A new research network, which will bring together games developers, performance practitioners and academics, has been invited to attend a national Research Council showcase event.
The Videogames Research Network has been set up by the Games Research Group at the University of Lincoln, UK, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). It is part of a wider initiative to develop the creative industries and put Britain back at the forefront of creative technology.
Members of the network including Patrick Dickinson, Duncan Rowland, Kate Sicchio and Grethe Mitchell from Lincoln, will be attending the AHRC Creative Economy Showcase at King’s Place Conference Centre, London, on 12th March, 2014.
Targeted at policy-makers and business leaders in the creative industries, the conference will highlight the vital relationship between the arts and humanities research base and the UK’s creative economy, and raise the profile of the creative and cultural sector.
Keynote speakers will include the Rt Hon David Willetts, the Rt Hon Ed Vaizey, Sebastian Conran (designer), Professor Judy Simons (Emeritus Professor, De Montfort University), Dr David Docherty (CEO, National Centre for Universities and Business) and Professor Rick Rylance (CEO, AHRC).
Dr Patrick Dickinson, project leader and senior lecturer in the School of Computer Science, said: “The concept of performance in videogames is something that has not been fully explored in terms of innovative mechanics in a commercial setting. We want to take a fresh look at this from the perspective of performing arts research and practice, using them to develop new game design ideas. The Creative Economy Showcase will be a great opportunity for us to engage with relevant organisations and introduce the network, which officially starts on 17th March.”
There will be three inter-disciplinary workshops in Lincoln and Nottingham in the UK and Brisbane, Australia, where researchers working in games studies, human computer interaction and technical aspects of game development will work with developers and performance researchers/practitioners to prototype new collaborative game ideas.
The Lincoln workshop is taking place on 25th and 26th March.