While it won't be another year before we see the judges of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) weigh in their votes for the best video games of 2009, the group has already confirmed a place and date for the upcoming event - the London Park Lane Hilton on March 10, 2009. More in the full article.

 

With 2007's London Games Festival arriving in two weeks' time, organizers have mapped out the game-centric celebration starting October 22 until November 2, 2007. Though the London Games Festival will also coincide with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), it will also return with a bigger collection of consumer-related events.

First up in the organizers' lists is the Video Games Live! concert which is set to take off at opening day. It will be followed by the British Academy Video Games Awards on October 23, coupled with a session presenting Guy Debord's Game of War as part of the London Games Fringe.
 
Dare to be Digital takes flight on October 24 - apparently also the first day of the GameCity Interactive Entertainment Festival to kick off in Nottingham. Dare to be Digital is the London Games Festival's bid to expose the next generation of game developers to PR and marketing, where budding game design students can showcase their projects for attendees to see.

The London Game Career Fair, the London Gamer Geeks Quiz Night, and the Computational Brain fill the rest of the day's events. Attendees can apply for a position in the industry, try their hand at game trivia, or take a peek into the future of game interactivity: controlling games through thought.

Modding get-together Dorkfest - Console Hacks follows on October 25 with technology demo Eyes on the Game close in tow. The two events continue to delve into technology in relation to gaming, with Dorkfest showcasing mod projects made by the craziest folks to even have held a solder gun, and Eyes on the Game presenting how games can be controlled with eye movement.

Zero Gamer and Sense of Play 07 top the closing day schedule for attendees, where participants can flex their neurons and partake in a healthy discussion of how game design is viewed - from both outside and inside the game industry. The refreshing eye-opener will also be coupled by a London Games Fringe spectacle: developer and publisher media showcase of their upcoming games.

Expect London Games Festival 2007 to sport more consumer-related events and business-to-business sessions when it starts on the 22nd.

A joint celebration of everything entertainment and artistic, the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (EIEF) coming on August 13-14 will highlight the games industry through the eyes of the entertainment industry as a whole. To be held at the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, the fifth EIEF will reflect upon what has been the game industry's significant rise of popularity today.

Pooling personalities in the world of entertainment, what the industry gamers call "home" will be examined by parallel creative industries which include music, art, and movies. Keynoted by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, the conference will also feature reflections from Simon Nelson of the BBC, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), Linden Labs' Jim Pubrick, and actor Steven Berkhoff on games as culture.

Together with Dare to be Digital game creativity competitions and Future Publishing's EDGE Awards, the event will also conclude with a Digital Interactive Symposium on August 15 at Edinburgh University. Chris Deering, chairman of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, concluded the announcement, saying, "This year we have much to be excited about. The festival is now firmly established as one of the most important events in the interactive entertainment industry's calendar."

Independent Game Developer RealTime Worlds (RTW), the people behind Crackdown, has signed a deal with Dare to be Digital 2007 and is now a key sponsor for the event. Dare to be Digital is a games design competition for students held annually in the UK.

RTW will be providing both financial and logistic support by providing source persons and speakers for the duration of the 10-week competition. In addition, RTW will be showing some exclusive "behind-the-scenes" footage from Crackdown at Dare ProtoPlay where competitors will feature their entries.

Here's what RTW CEO and creative director David Jones had to say regarding the event:

Talent is a key factor behind the success of every game, and Dare to be Digital makes a big contribution to spotting and developing high quality talent for the industry each year. I have been closely involved with Dare to be Digital’s organisers, Abertay University, for many years, advising them on course structure, lecturing to students, and benefiting from already having had many Dare graduates join RTW over the years.

I am delighted to take that involvement and commitment to another level through this sponsorship and through becoming a Patron of Dare. We are employing 150 people at our Dundee office and would like to expand to near 200 by end of this year. Partnering with Dare will help attract more talent to our production hub in Dundee. We also have plans to work with Dare on our international expansion.

This event, which began in 1999, has grown and become one of the premier game developer competitions for students in the UK. So far, 12 teams have already committed to joining the event and are heading to Dundee, Belfast and Guildford in early June. Be sure to keep checking back here for more news on this competition.