On Friday September 30 2011, MEDIA Desk Belgium – Flemish Community is hosting the second Games Summit. This games conference takes place at Villanella’s beautiful Studio in Antwerp, Belgium. Partners of this event are Antwerp European Youth Capital, DADIU, EGDF, IBBT, iDROPS, MAD Faculty, MEDIA Desk Denmark, MEDIA Desk Norway, MEDIA Desk Finland, MEDIA Desk Sweden, MEDIA Antenne Berlin-Brandenburg, MediaNet Vlaanderen, SACD/Scam, VAF and Villanella.

It has been three years since the first Games Summit was held in Brussels. The Games Summit 2008 was a European get-together in which different aspects of gaming were highlighted. Through presenting the cultural, creative, technical, financial and social aspects of games, different target audiences were addressed. There was a special focus on policy makers, who don’t always know the games industry and its possibilities and needs that well.

The Studio, Villanella

During the Games Summit on September 30, we are taking things a step further. In the 2011 edition, we try to understand what has changed over the past few years, creatively, technically, financially and how users interact with the game these days. There is a focus on social games in the conference. During all of this there is a focus on Nordic countries as well; in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, games have grown into a real industry, partly thanks to governmental support, and a lot of talent is based there. There will be a Nordic delegation present at the Games Summit. So far the following prolicymakers are part of this delegation; Dag Asbjørnsen, Senior Advisor of the Media Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Culture; Kaja Hench Dyrlie, Production Advisor Games, Norwegian Film Institute; Simon Løvind, Production Advisor Games, Danish Film Institute; Klaus Hansen, CEPI, Denmark; Koopee Hiltunen, Neogames, EGDF, Finland; and Ólafur Andri Ragnarsson, board member Icelandic Gaming Industry, Iceland.

Confirmed speakers at the Games Summit so far are Tom Putzki (Germany), who will give an overview of the games industry; Teut Weidemann (Germany), is an Online Games Specialist and currently works for Ubisoft – Blue Byte on new online game projects after he assisted them on the Browser Game of the Year “The Settlers Online”; and Lau Korsgaard (Denmark), creative director at Copenhagen Game Productions ApS and the co-founder of Copenhagen Game Collective. He participated on the development of the popular game called B.U.T.T.O.N. (Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now); and Martin Ericsson (Sweden), Game designer, participation writer, LARP organiser, transmedia content producer, lead creative at The company P. His recent work includes games research at the Interactive Institute’s Game Studio, culminating in the creation of International Emmy (R) award-winning The Truth About Marika, the world’s first fully integrated participation drama. The morning session will be moderated by Erik Robertson (Nordic Game Program).

As part of the programme of the Games Summit, we introduce a specific policy slot. During a closed roundtable discussion, policy makers from Nordic countries and Flanders, added with representatives from European and Flemish institutes, will talk about the possible support governments can provide for their games sectors. There will be an open panel discussion on this topic at the end of the Summit. Confirmed panellists are Malte Behrmann (EGDF), Erik Robertson (Nordic Game Program), Gunnar Magnusson (European Commission) and Eamon O’Reilly (EACEA – MEDIA Interactive Work).

Inside The Studio

Other slots at the Games Summit are the final pitch of Crossover Lab 2: Business and Development. Projects from Flemish and other European creative professionals are presented to a panel and to the public and the Games exhibition where participants will be able to see Flemish talent. Professional Flemish game developers and students are given the possibility to present their work on this exhibition.

This is only an introduction to what Villanella is hosting during the subsequent weekend.
During that weekend, on the 1st and 2nd of October, the general audience will be able to discover the new games, creations and demo’s by themselves during the first Gamezone in De Studio. For further information regarding the Gamezone: www.villanella.be

This broad angle results once again in a broad target audience: Flemish and European developers, distributors, policy makers, researchers, students,… are invited to apply. The Games Summit serves as a networking moment where the Flemish industry can meet national and European colleagues, policy makers and other interesting parties.

• Martin Ericsson
• Tom Putzki
• Lau Korsgaard
• Teut Weidemann

Click here to find out more on the 2008 edition of the Games Summit.