About the Festival
Date: 3rd - 5th November 2011
Location: National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, UK
Extended Play 2011 is the South West's first, and only, digital interactive festival to celebrate the notion of 'Play' using Digital Media. The Festival will deliver a two-day programme of Inspiration and Creation, sharing the knowledge and fun to students, industry and the public, whilst showcasing the best talent the region has on offer to the UK and beyond.
On the 3rd - 5th November, at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, the region will celebrate all that is leading the field in digital media, innovation and fun in the world of indie and casual gaming! Our vision is to create a South West event, that becomes an annual place to inspire, create and share all that is new and exciting, with the fastest growing and most buoyant sub-sector of creative industries - Games!
Extended Play Bootcamp
Twenty of the region's most promising high growth companies working in the field of digital, games and interaction design will be recruited to undergo a two-day intensive mentoring program focusing on our theme of 'games as a service'. This is then followed up with a year-long development program bringing their bootcamp ideas to life, in turn creating a stable alumni of companies that become ambassadors for the regions games industry. This programme of support is designed to directly enhance those companies, accelerating them and preparing them for investment. This activity is supported by Formation Zone and the Creative Industries iNet (Innovation Network), part of Solutions for Business, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and led by South West Screen.
Sponsored by:
Extended Play Game Jam
The region's indie game development community will converge to spend 2 days developing new games around themes and technologies at the forefront of innovation. This competitive (yet collaborative) method of community development is a proven way to stimulate and engage with the digital development community. All of the games developed over this frantic period will be showcased to the public at the National Marine Aquarium over the festival period. There will be a prize giving on the final day by MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Oliver Colville, for all teams involved in the Game Jam.
Sponsored by:
Extended Play Conference
Attracting some of the most recognised figures in the games industry, we will ask publishers and developers to speak about their opinions and experiences of the past, present and future of games as they transform from products to services. Throughout the two days we will once again investigate how we are able to stimulate this high growth creative sub sector in the Southwest. Extended Play 2010 revealed an extensive network of talented designers and developers in the City that all that have been instrumental in helping raise the profile of the games industry in Plymouth. The 2011 festival will look to build on those discussions regionally and help encourage further exposure, developing a strategy that will allow the industry to continue to grow throughout 2012 and beyond.
Extended Play Late
No festival would be complete without an evening program to wind down after a day of inspiration and learning. Extended Play 2011 is partnering with Eat Music, a indie radio station that promotes original, underground and unsigned music from the city and the South West. They will be broadcasting throughout the festival and hosting our evening gatherings, showcasing some of the most inspired artists the region has to offer. Set up to provide a platform for musicians, bands, artists, venue owners, festival organisers and promoters to promote what they do and to give a voice to community and minority groups, Eat Music broadcasts original content live from a dedicated studio in the heart of Plymouth.
