BAFTA Update

Written by Brock Poulsen, brockst4r Wednesday, 21 December 2011 09:00

BAFTA is the British Academy of Film and Television arts, an organization that seeks to honor great accomplishments in film, television, video games, and other media. They've recently launched a site called BAFTA Guru, which will look beyond (and behind) the awards to the minds and processes that create the media we enjoy on a daily basis. It launched just last month, October of 2011, and there is already an enormous amount of information available to those of us interested in these rapidly growing industries.

Update: BAFTA recently held their annual games conference featuring Mass Effect developers Bioware. They’ve uploaded the full lecture to BAFTA Guru, and we’ve got a great preview video featuring some highlights of the event and Q&A which you can see here (scroll down to the bottom of the article).

One of the first things to notice about guru.bafta.org is the depth of information available. You can find articles not just about something like television in general, but about animation, costumes & makeup, screenwriting, producing, or several other very specific pieces that form the larger picture of creating media. The site is very industry minded; rather than articles focusing on a specific game or franchise, the interviews and articles are much higher-level, telling stories and relating experiences about life within the gaming industry.

The interview with Nolan Bushnell, who was instrumental in the invention of Pong and later founded Atari, was revelatory for many reasons. The history of arcade machines and the very beginnings of the video game industry is fascinating, and this man was at the very forefront of that beginning. He has some very interesting ideas about interaction and what games should be. Whether or not you agree with him, he has a unique perspective on games, and these types of discussions are what will drive innovation in the industry.

There are interviews with Will Wright (the Sims), Peter Molyneux (Populous, the Fable series), individuals from Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet), and many other great minds behind great games.

Overall, the site is taking more of a cerebral approach to games discussion. Media has the power to displace us from our minds and transport us to a different world. Games are increasingly becoming accepted as a valid art form, which means increased scrutiny and criticism, as well as increased awareness from those previously unaware or ambivalent.

There has always been a resistance to new interaction and media (Will Wright's lecture addresses this extremely well), and as gamers we have the privilege of proudly representing gaming as it spreads into the "mainstream." Sites like Guru take an honest, professional approach to making games, and it's a great resource for those looking to break into the games industry, or those simply interested in a better understanding of how our favorite hobby works. These are the types of discussions and articles that will help to improve the public opinion of gamers and the gaming industry.

Below is a video featuring the eminent Will Wright, who addresses the issue of gaming addiction in a unique way. For more BAFTA videos, visit here. 

Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site

Update: Preview video featuring some highlights of the BAFTA annual games conference featuring Mass Effect developers.

Dim lights Embed Embed this video on your site