playARK - Games festival and talks - 30 September - 1 October

Over the next few months we are going to eb talking alot about a new project we are working on which will be taking place at the end of September beginning of October. The event will run at the same time as Cardiff Design Festival and has been kindly supported by CHAPTER Arts Centre. You can read a bit more about it below:

playARK - Games festival and talks
playARK is Cardiff's very own games festival. At the end of September we will be bringing together a mix of games, from Street games to computer games through to board games. (with everything in between). Split between two days the festival will also hold the first series of talks of it's kind in Cardiff, see below for further details:

DAY ONE - TALKS - Friday 30 September - 9:30am-3pm
A ticketed event. Ever thought there are ways of making work and systems more fun and engaging? In this series of talks from world renowned play and gaming experts we will look at how games and play has been used to increase creativity and improve services.
Full details TBC.

DAY TWO - GAMES - Saturday 1 October - 10am-5pm
A fun day for all the family. Join us at CHAPTER to play street games, board games, and computer games. Your chance to relive your childhood and turn your environment into a new playground. Whether it's by using the latest technology or no technology at all. From games that challenge your grey matter to those that are just indulgently fun.
Full details TBC.

GAME PREMIERE - WHITESTALKER - Saturday 1 October - 6-8pm
A Ghostly happening, everyone has a story don't they? Will you free them? You will have to play to find out...


This event would not be possible without the kind support of CHAPTER Arts Centre, and is part of the 2011 Cardiff Design festival.

igfest 2011 - Games season begins

ARCADE ANARCHY - the results

After last years fine weather and once in a lifetime opportunities. This year's street game season has begun in earnest with Bristol based igfest taking place May Bank Holiday. This is the second we have been to but in reality the first proper one (last years being a smaller affair due to them moving and setting up some new ventures), So how was it?

In sheer scale igfest has to be the largest games festival in the UK (of it's type). This is particularly the case with the news that Hide & Seek weekender will not be taking place this year. So we managed to visit on Saturday for a full day of gaming and then we tried our luck at their big headline games 2.8 hours later.

I think for me the issue with every event I have been to within the games festival arena is booking. Due to the very nature of the games which quite often slip time wise it becomes hard to make sure you are able to play a game and not miss your next. This year they had an interesting way of booking up games. You could only book two games at a time, and only 50% of tickets could be booked. The other 50% of the tickets would be allocated within 30 minutes of the game starting.

Compared to our previous experience at Hide & Seek 2010 this seemed to be a slight improvement, but I think there is something that could make it a bit better. The issue is that this in comparison to Hide & Seek is a paid for event and with that comes different expectations. There were a few things firstly why only two games at a time? also why the 50% rule? and if there is a 50% rule you have to enforce it. I was there bang on 30 minutes before one game we wanted to book and the spaces had all gone?? I doubt 6 people had popped up in front of me.

However this did lead to some great unexpected finds. We did manage to go and play a few games that we would not have done otherwise. You can see a list of games we played below. Safe to say for me my favourites for playing were Wiffle Hurling and then for watching it has to be Arcade Anarchy.


All in all we managed to play:
- ARCADE ANARCHY
Great game based on all the arcade classics.

- WIFFLE HURLING
A great fun game, full of humour and nice to get out play sport but one that you have no previous skill of.

- INTERNATIONAL ESPIONAGE
It got better as it went on. I think it has the possibility of being great with a few tweaks (the leader of the team has to be good).

Played for a bit
- MR SMITH
Seemed really fun wish we had time to play it all.

Experienced
- STIMULATOR
Very fun, will never think of honey in the same way.

Watched
- INTO THE WOODS
Would have liked to watch more of it.


Some people dressed up for 2.8 hours, maybe next year.

In the evening we played 2.8 hours as the night drew in and the darkness came. It has to be as I have said many times one of the best games out there. It has a scale and immersiveness that is truly breathtaking and I truly do feel that the both Simon's at Slingshot/igfest have created something EPIC. While it is a basic chase game with a bit of time trial bolted on. It instantly brings you into thinking about the game being real and you are totally set on keeping safe.

Unfortunately our team didn't do to well with four out of the six getting caught and infected. I was one of them as you can see by the picture below.

Papergirl Cardiff Update

A quick update on what's happening with PapergirlCDF...the submissions deadline has been extended to next Saturday the 4th of June. This was a bit of a relief for anyone who was struggling to meet the 27th of May deadline, especially since this is a busy time of year for a lot of people.

Next Thursday the 2nd of June there will be 2 print workshops for children running in The Printhaus, Llandaff Road for young people and their parents to learn how to screen print and make some art for Papergirl . The workshop times are 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm. Spaces are limited, so anyone interested will need to register. For more details, check out the PapergirlCDF blog here.

We are also looking for people to take part in the art distribution bike ride on the 18th of June. If you are interested in taking part you need to fill in an online form on the PapergirlCDF blog. We also need volunteers to help package the art, put up the exhibition and help with other stuff. If you're interested in helping out please get in touch!

Finally, if you're still wondering what Papergirl is all about, here is a link to a lovely video from Papergirl Capetown which sums up what's great about Papergirl