THE BRIT LIST: HELPING HANDS
HELPING HANDS
DR JO TWIST, UKIE ED VAIZEY, MP
THE UK minister for culture, communications and creative industries has been one of the games industry’s most ardent supporters in Government. And that’s a good thing when you consider Vaizey has responsibilities at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport along with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was involved in securing the tax breaks for UK games developers, and continues to promote games within Government.
LAST week, Dr Jo Twist told MCV that attending the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco made her feel emotional, and that’s a better illustration than any about how much this industry means to her. Twist’s doctorate on online communities and identity involved a lot of video game time, because back in the ‘90s social networking wasn’t even a thing,
“I then fell into journalism where I wrote about games, then went and commissioned games and other interactive entertainment applications,” said Twist, referencing her time at the BBC and Channel 4. Twist has only been at UKIE for two years, and in that time the trade body has helped fund and promote the Next Gen Skills Campaign, has been active in getting tax breaks for UK developers, established PEGI as the main form of age ratings for video games and even began the process of putting together the first ever digital chart for PC games. And Twist is far from finished. “I want to see the tax credits through to the finishing line, to help
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our sector be amongst the top three global leaders, to see a rich diversity of people making and selling games and to see a thriving UK wide, confident network of Great British games businesses that are providing fulfilling careers for the next generation of girls and boys from all backgrounds.
“I also one day hope to actually own a cat and make a game.” Twist’s passion for games has helped make UKIE the most powerful trade body this industry has ever had, but she insists she could not do it without the help from her peers. “Andy Payne is a massive influence on me: his passion, energy and commitment is awe inspiring. Women like Siobhan Reddy and Alice Taylor are my personal heroines too and they are doing much to change the shape and nature of who we are. “But developers who talk at a personal level about why they made their games and the resilience they have had to have to make their games inspire me every day.”
GINA JACKSON, CREATIVE SKILLSET
SOFTWARE consultant, video game professor and associate at Creative Skillset, Jackson is a major player in growing businesses and educating the next generation. At Creative Skillset, she is actively involved in training to ensure the UK creative industries remain world class, and for over a year she was chief executive of Women In Games Jobs, to grow recruitment, retention and progressions of women in all video game disciplines.
IAN BAVERSTOCK, TENSHI VENTURES
BAVERSTOCK is a games industry veteran. He spent four years leading the 300-man games studio Kuju and has worked in the wider games industry, including as chairman at TIGA, Advisory Board member of the GDC and the design council, and director of the One Big Game charity initiative. Now he’s investing in businesses, advising studios and running Indie Royale at Tenshi Ventures.
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The following eleven individuals have helped make the UK video games industry a booming business that’s recognised by experts as a serious place to work
CHRIS LEE, INVESTOR AND ADVISOR
LEE co-founded FreeStyleGames in 2002, the team behind the critically acclaimed DJ Hero, and sold the company to Activision in 2008. After a brief stint at the publisher, he left and now uses his experience to invest and grow other outfits and studios. Companies he has backed and supported include rising stars such as PlayJam, EightPixelsSquare, Hutch Games and Future Games of London.
DAVID GARDNER, LONDON VENTURE PARTNERS
ONEof Gardner’s first jobs in games involved launching a growing US business called EA in Europe. Under his watch, EA’s international division became a $1bn business. In 2008, he joined Atari, and turned it into a specialist in digital and online games. Today he is one of the industry’s biggest investors at London Venture Partners, working alongside Phil Harrison, David Lau-Kee and Paul Haydon, and has supported the likes of Supercell, Natural Motion, Unity 3D and lots more.
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