Edinburgh Interactive Conference

Me and my team try to attend Edinburgh Interactive Conference most years, given that it takes place at a relatively quiet time in the year. I attended the conference yesterday, and Hilary and Caroline will attend today and tomorrow. Attendees at the conference include representatives of Google (who also gave a presentation), Channel 4, Scottish Television and the UK Government.

The conference focuses on computer games. The keynote, by Seamus Blackley, who was the man behind the development of the Xbox, was good. Seamus' message to developers was simple: concentrate on the "fun" (quality of your software) and not the "junk" (the business models). That talk was the highlight of the day for me but the subsequent talks were also interesting. I particularly enjoyed the talk entitled: "Are computer games art?". The conference continues today and tomorrow.

SQA has led the way in the creation of games-related qualifications, and has a varied portfolio of awards, which now includes NPAs, NCs, HNCs and HNDs ranging from SCQF Levels 4-8. Contact Hilary for more information about NPAs and NCs in this area; contact Caroline for the HN awards.