EIEF06 Shows Its Emotional Side
Ground-breaking sessions to focus on the humanity of
gaming
Wednesday 5 July 2006/...The Edinburgh Interactive
Entertainment Festival (EIEF06) today confirmed details of two
new conference sessions which will, in their different ways,
explore the emotion behind video games. Ken Perlin, Professor,
Media Research Laboratory, New York University, will be making
his second appearance at Edinburgh. Ken will build upon last
year's session in which he demonstrated how to animate
characters to make them empathetic and believable and will
present an engaging session on the current cutting-edge
research into creating truly emotional virtual characters in
games. This session is exclusive to EIEF06. Edge editor
Margaret Robertson sets out to bust one of gaming's most
persistent myths in her session 'Games That Make Me Cry'. Both
observers outside the games industry and professionals working
within it often still believe that games don't yet create
strong emotions in their players, and yet nearly all gamers
have tales to tell of the moments that made them choke back a
tear. Margaret explores the games that have brought a lump to
her throat, examines how they achieve their effects and asks if
making people cry is a worthwhile goal for gaming after all.
Margaret Robertson, editor of Edge said: "It may be at the
expense of my dignity, but this session is an invaluable chance
to get the industry to face up to how much emotion players
already invest in games, whether developers realise it or not.
Creating richer game experiences isn't just about developing
better techniques, it's about forming a better understanding of
why gamers care about their games, and I hope these examples
will contribute to that." The EIEF06 program of events consists
of: Two days of conference sessions - The Conference will take
place at the Royal College of Physicians on 21st August and at
the Odeon, Lothian Road on 22nd August Game Screenings -
Offering members of the public a chance to get up close with
the creators of some of the leading video games at the Odeon,
Lothian Road - 22nd August Edge Award - Key industry figures
will gather at the Jam House for the annual Edge Award and
networking party - 21st August Visit the official website at
www.eief.co.uk About EIEF06 The Edinburgh Interactive
Entertainment Festival EIEF) is managed by a committee drawn
from all areas of the industry, including publishers,
developers and the two industry trade bodies; The Independent
Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the
Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association
(ELSPA) www.elspa.com. About ELSPA ELSPA (The Entertainment
& Leisure Software Publishers Association) was founded in
1989 to establish a specific and collective identity for the
computer and video games industry. Membership includes almost
all companies concerned with the publishing and distribution of
interactive leisure software in the UK. ELSPA's activities
include: Official Chart and Industry Reports, Anti-Piracy UK
and EU, PR and Communication, and Government Lobbying. More
information all these activities can be found at
http://www.elspa.com. About TIGA TIGA (The Independent Game
Developers Association) is the trade association which
represents the business, commercial and political interests of
game developers. Its members are both independent and in-house
studios of companies producing for games consoles, PC handheld,
and mobile and iTV games. TIGA aims to benefit its members'
businesses and creative interests by encouraging a better
climate for investment in games, best business practice,
dialogue and favourable terms with publishers and by lobbying
for government support to the industry. www.tiga.org
