ELECTRIFYING 'GAMEHOTEL SOIREE' AND STYLISH FIRST 'GAMEPROMENADE'
Following successful shows in Paris, California, and at Gamescom Cologne, Gamehotel, the international think tank and event series on interactive entertainment, returned to Zurich for a fourth consecutive year, showcasing two new formats: The electrifying Gamehotel Soirée, and the stylish Gamepromenade.
The annual trend showcase kicked off with the exclusive Gamehotel Soirée featuring a roster of luminaries from the world of interactive entertainment. Over 40'000 visitors experienced the first Gamepromenade, Gamehotel’s novel concept expo on interactive entertainment.
Among the many highlights of the select Gamehotel Soiree was the captivating Battle of Ideas. Gamehotel director Bruno Beusch brought together leading industry figures and promising newcomers to exchange ideas in a fast-paced multi-round battle on the present and future of interactive entertainment, based around the theme of „Reinventing Fun – From Games to Entertainment.“ An excellent opportunity for the audience to get firsthand insight into an industry that is currently reinventing itself between music, film and social media, shaking up the global entertainment landscape along the way.
World premiere: The first carbon-neutral game
The top-notch lineup was headed by Matias Myllyrinne, CEO of legendary developer Remedy Entertainment and creator of “Max Payne”. He impressed the audience with a glimpse behind the scenes of the upcoming psychological action thriller “Alan Wake”, largely inspired by successful TV series. More great live action happened as Kevin McSherry, Head of Studio, and Daniel Neil, Music Director, at FreeStyleGames demoed their upcoming music game “DJ Hero”, brilliantly supported on stage by former turntablist world champion DJ Blakey. Alex Amsel, CEO of British developer Tuna, and Marten Brüggemann from Sweden, delighted the audience with presentations of their new titles that give a refreshing spin to existing game genres. Jeroen Ellferich, CEO of Amsterdam-based production company Ex Machina, added his highly inspiring views on the massive potential of linking up interactive entertainment, television and social media.
The electrifying talkshow extravaganza peaked with a dramatic finale when the interactive entertainment visionairies developed, live on stage, the world’s very first carbon-neutral game. The tongue-in-cheek concept of a futuristic ecogame played with a biodegrabable flower controller was voted the clear winner by the thrilled audience.
Gamepromenade: Concept expo on interactive entertainment
The by invitation only Gamehotel Soirée was followed by the publicly accessible Gamepromenade. Over 40'000 delighted visitors strolled through the novel pop-up concept expo, which transformed the futuristic urban entertainment and shopping destination “Sihlcity” into the first Gamepromenade.
Largely inspired by the look and feel of fashionable Parisian concept stores, the Gamepromenade staged interactive entertainment as a rich, shared experience for people from all walks of life. British designer Guy McKinley decorated stylish urban entertainment islands that invited shoppers and passersby to explore the multi-layered connections between today’s communication, shopping and interactive entertainment landscapes. Passersby and game aficionados alike gladly took the opportunity to discover the season’s interactive entertainment highlights and browse seamlessly between real and virtual worlds.
| 02/11/2009 | Link |
