If you have an interest in videogames and interactive literature, then you may be tempted to come to the British Library for a free evening event on Thursday 3 December 2015, from 18:00 to 20:15. If so, go to the Eventbrite listing to book your place, but hurry - it may get fully booked!

Digital Conversations @BL: Games, Literature, Libraries and Learning is hosted in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Playing Beowulf project, and this event will discuss how digital games are being used for artistic, entertainment and educational purposes, offering new interpretations of literary and historical archival collections.

I'm delighted that Jordan Erica Webber, a freelance journalist specialising in games, is chairing the evening and we have a wonderful panel of speakers, which include:

Jon Ingold, Creative Director at inkle, an independent narrative game company, founded in 2011 by two Cambridge game developers with a passion for storytelling and beautiful design. Their game 80 Days, inspired by Jules Verne's classic adventure novel Around the World in Eighty Days, was Time Magazine's Game of the Year in 2014.

Annabel Smyth, Community/PR Manager at 3 Turn Productions, who are creating Ever, Jane, an on-line role-playing game set in  the virtual world of Regency England and the works of Jane Austen. Unlike many multi-player games, it's not about kill or be killed, but invite or be invited. Ever, Jane is currently in development and the final version is due out in 2016. 

Professor Andrew Burn, Professor of English, Media & Drama, and Director of the DARE centre, UCL Institute of Education.  Andrew leads the Playing Beowulf project, which is developing a game-authoring tool called MissionMaker that enables users to transform the Beowulf poem into digital games, interpreting the text into playable characters, landscapes and events.

Dr. Tomas Rawlings, Design & Production Director at Auroch Digital and its acclaimed news-gaming initiative GameTheNews.net. He is a also a games consultant who has worked with major organisations such as the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, UK Parliament and the BBC. He blogs at agreatbecoming.com. Tomas will talk about JtR125; a playable documentary reflecting on 125 years since Jack The Ripper terrorised London.

 

This short film from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) takes a look at partnerships between arts and humanities researchers, and the video games industry. You can see Tomas talking about his research from 1:00 to 2:50.

In addition to the Digital Conversations event on Thursday 3 December 2015, I'm also really excited about International Games Day at Your Library 2015 on Saturday 21 November 2015. As the British Library's Digital Research team are holding free game playing and making activities from 10:00 to 16:00. You don't need to book in advance for this, just turn up on the day and find us on the first floor in the public area outside the Rare Books and Music Reading Room.

Stella Wisdom Curator, Digital Research

@miss_wisdom