The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Celebration of games industry set to power up in Dundee
The finest gaming talent is set to converge on Dundee later this year for the inaugural Games Design Awards.
The event, co-sponsored by chartered accountants Henderson Loggie, will take place at Duke’s Corner in Dundee on September 7.
The purpose of the event is to celebrate innovation in the gaming sector, with awards for best character design, top experimental game, best game play, and sound design.
There will also be a new talent award and an inductee into the Games Design Awards Hall of Fame.
The judging panel includes eminent Dundee gaming entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl, Dundee University enterprise and entrepreneurship manager Brian McNicoll and Dayna Galloway, head of division of games and arts in the school of design and informatics at gaming industry hub Abertay University.
Henderson Loggie’s creative and interactive media sector group lead Steve Cartwright said the gaming sector was becoming increasingly important to the UK economy.
“Game designers deserve recognition for their contribution to a global industry that is expected to reach $128.5 billion by the end of 2020,” Mr Cartwright said.
“We have helped many gaming success stories move from the nugget of a creative idea to international expansion and are delighted to co- sponsor the country’s first Game Design Awards to recognise the talent that is behind every commercial triumph.”
The firm was also involved in supporting the Indie Zone at last weekend’s Insomnia X Resonate gaming mash-up event in Glasgow where it offered advice to fledgling developers about establishing a foothold in the market and the availability of Video Games Tax Relief.
Mr Cartwright said the relief gave UK developers a competitive advantage in the global market.
“It is imperative that games developers are aware at the outset what they need to do to qualify from the earliest planning stages so that they don’t miss out,” he added.
The Games Design Awards will be the opening act of the four-day THIS Festival which will take place at various evnues across Dundee and showcase all aspects of the digital entertainment sector.
Colin Macdonald - a wellknown figure in Dundee’s games sector and head of Channel 4’s games publishing arm All 4 Games, said: “Scotland already punches well above its weight in the global gaming industry and our game developers deserve gongs to underline and celebrate both their cultural contributions and the value they bring to the economy.
“The Dundee Games Festival and Awards look set to become a hugely important event for the industry this autumn.”
Lucy Galloway, Editor of 100% Gaming, added: “This festival promises to be a really important part of Dundee’s flourishing cultural landscape and 110% Gaming is really excited to be involved.”