The ninth Edinburgh Interactive is one to watch for more than just its speakers - it's being run by a new chairman, Nintendo UK managing director David Yarnton, who's taken over from ex-SCEE head Chris Deering. The two-day event has always engaged with the business end of videogames, attracting some of the UK's leading names and benefiting from being held on August 11 and 12, which is when the Edinburgh Festival and its Fringe is in full effect.
But, aside from its business end, Edinburgh Interactive also includes public events, which this year concentrate on giving future game makers an idea of what it is to work in the industry. On Thursday at the Great Scottish Hall at The Radisson Blu Hotel, Eidos life president (and Games Workshop and Fighting Fantasy co-creator) Ian Livingstone will present talks on getting a job in videogames by Train2game evangelist Clive Robert and University of Abertay tutor Ken Fee. GAMESbrief's Nicholas Lovell will talk about why today the best way to getting into the industry to to simply start making a game - and why it should be free.
Livingstone will appear again, with Nintendo's Rob Lowe, Channel 4's Jo Twist and Dynamo Games' Brian McNicoll, to run the BAFTA Young Game Designers Workshop, in which 11 to 16 year olds will make a game for themselves.
At the conference itself, attendees on Thursday will be hearing Learning Without Frontiers founder Graham Brown-Martin speak about gaming's role in the future of education and PlayGen's James Allsopp and Kam Star (who is not only design director but also in-house psychology expert) on the mechanics of gamification. Mike Rogers of motion capture specialist Image Metrics will discuss the importance of facial representation. And we'll be presenting the The 2011 Edinburgh Interactive Edge Award to the game is given to the game that did the most this year to blaze a trail for new interactive experiences for players.
On Friday, Steve Ackerman of Somethin’ Else, the developer behind sound-only iPhone game Papa Sangre, will explain how it snagged Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch for its latest game, while Jagex head Mark Gerhard will speak about the rise and rise of online multiplayer. Finally, Anna Cronin, Channel 4's commissioning editor for "convergent formats" will discuss just that - the TV channel's plans for generating creative opportunities from diverse sources - including game makers.
There's a lot more going on besides - visit Edinburgh Interactive's website for the full programme, and look out on this site for coverage during the event.