies between seven scenes set in secret locations around the city, ending with a Mariachi band and a macabre procession.
In the week leading up to the festival four Moose will make their way from their summer feeding grounds around Bristol into the city for the festival in the Moosehunt game. Local people can hunt these magnificent beasts and capture them on film and on Thursday night there is even a guided pre-festival hunt for city dwellers.
The programme continues over the weekend with games for all age groups. Some igfest games will test your stamina; others will challenge your wits. Some will have rich themes and narratives whilst others just ask you to chuck paint. Some games last hours and others take just a few minutes. Some are high tech and some use no tech. Every single one, however, is pure, unabashed fun.
Simon Johnson, Festival Director and Pervasive Media Studio resident, said:
With igfest, the city is your playground. You can run and hide, seek and find, kick a ball, throw some paint, outwit a zombie, dodge a laser, hunt a moose. Bring your family, bring your friends, and come out and play with us.
To get a flavour of the treats you’ll be in for, check out a 90 second film from last year’s festival at igfest.org/igfest08.
iShed panels at SXSWi?
August 13, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Innovation | Bristol | Add a commentI just had confirmation that the two panels I proposed (in conjunction with people from last year's Arts Council funded SXSW delegation) are through to the next stage for South by South West Interactive 2010. The ideas I have put forward:
VOTE: Seeing Round Corners: Artists as Innovators in the Corporate World
Overview: How can traditional tech companies see the world in a new way? This case study led session will explore the ground-breaking work of artists who have collaborated with corporate R&D labs. By embracing open-innovation and working at the boundaries of the understood, what new creative and technical possibilities arise?
Feedback from SXSWi director Hugh Forrest: “Cool idea for a panel. I really really like the “artists as innovators” concept. Moreover, I think this concept fits in well with all the creativity / inspiration / out-of-the-box thinking that we try to foster at SXSW Interactive.”
VOTE: Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: Rendering the Real World
Overview: "The most photorealistic, networked environment you can play in is real life”. Mobile internet, pervasive gaming and sensor-enriched public spaces enable new possibilities in game-play, distributed story-telling and immersive events. Building on previous SXSW events, leading practitioners will explore the ethics, design challenges and business potential of this new form.
SXSWi director Hugh Forrest: “Excellent idea for a session. I like the focus on pervasive games—and I know that this is a topic / experience that SXSW attendees love to engage in.”
The panels now enter the panel picker voting process to select next year's programme: votes are taken from community (30%), SXSW Advisory Boards (40%) and the SXSW staff (30%).
So now we need your help to get these panels in. Between Monday 17th August and Monday and September 4th, please go on to the site, follow the instructions below and cast your vote for us. There will be more info on both of the panels on the site.
Voting instructions:
- Click “Sign In” at the top right of the page.
- Next click “create a new account” and fill out the simple form.
- Once you are signed up you will be able to review, rate and comment on all submissions for the 2010 event
Also do vote for the panels from Bristol Media, Team Rubber, Dan Dixon CX Partners and Capsule:
Team Rubber
Nooks and Grannies: Exploring Older Niches Online
Open source government: Can collaborative methods save democracy
Taking Traditional Narrative Online: Extending Film Worlds Interactively
Bristol Media
How networks will make your business fly
From the kitchen table to $Million business
Capsule
New Ways of Collecting: Digital Archives and Contemporary Histories
Dan Dixon
Social Architecture and Narrative Design
The Aesthetics of Pervasive Gaming
CX Partners
Making the Mobile User Experience Simpler
Delight
Launch of Street Art Dealer
July 10, 2009
Posted by Clare in: Events | Innovation | Bristol | Add a comment
The crowds gathered in a disused shop in Broadmead last night for the the launch of Street Art Dealer. Street Art Dealer, a Media Sandbox supported project, takes art out of the gallery and onto the streets, bringing a new and exciting dynamic to public art using QR Codes and GeoTagging on your mobile phone. The city-wide exhibition and trail of artworks includes urban gaming from James Powderly, hidden installations from Turner Prize nominee Tomoko Takahashi, Zeus and Sebastian Lowsley-Williams. They are also giving away 100 free prints of the BEAM installation to people who register and interact with the exhibition. The Street Art Dealer exhibition is open until 31 July, visit streetartdealer.com for more details.
