Author: admin

2018 – a year of collaborations

Looking back on 2018, the first year of our existence, it was a year of collaborations to support projects, run live events, colaborate on bids and deliver our programmes.

We enjoyed working with over 60 different organisations on projects large and small, as well as members of our hard-working Advisory Board.

Thank you to all our partners and we look forward to another year of collaborations with more amazing organisations and companies.

BGI partners in 2018

Abertay University, Ali Hossaini, Anim18, Arts Council England, Bath Spa University, Bolton and Quinn, British Academy, British Library, Climax Studios, Code Liberation, Confetti, Craig Fletcher, Creative England , Creative Europe. Creative Scotland, David Wise, deltaDNA, Downing, Draw and Code, Dream Reality Interactive, FutureLearn, Game Republic, IGDA Scotland, Imperial War Museum, Islamic Relief, Jessica Curry, Kings College London, LCI, Leeds Digital Festival, Levehulme Trust, Make Real, Mattereum, Meg Jayanth, Mercia Technologies, Mixed Reality Labs, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Libraries, Nottingham Theatre Royal and Concert Hall, Nottingham Trent University, Pilot Theatre, PlayIgnite, Playlines, Ritsumeikan University, Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Royal Museums Greenwich, Scape Technologies, Serpentine Gallery, Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield City Council, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Industrial Museums, Somerset House, UK Young Artists, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Nottingham, University of Sheffield, Werkflow, Wiggin, William Galinsky, Women in Games, York Mediale and the Digital Creativity Labs at York University.

Thank you to the NVM’s Founder Patrons

We would like to send a massive thank you to the National Videogame Museum’s Founder Patrons, who have made our move and relaunch a resounding success:

Individuals Companies
Ian Livingstone CBE

Carl Cavers

Andy Payne OBE

Jonathan Smith

The Oliver Twins

Craig Fletcher

Alexis Kennedy

Darren Mills

Kelly Sumner

Paul Porter

Ian Stewart

John Romero

Miles Jacobson

Darryl Still

Joel Benton

 Rebellion

King

Curve Digital

First Touch Games

Sumo Digital

State of Play

Epic Games

UsTwo Games

Sheridans

Playground Games

Introversion Software

Makey Makey

Wiggin LLP

Crows Crows Crows

 SEGA Europe

Purewal and Partners

Bethesda

SFB Games

PlayStation

Boneloaf

Supermassive Games

Vlambeer

Studio Gobo

Chucklefish

Interactive Studio Management

HTC VIVE

University of Nottingham

We would also like to thank Sheffield City Council for their generous support.

The NVM is the UK’s only permanent playable videogame museum featuring over 60 playable exhibits from a growing collection of over 100 titles from the past, present and future of videogames.

If you want to support videogame culture in the UK, please contact us to become a Patron or a Friend, or you can help the NVM by funding it through Patreon.

National Videogame Museum sells out its first weekends

The BGI launched the NVM in Sheffield on 24th November and has sold out its first two weekends.

We also had around 200 people attend our launch party on Friday night, including patrons such as Ian Livingstone, Carl Cavers, Kath Bidwell, Paul Porter, Ian Stewart and Jas Purewal, games developers like Boneloaf and (who are also exhibiting in the museum), great and good from Sheffield, and lots of new friends from the cultural sector in the city.

The Museum was buzzing over our first two weekends, with over 1,000 visitors, lovely feedback, a lot of media coverage including BBC TV live broadcasts through Friday evening, and back to back interviews for the BGI’s Director of Culture Iain Simons and the BGI’s chairman Ian Livingstone.

 

We had lovely reviews from visitors:

“Really enjoyed visiting on opening day. Came with my 5 year old. Liked the ‘themed’ stations of games, my daughter particularly enjoyed the music games like Electroplankton.” (Joe Boynton)

“@nvmuk Reliving my gaming past at the National Videogame Museum. Trying to play The Hobbit and still stuck in a room. Brilliant place, I will be back #playthemuseum” (Angela Greenshields)

“Had a great day out at @nvmuk! Will defo be back soon!” (Lucas Holt)

“I only went to accompany my daughter but I really enjoyed myself. Loved the dance game although I wasn’t very good and playing Pac-Man and Space invaders. Nice cafe and clean toilets. Very spacious. Gift shop. Just what we need in Sheffield for retro gamers. Stayed for three hours but time flew by. Will definitely go again.” (Rosemary Clarke)

We had a particularly lovely reaction from a mother of an autistic child who said it was “the best day of his life.” She couldn’t believe that the NVM developed his favourite game, Super Snowball Fight Party.

Have you visited the NVM yet? Come and #PlaytheMuseum!

National Videogame Museum to open in Sheffield in November

 

The past, present and future of videogames will be available to explore at the new, National destination.

Sheffield, 15th October 2018:

The National Videogame Museum (NVM), the UK’s only permanent games museum that celebrates videogames and the people who make them, is opening in Sheffield on November 24th.

The NVM hosts scores of playable consoles and arcade machines, innovative exhibitions of studios, their games and how they are made, as well as cultural festivals, clubs for kids and parents, and a host of events. The NVM will feature unique exhibitions reaching back to the industry’s birth and forward to games still in development.

Following an acclaimed run in Nottingham as the National Videogame Arcade, the new museum will build on a pedigree of strong review scores, consecutive TripAdvisor awards and 50,000 visitors a year.

“We’ve always tried to do more than just put out games for people to play”, said Iain Simons, Culture Director of the BGI, which runs the NVM. “In our dynamic new space, we’re bringing videogame creators into the Museum to meet their players, showing visitors what games mean and responding to our community’s requests and ideas for new exhibits.”

Following the success of previous exhibitions featuring Football Manager, Dizzy and Monument Valley, the Museum is working with games companies to create new, more ambitious shows. “We’re delighted to launch a test lab with Boneloaf’s Gang Beasts and we’re talking to publishers and developers about showcasing their work to our broad audience.”

Kath Bidwell, founder of State of Play Games, said “I’m really excited about the launch of the National Videogame Museum at its brand new home at the heart of Sheffield city centre. The games industry is fantastically creative and culturally significant and now we have a great place to celebrate and embrace that.”

NVM Patron and BGI Chair Ian Livingstone CBE said “The NVM is the games industry’s own museum, celebrating our games, our studios and our sector’s achievements over 40 years. I invite anyone who cares about the cultural life of video games to join leaders from across the industry and support this amazing project with content, evangelism and funding to help expand the programme in the years to come.”

The NVM has been supported by patrons including Ian Livingstone, Andy Payne, Sumo Digital, Rebellion, Rami Ismail, Masaya Matsuura and many others over the years. The non-profit NVM is seeking help from the sector to take videogame culture to hundreds of thousands more visitors”.

Follow: @nvmuk

(ENDS)

Notes to Editors

Press Enquiries

Alison Beasley, Lincoln Beasley PR. E: alison@lincolnbeasley.co.uk  M: +44 (0) 7966 449130

The NVM: e:  info@thenvm.org

About the National Videogame Museum

The NVM is a museum that educates the public about the art, science, history and technology of videogames. The NVM celebrates videogame culture and allows the public to play most of its exhibits, which include games consoles, arcade machines and other interactive experiences, including games designed exclusively for the Museum.

The Museum displays the UK’s only permanently accessible collection of over 100 videogames as well game memorabilia, ephemera and new exhibits which interpret and explain videogames for everyone. Formerly the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, the Museum has welcomed over 100,000 visitors, including hundreds of school visits, since it opened in 2016. The Museum presents a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions that are scheduled up to 2 years in advance, some of which tour the UK.
The NVM is operated by the BGI, a new national agency for games culture. The BGI is an industry-led initiative that was announced in January 2017 to win new funding for games production, culture, diversity and skills, in collaboration with new and existing partners.

For more details about the NVM, please visit: http://www.thenvm.org

For more details about the BGI, please visit: http://www.thebgi.uk/

BGI announces new Advisory Board

BGI announces new Board members and calls for the sector to help govern its programmes

Nottingham, 20 April: The BGI has expanded its board to include a diverse range of stakeholders from across the sector and is calling on industry stakeholders to help govern its programmes.

An expanded board of advisors was announced, comprising Shahid Ahmad (Ultimatum Games), Samira Ahmed (BBC), Katherine Bidwell (State of Play), Carl Cavers (Sumo Digital PLC), Marcia Deakin (NextGen Skills Academy), Iain Dodgeon (Wellcome Trust), Paul Gardner (Wiggin), Katie Goode (Triangular Pixels), Ian Hetherington (Midoki/Wrld), Marie-Claire Isaaman (Women in Games), Tanya Laird (Digital Jam), Andy Payne (Appynation / Just Flight / British eSports Association), Rebellion (Jason/Chris Kingsley/Philip Oliver), Timea Tabori (Rockstar North), Paul Kilduff-Taylor (Mode7), Mark Turpin (Yogscast), Chris White (former Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Games), Richard Wilson (TIGA). Ian Livingstone is Chair.

The new agency also announced its intention to reach a 50/50 gender balance and appropriate BAME representation on the board by summer 2018. The board will propose and vote for new members in late April.

The BGI is also calling on people from across the sector to put themselves forward to join steering groups for the BGI’s programmes. The Steering Groups, focused on Finance, Culture, Skills and Diversity, will open up to new members in the Summer. The BGI encourages a wide range of stakeholders from across the sector to put themselves forward for consideration. Applicants can apply here.

Rick Gibson, CEO of the BGI, said: “By appointing such a wide range of diverse stakeholders from right across the sector to our board and by announcing our goal of achieving an even gender split and good BAME representation in the near future, we’re making a strong statement about the BGI as an organisation, but also our vision for a more diverse sector in future. We are building diversity and inclusion into everything we do and our advisory board will be ensuring that diversity and inclusion remain a focus for all our programmes. With a range of new programmes coming, we need the sector’s help to ensure that what the BGI delivers is fit for purpose for our sector, so we are inviting people to register their interest in joining steering groups to govern the BGI’s programmes.

National Videogame Foundation to merge with BGI

Nottingham, 21 February: The National Videogame Foundation, including the National Videogame Arcade, is merging with the BGI.

The BGI is a new national games agency supported by games trade bodies TIGA and Ukie, and over 500 games, investment, arts and education organisations. The BGI has been designed to raise new funds for games initiatives from public and private sources to achieve four key objectives:

  1. To encourage the development of the art, science and technology of games throughout the UK;
  2. To research and promote games’ impact on and reflection of British culture;
  3. To gather and share the artistic, technical and commercial expertise in games production;
  4. To promote and increase diversity and inclusion in the UK games sector.

The combined organisation will continue to deliver the Foundation’s existing programme of games cultural projects, including the Arcade, its research, its educational and other projects, within the BGI’s Culture Programme. The NVF’s Iain Simons will become the BGI’s Culture Director, working with the BGI’s CEO Rick Gibson. The BGI will be headquartered inside the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham.

The BGI works in collaboration with a wide range of partners to put the UK games sector at the heart of Britain’s cultural and digital agenda. The NVF is a non-profit organisation funded by the public and receives grants from the Arts Council of England, the British Council, British Academy and Creative Scotland amongst other public funding sources. The BGI is independently governed and will not be funded by company membership fees.

Rick Gibson, CEO of the BGI, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Iain and his outstanding team into the BGI. Apart from running the finest playable museum in the country, Iain and his colleagues have an unparalleled track record in games culture. They have produced the Gamecity Festival since 2006 and publish world-leading academic research into the interpretation and curation of games. They are also deeply embedded in the national and international network of arts and research organisations interested in funding digital culture. We know they will turbo-charge the BGI towards ambitious new programmes in collaboration with the best games and arts initiatives countrywide.”

Iain Simons, Culture Director of the BGI, said: “By joining the BGI, we are building the national centre of gravity for games culture that our sector vitally needs. We have a proud record at the NVA, having welcomed over 100,000 visitors to our museum in the Midlands. The NVA teaches thousands of children via hundreds of school visits about how games are made and what they mean. We also work with parents, schools, universities, arts bodies and games studios on a growing range of initiatives. Our young persons’ programme Pixelheads is rolling out into scores of schools and arts centres this year to teach kids and families about games as cultural products to be appreciated in their own right, while helping children and their parents identify career paths into games.”

Ian Livingstone CBE, Chairman of the BGI, said: “I’ve been involved with the NVF for many years as a big fan and supporter of their work. I co-founded the BGI with Rick Gibson in 2016, and I’m delighted that the BGI and NVF are coming together to form a new organisation that champions the UK video games industry’s impact as an art form and its contribution to the UK economy. There needs to be greater understanding of the investment and career opportunities in what is now the largest entertainment industry in the world with global revenues exceeding $100 Billion per annum. I believe the BGI will extend the industry’s cultural reach, help increase levels of investment, and win new funds for games culture, skills and production which our studios need to remain world-class.”