London Games Fringe Wants Your Events: Oct 25-Nov 2, 2008
- from videogame culture to crossovers with film, TV and design

You don't need to be a shop or a software company, you don't even need to know much about video games - all you need to take part in this year's London Games Fringe is a good idea for a games-related get-together. And a venue to hold it in, ideally.

Running from Saturday 25th October to Sunday 2nd November 2008, the London Games Fringe aims to cover anything less commercially-oriented than the main London Games Festival, which takes place the same week and is now the biggest games festival in the world. This year, the Fringe is particularly interested in crossovers with other creative industries - film, TV, design, theatre, and others - to explore their differences, similarities and collaborative possibilities in the multi-platform digital future.

But of course we won't overlook conventional gaming, in all its many forms. Previous Fringes have addressed themes of game culture, innovation, education and diversity via a wide range of events across the capital, including:

* The Soho Project, a week-long alternate reality game of fictional warring TV companies played on the real-life streets of Soho
* Workshops and discussions on everything from the future of consoles to why there aren't more games for girls
* Pub quizzes, mobile treasure hunts and contests to come up with new game ideas
* Free training courses for anyone looking for a job in the games industry
* Interactive art exhibitions offering new perspectives on gaming
* Plus wireless multiplayer meet-ups, pub tournaments, game music club nights, and more

If you'd like to join in the fun, keep an eye on the Fringe website at:

http://www.londongamesfringe.com/

And if you've got an idea for a Fringe event (whether it's during the last week in October or not), please send a brief outline as soon as possible to: events@londongamesfringe.com

- because the more we know in advance, the more help and publicity we'll be able to offer you.

For further press information, please contact the London Games Festival Press Office at Cake: Stephanie Moses, T: 020 7307 3159, E: stephanie@cakegroup.com

About the Fringe...

The London Games Festival Fringe exists to promote and celebrate the wide variety of gaming experiences which - for whatever reason - currently fall outside the mainstream. Covering areas which are more theoretical, less commercial or more experimental than the main Festival, it aims to address:

* Independent game design, development and distribution - from UK startups to bedroom programmers

* Gaming "culture" in its many manifestations, and its relations with other media

* Games produced by artists, activists, or anyone else trying to do something other than purely entertain

* Alternate and augmented realities - going beyond consoles and computers to explore a new generation of "mobile" games involving the real world

* The use of games and game-like interactive techniques in education

* Technologies too far ahead (or far behind) of the cutting edge to be commercially viable

* The broader role of play in life, technological interaction, and creativity

* An outside-the-box look at the bigger games industry - where it's headed, what could be changed, and how to get a job in it anyway

The Fringe will comprise a series of events including exhibitions, seminars, masterclasses, participatory workshops and, of course, opportunities to play - aimed at a range of audiences, from those with a professional interest in the games industry to the inquisitive general public.

The London Games Festival and Fringe is supported by Creative London (London Development Agency), Arts Council England, TIGA, ELSPA, Bafta, 01zero-one and a range of developers, publishers and educational institutions.