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Cecil and Gibbons to host Beneath a Steel Sky BAFTA lecture

cecillecture

Charles Cecil and Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons are to host a BAFTA talk titled “Reinventing A Gaming Classic: iPhone "Beneath A Steel Sky” on October 5.

The present and future of narrative-based gaming is the order of the day, and there's a chance to get stuff signed by the luminaries on the night.

The session runs from 7.00pm until 8.00pm. Anyone can attend but for non-BAFTA members there’s a £5 charge.

Full details after the break.

From graphic novel to graphic adventure: legendary videogame designer Charles Cecil and Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons
to host BAFTA screening
7:00pm Monday, October 5th 2009: Gibbons and Cecil to discuss past, present and future of narrative-based gaming at BAFTA session; special commemorative comic presented to all attendees

10:00am Friday, 18th September 2009: Their previous collaborations have set new standards in videogame art and design – and now BAFTA nominated videogame designer Charles Cecil and Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons are to host their first public screening on October 5th at BAFTA, Piccadilly.

“Reinventing A Gaming Classic: iPhone "Beneath A Steel Sky” will be the first time the two luminaries publicly discuss their joint achievements – and offer a glimpse into the future of interactive storytelling with the announcement of their new long-term partnership which looks set to revolutionise the way the two arts mix.

The two first collaborated in 1994 on the multi-award-winning graphic adventure ‘Beneath a Steel Sky’. An enduring mix of complex storytelling and intelligent puzzle-solving, it remains one of the best examples of the genre – as iPhone and iPod touch owners will discover early next month when a ‘remastered’ version of the game is published for their systems.

Gibbons and Cecil have worked together on an ad-hoc basis over the past 15 years. The BAFTA session will premiere new material from ‘Beneath A Steel Sky – Remastered’, as Charles Cecil and Dave Gibbons discuss fresh gaming possibilities now each of their visions can be fully realised. The hour-long session will conclude with an open Q&A session – with attendees able to mingle with the pair in the bar afterwards.

In addition, those attending the session will be presented with a commemorative reprint of the original comic that accompanied the game’s initial release – with the opportunity to have these signed on the night.

“These are changing times for videogame design and development, and we’re tremendously excited about what we can both learn from each other in order to collectively advance the medium,” says Charles Cecil, founder, Revolution Software. “Previously, our collaborations have been reasonably disparate. Reuniting on Beneath A Steel Sky – Remastered has allowed us to appreciate the possibilities of the two mediums fully merging – and we hope to offer an insight into the past, present and future of the genre at this BAFTA screening.”

“Charles and I have become firm friends over the years, but we’ve always kept a reasonable professional distance, for some reason,” adds Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen. “He’d make games, I’d write comics and graphic novels – and occasionally we’d work together where we could. It was only once we sat down to discuss Beneath a Steel Sky – Remastered that we really explored what we could have done with modern gaming technology – and we’re looking forward to sharing our thoughts on the night.”

The session runs from 7:00pm until 8:00pm on Monday, 5th October 2009. Anyone can attend but for non-BAFTA members there’s a £5 charge (which includes a complimentary drink).

The event is likely to sell out fast as places are strictly limited. To reserve or book your place, please do so through BAFTA’s website at http://www.bafta.org/whats-on/ or directly at http://bit.ly/dDfEZ

For those unable to attend, the event will be podcast to subscribers of One Life Left, Europe’s only FM-broadcast videogame radio show. Subscription is free, through iTunes or www.onelifeleft.com

Beneath a Steel Sky – Remastered, will be available through the App store for both iPhone and iPod touch users in October 2009.

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Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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