The Norwich Gaming Festivalreturned for the third year with a record-breaking 52,000 visitors enjoying a free gaming festival at The Forum in Norwich.
The week-long festival which ran from 28 March – 2 April, celebrated the cultural, creative and educational aspects of the games industry and was a huge success, generating highly positive feedback.
Everything covered
Visitors of all ages came along to enjoy a range of engaging gaming experiences; with over 40 developers showcasing their games throughout the week including Henry Hoffman with Hue, Teaboy Games with Fallen and Chucklefish with Starbound.
Exhibition space was free for indie developers, to provide an accessible platform for exciting, unique gaming experiences.
In addition to the developer showcase, there were a range of workshops, talks and activities throughout the week – and even a gaming timeline where visitors could kick back and enjoy some retro classics.
Once again the festival we held two free Industry Days featuring talks from industry professionals such as Catherine Woolley (Senior Designer, Creative Assembly), Laura Kate Dale (Destructoid) and Paul Kilduff-Taylor (Mode 7, Frozen Synapse).
We're really thrilled with the reception of this year's gaming festival.Daniel Scales
The Industry Days – covered topics such as game design, programming and games journalism with 14 talks over the two Industry Days, all of which will be available to watch on the festival's YouTube channel soon.
Broad range
The festival received great feedback from exhibitors and attendees alike.
Phil Duncan, co-founder of Ghost Town Games (Overcooked) said: "Norwich Games Festival is one of the most unique and exciting games festivals we've ever been to. Nowhere else will you find such a broad range of games on offer and such an open, friendly audience so eager to play them!"
The Forum's lead education partner for the festival was Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) who have been involved since the festival's inception in 2013.
NUA run a BA in Games Art & Design and an MA in Games, and students showcased their work, gave talks and exhibited games throughout the festival. Additional educational support came from the University of East Anglia (UEA) who also hosted talks and ran workshops.
Accessible
Daniel Scales, one of the Norwich Gaming Festival organisers from The Forum, and co founder of Four Circle Interactive said:
"We're really thrilled with the reception of this year's gaming festival – and the inspiration that it provides for young people looking to delve into games as a career.
"This year, we offered young people the chance to exhibit games that they had developed at school or in their spare time – with our youngest exhibitor being just 11 years old.
"It's important for us to provide an accessible festival that proves that games really are for everyone – and we look forward to next year's festival."
