Month: October 2022

We were delighted to sponsor the Made in Bristol: Games Showcase event on Thursday 27 October 2022. This event, run by the fantastic Bristol Game Hub, took the form of a public showcase of games released or in development from local developers. The Bristol Digital Game Lab was also there in person, demonstrating both the AD4Games project and the Virtual Reality Oracle (pictured below). We thoroughly enjoyed this lively, social evening, and the chance to share ideas with, as well as take feedback from, local industry players. We’re looking forward to getting involved with more industry-led events!

We are delighted to share details of several upcoming events and activities that the Bristol Digital Game Lab is organizing and/or involved with. We hope to see many of you there!

September

Come and help us launch the Bristol Digital Game Lab! On Wednesday 7 September at 18:00, we will be hosting a launch/networking event in Clifton Hill House, following a full day workshop on game accessibility. We look forward to sharing our vision with you.

October

On Thursday 27 October at 18:30, the Bristol Digital Game Lab will be sponsoring the Made in Bristol: Games Showcase, organized by the Bristol Games Hub. We will also be sharing the outcomes from University of Bristol game-based and immersive projects at the event, including the AD4Games project and the VR simulation from the Virtual Reality Oracle project. All welcome to come and enjoy some games, pizza, and drinks. Please sign up via Meetup.

November

On Thursday 3 November, the Bristol Digital Game Lab will be helping to judge the University of Bristol GamesJam, which will see up to 100 Computer Science undergraduates take part in a games design challenge. We will also be sponsoring two prizes, including one on accessibility.

Join us on Friday 4 November at 15:30 for the inaugural Bristol Digital Game Lab research seminar, Mario is Missing! – Guest Lecture by Prof. James Newman. This event will be held in the Pervasive Media Studio at the Watershed, Bristol. The lecture is in person only; please register via Eventbrite as there are a limited number of spaces. The seminar will be followed by the First Friday November social at the PM Studio at 17:00, where we can continue to discuss all things game related; everyone is welcome to join us.

December

Come and play some games with us!  

To mark the end of the year, on Wednesday 7 December 18:00-20:00, the Bristol Digital Game Lab will be hosting a social play session. Thanks to the support of special guests and local developers Catastrophic Overload and Play Well for Life, you will have the opportunity to try out some of the latest social games, and playtest others that have not yet been released! 

We will also hear from international special guest Loki, who are visiting from Spain, about their work translating games across languages and cultures. 

The event will be held at the University of Bristol, in the Humanities Research Space (1.H020), 7 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1TB. We look forward to seeing you there, and to hearing your thoughts on the games. 

Book now to avoid disappointment. 

2023 and beyond…

We have lots of plans in train for 2023, including an early career research showcase in January, a UK Game Lab Summit in February, and a conference on Virtual Realities as Time Travel in May. If you have any ideas for future events that we can help out with, please just let us know!

Back in June, as part of Bristol Data Week, the Bristol Digital Game Lab ran an introductory seminar and gaming/VR workshop.

In the seminar, we looked at using historical data to reconstruct the past virtually, analysing audience data and the impact of games, intellectual property challenges for videogame preservation, using audience feedback to build accessible games, and discussed the aims and vision of the Game Lab.

We also hosted a play session where participants could try out two virtual experiences being developed at the University of Bristol. These included:

• The AD4Games project which investigates how audio description can improve game accessibility by working with professional audio describers, game developers, and visually impaired participants. The project uses the BAFTA nominated game Before I Forget, developed by two of the project partners, to conduct experiments, testing ways audio description can enhance game accessibility.
• The Virtual Reality Oracle, which recreates an immersive, virtual reality experience of visiting the ancient oracle of Zeus at Dodona in the 5th century BCE. The Virtual Reality Oracle is an AHRC-funded research project led by Professor Esther Eidinow at the University of Bristol, with an interdisciplinary team from Bristol, KCL and the University of Bath.

You can catch the recording of the seminar on YouTube.