Moving forward is the theme of this year’s festival. Moving into a new decade – the Rose d’Or’s sixth.
Moving into an era of entertainment on all screens – from the traditional TV set to smartphones and iPads. Moving closer to the people who are watching entertainment programmes on all those screens. This movement is also reflected in the festival’s supporting programme, for example at the Game World Playground.
Game world meets television world
Game World Playground is an interactive exhibition, where leading creators and developers of game software and technologies from Switzerland can present their games to television producers and the general public. It is aimed at promoting a dialogue between manufacturers of computer games and the world of television and providing both sides with new insights. Changes in media use mean the link between these two entertainment sectors is becoming noticeably more important and opening up totally new potential for both.
The Game Design Department of Zurich Art College (ZHdK) is staging the Game World Playground. Apple Switzerland and «Game Culture», a programme run by the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia, are supporting the platform, which has the primary objective of providing clarification and explanations. «Computer games are a fixed component of everyday culture, a cultural asset – and the one which young people consume most,» says Sylvain Gardel, Project Director at Pro Helvetia. You cannot describe today’s everyday reality with sweeping statements. There are now very many games with significant content. Some of them are even made in Switzerland: «Although there is no industry for this in Switzerland in a conventional sense, there is a very creative, independent scene, especially in Zurich and Geneva, which is developing challenging games.» According to Mr. Gardel, there are approximately 200 Swiss designers and companies that have the potential to attract the attention of the global market, a market that records sales of 10 billion annually.
Try out the latest games for yourself
The name says it all at the Rose d’Or Festival’s Game World Playground. Visitors will not just get an insight into the future of the games world. They will also have the opportunity to try out games at the game stations – some of them have been developed by students at ZHdK, and others by successful game developers on the Swiss market. Well-known Swiss developers will be presenting their latest games during Game Hour.
Game World Playground is open to the public in the Hotel Schweizerhof Lucerne from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday, 19th September, and from 2 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, 20th September and Tuesday, 21st September. Game Hour is also open to the public from 11 a.m. until 12 noon on Sunday, 19th September.