Press Release, September 2016

Hamburg, 9. September 2016. PLAY, the worldwide unique international creative gaming festival opens for all who are interested for the 9th time in the heart of Hamburg from the 2nd to the 6th of November.

This year under the motto ‘Let’s Get Physical – Game and Body’ PLAY16 is putting a special focus on the role the body plays both before and during a game. New technologies such as virtual and augmented reality offer innovative gaming experiences that go far beyond current gaming boundaries. During the festival attendees will be able to develop their own impressions at two exhibitions and will be able to explore exciting VR gaming concepts. The two PLAY exhibitions in the Kunsthaus Hamburg and in the Central Library in the Hünerposten include Indie Games, media art and analog type games. In addition, the „Game Culture Hamburg“ exhibition (also put together by the Initiative Creative Gaming) awaits the visitor in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. The interactive exhibits offer
games that you can put your hands on. Creations of various independent game developers as well as playable projects of several artists are on show.

And, what does one do when the sun sets in Hamburg and the city reveals a different face? PLAY at night offers numerous evening events involving gaming, culture and interactive discussions that are both multifaceted and entertaining. On November 3rd, visitors will be able to accompany Gunnar Lott and Christian Schmidt of the Stay Forever Podcast Project on a lively and entertaining archeological expedition through the history of virtual reality.
It is a story well known for its many misunderstandings. On November 3rd and 4th there will be a participative stage play under the direction of the media artist Friedrich Kirschner. His work has appeared in numerous international animation festivals, theaters and exhibitions.

The conferring of the International Creative Gaming Awards on November 5th in the Hamburg City Hall is a special highlight of the festival. Each year during PLAY, the Initiative Creative Gaming gives an award for the best creative (Newcomer) and game production prototypes and games. The award is given in three categories: Most Creative
Game, Most Innovative Newcomer and an Audience Award. Game developers across Europe are invited to submit their games for the competition. The games will be nominated by the Initiative Creative Gaming. They will be exhibited during the festival. The winners will be selected by a panel of professionals and by the festival attendees.
The last day of the festival Is devoted to the family. Attendees are invited to participate in open workshops which provide an opportunity for the entire family to play and make new discoveries. Here children and young people will be able to: build their own controller for a minigame with grandma, play their favorite PLAY Festival game with mom or tryout street games with dad. The Festival Sunday is designed to be an open games day providing opportunities for consultation and discussion.

Background:
PLAY is worldwide the first, and in this sense unique, festival that brings together the disciplines of media art, analysis, and education with the digital games culture. The Creative Gaming Festival is aimed at school children, parents, students, teachers, artists, games professionals and all who are concerned with technology and cultural content. But above all, it invites people of all ages to explore and learn the many possibilities to be found in computer games. PLAY demonstrates what happens when in digital games we don’t follow the rules of the game, but at the same time recognize games as an important cultural component. The five days of the festival also provide insights into the professional opportunities to be found in the games field.

Playing with games!
This is the motto of Initiative Creative Games, the festival organizer. Initiative Creative Gaming has been working in the art and education space since 2007 and has established itself as a pioneer in the application of computer games as creative media pedagogic tools. As the festival organizer Andreas Hedrich explains, “PLAY brings together young people, teachers, researchers, game professionals and those interested in culture in general. Together attendees of all ages experience new perspectives of the game culture and the possibilities offered by digital games”.
PLAY16 – Creative Gaming Festival
2. – 6. November 2016
Let’s Get Physical – Game & Body
For the complete programm with all details, events and ticket information visit: www.play16.de

If you have questions, require additional information or are interested in interviews or photographs, please
contact:
Tina Ziegler (Leitung Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit)
mobile: +49 (0)174-4440454
office: +49 (0)4521-84899-45
tina.ziegler@creative-gaming.eu
www.play16.de

Download press release September 2016

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment