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Hannah Tovey, conference manager at NewBay Media (pictured right), talks about what’s in store for this year’s Future Games Summit.
Three months ago, as part of my role as conference manager here at NewBay Media, I was asked to research content for a gaming conference – namely the Future Games Summit. I’m not going to lie, up until 12 weeks ago the last proper game I played was Super Mario Land on my Nintendo Game Boy, and that was in 1994. I say “proper game,” because I don’t think playing Heads Up! at 2am counts.
I grew up in Hong Kong where arcade games are the beating heart of the city, but instead of spending my time immersing myself in the weird and wonderful games on offer (there were lots of fishing games, but then again, we are a harbour city), I spent all my time in photo booths with my friends creating stickers of our faces. Knowing what I know now about this incredibly vibrant industry, I wish I’d spent my time more wisely.
When I tell people I work in conference production, they tend to look a bit bemused. My father still thinks I stand in exhibition halls with literature racks, but thankfully that’s not at all accurate. It all starts with a research topic, this time being the exploration of the future of gaming, and from there I go about speaking to, meeting with, and outright harassing, anyone and everyone within the sector to give me all the insight I need to make a valuable and insightful programme.
First port of call – play a game! I was advised to start with The Room, and I was amazed at how quickly I was hooked. How have I never experienced this glorious game before? I’m so excited for the fourth instalment, and I love how its promotional copy describes the protagonists as “the ambitious engineer and his high-society wife.” It’s like a much cooler version of Emmerdale.
Future Games Summit has more than just amazing speakers; it’s an opportunity to rub shoulders with the industry’s brightest minds.
Hannah Tovey, NewBay Media
With eight weeks to go before the doors of the Congress Centre swing open, I’m really proud of where we are with the programme. We have an incredible line-up of speakers from the likes of Facebook, Blizzard, Xbox, Ubisoft, Toxic Games, Sony, Team17, Unreal Engine, Revolution, Spirit AI, Jagex, Supermassive Games and many more, covering a wealth of topics including AR, blockchain, influencer marketing, narrative storytelling, VR, streaming, mixed reality and everything in between.
We’ve also got a half-day esports workshop on Thursday November 2nd, a game jam that will bring together teams of developers (and aspiring game developers) for a development challenge on site under the theme of Man vs. Nature, and speed networking sessions to help you break the ice and connect with fellow game enthusiasts. It’s also important to note that there will be many opportunities to chill out with a beer or five.
Future Games Summit has more than just amazing speakers, roundtables and seminars; it’s an opportunity to reconnect with the industry and rub shoulders with the brightest and boldest minds in interactive entertainment. I hope to see as many of you there as possible, but if you have any questions, please drop me an email at htovey@nbmedia.com or head to www.futuregamessummit.com
Hannah is conference manager at NewBay Media, where she identifies and develops seminars, conferences and awards programmes across the gaming, music, technology and broadcast sectors. She’s originally from South Wales, but grew up in Hong Kong before coming back to the UK to study at university.
