The games capital of the world
Ahead of this year’s London Games Festival, Chris Wallace catches up with Michael French and David Lilley to find out more about the festivities, including their brand new consumer event
T
he London Games Festival is making a very welcome return this year, taking place online and in person from Friday
the 1st April to Sunday the 10th of April. And after the challenges of the last two years, we certainly approve of Games London’s mission statement of making London the “games capital of the world.” And not only because one half of MCV/DEVELOP happens to be based here. As with every year, there’s a whole host of
events taking place over the nine day festival, with highlights such as the Games Finance Market, the BAFTA Games Awards as well as the brand new consumer event, W.A.S.D. Festivities kick off on the 1st, with an outdoor
exhibition at Trafalgar Square showcasing, among other things, the games chosen for this year’s Official Selection. We’ll let Michael French, head of games at Games London take us through it.
26 | MCV/DEVELOP March 2022 “Games London runs the umbrella brand
festival,” says French. “We see it as like being akin to London Fashion Week or London Film Festival. It’s an umbrella brand that lets other events under it, and we run some of the events ourselves. I’ve been running it since 2016, and it’s a really, really useful way to do it. It means that things like W.A.S.D. can join the schedule, BAFTA Games can join the schedule… It’s just overall a really good mix of content.” Kicking things off is the aforementioned
outdoor takeover of Trafalgar Square: the event’s ensemble collection showcasing some of the games in their official selection. “Given the current mood right now, it’s not
a come down and play games sort of thing,” says French. “It’s out in public, representing the game sector, representing the diversity and creativity here. It’s pictures, illustrations, artwork, all revealing that.
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