Games Frenzy
2024
The Agenda
The Frenzy is 3:30pm - 8:00 pm 16th of May at our Canary Wharf HQ.
Doors Open | 3:30pm |
Key Note from Barclays | 4:00pm |
State of Play - Games Industry UK | 4:10pm |
Round Tables 1-3 |
5:00pm |
Round Tables 4-6 | 5:50pm |
Networking (with Drinks and Food) | 6:30pm |
The Round tables
Round Table 1
Leadership Challenges for new Game Startups
Discussion focused on the main challenges around Leadership in new game startups (including planning, best practice, Team building etc.
Hosted by Melissa Philips
Melissa Phillips is an Executive Coach and Leadership Psychologist having accumulated 10 years of industry experience at the senior management level. Melissa's professional journey encompasses significant contributions across diverse sectors within the Games Industry. She has worked as Head of Studio, Operations Director and Consultant across a number of different Game Studios and Organisations as well as previously holding the position of Games Programme Manager at BAFTA Games where she worked to helped champion the BAFTA Crew and BAFTA Young Game Designer Programmes.
Melissa founded the Games Leadership Academy, an online training Academy dedicated to producing Leadership resources and training materials for the Games Industry. She is an experienced Coach and Consultant who holds a Diploma in Coaching from the University of Cambridge and is also an Associate Member of the Association for Coaching, a Coach Member of the International Coaching Federation and a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.
“I started the Games Leadership Academy because it felt like we were having lots of conversations in the Games Industry about what needed to change, but there were few spaces in which this awareness could be grown and come directly from the Games Industry itself.”
Round Table 2
Opportunities and Risks in Artificial Intelligence for Games
The recent boom in artificial intelligence technologies is having a significant impact on creative industries, and gaming is no exception. While there is much to be gained from the use of AI in the game development pipeline, there are also many hidden risks, costs, and potential issues. This round table aims to explore areas of opportunity (both for developers and in investment), emerging trends, areas of liability, and the challenges that are still as yet unresolved in the space.
Hosted by Tommy Thompson
Dr Tommy Thompson is the director of 'AI and Games' which provides development, consultancy, professional training, and communication services for artificial intelligence in the video games industry. He is largely known as a content creator on AI for video games, hosting both the YouTube channel 'AI and Games' and the 'Branching Factor' podcast, amassing millions of views, an audience worldwide, and recognition by the broader games industry. Before his work within games, Tommy was a university lecturer for 10 years in computer science, artificial intelligence, and game development; authoring over 50 peer-reviewed academic publications on in-game/AI research.
Round Table 3
Finding funding
A roundtable with a range of size of studio founders discussing what game development funding is available, how to apply for it, and how it should be deployed to best effect.
Hosted by Colin McDonnald
Over nearly 30 years Colin has overseen dozens of games, including the early Grand Theft Autos, Crackdown, and licences of Lemmings and Prince of Persia. Colin spent six years as Channel 4 Television’s Games Commissioner, and now runs Games Jobs Live, advises Rivet Games, facial animation specialists Speech Graphics and Johnston Carmichael's Tech Advisory Board, hosts Games Talks Live industry events, publishes the monthly Games Opportunities newsletter for developers looking for funding/development opportunities, and is Portfolio Manager of the £5m Content Fund at The UK Games Fund.
Round Table 4
Insert Credits here: Moving from VGTR to VGEC
This round table hosted by the BFI Certification Unit with Saffery Partner, Isla MacGillivray will talk through the changes of Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR) to Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC). Introduced on 1st January 2024, VGEC is replacing the VGTR. The session will focus on what has changed and what hasn’t, the timelines and how to claim and why all UK Games Developers should be claiming VGTR or VGEC.
Hosted by Anna Mansi & Isla MacGillivray
As Director of Video Games and Certification, Anna works closely with key stakeholders in government and across all of the Screen Sectors to provide advice and guidance on the application processes for all of the cultural tests, co-production treaties and policies relating to all of the Creative Sector tax reliefs for film, High-end, Animation Television, Children’s Television and Video Games. Anna regularly speaks on panels at conferences and events to promote the tax reliefs such as the Children’s Media Conference, the Develop Games conference and many others. In addition Anna has organised BFI led seminars and events for all the Screen Sectors. She is in the GI Biz 100 women in the UK Games Industry and Anna is a trustee for the Video Games industry’s charity ‘Games Aid’ and an ambassador for AutisticaPlay the video games arm of the charity Autistica, She is also a Patron for Safe in Our World, the video games industry mental health charity. She is also a member of BAFTA and Women in Film and TV.
Isla is a Partner in the Film and Television Team at Saffery and has worked within the creative industry sector for over 10 years.
Isla provides a range of services in relation to the UK Creative Industry tax reliefs and expenditure credits, including; advising producers on how to access UK creative industry tax incentives; advising on British cultural test qualification and attaining co-production status for films, TV programmes and video games; advising on multi-territorial production structures and financing arrangements; evaluating budgeted production expenditure for qualification of tax relief and/or expenditure credits, providing opinion letters for financiers and assisting clients with statutory audits, accounts and tax compliance. Her client base includes film, television and video game production & distribution companies, commissioning producers and rights owners across a range of large US and UK studios to small budget independent producers as well as other corporate entities which operate in the film, TV and video games industries.
Round Table 5
Prioritising mental health during uncertain times
Mental health plays a crucial role when navigating uncertainty. These times can trigger a range of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and stress, which can take a toll on mental well-being if not properly managed. In this session we will discuss ways to cultivate good mental health practices in the workplace so both leaders and their teams can better cope with uncertainty and thrive amidst change.
Hosted by Sarah Sorell
Mental health plays a crucial role when navigating uncertainty. These times can trigger a range of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and stress, which can take a toll on mental well-being if not properly managed. In this session we will discuss ways to cultivate good mental health practices in the workplace so both leaders and their teams can better cope with uncertainty and thrive amidst change.
Round Table 6
Social Media in Games Marketing
Social Media in Games Marketing - A dynamic round table about leveraging social media for community building, engagement & cost-effective discovery
Hosted by Mark Purdy
Mark is the co-founder of Disobey, a UK-based games marketing agency. With a prior six-year tenure as a full-time content creator, growing an audience of 400,000 across Twitch and YouTube, he implemented the learnings of working with countless large brands into Disobey with a fresh perspective