The VFX Secrets of Dumbledore

Christian Manz | Framestore

From the groundbreaking days of Harry Potter to the cutting edge artistry of Fantastic Beasts films, the Wizarding World has helped drive the VFX industry forward. Hear Framestore's Creative Director, Film discuss his incredible career in VFX and how it has intersected with the Wizarding World - most recently serving as overall supervisor on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore.

Untold Studios Presents the Super Bowl Hit Frito-Lay 'Push It'

Suvi Jokiniemi | Untold Studios
Carlo Carfora | Untold Studios

Join Untold Studios' VFX Lead Suvi Jokiniemi and Lighting Supervisor Carlo Carfora for a behind the scenes look at how the BAFTA and EMMY nominated team made the Super Bowl hit spot 'Push It'. 45 artists from around the globe teamed together to create seven photoreal creatures at record speed. The chorus of singing and break-dancing creatures include a sloth, fox, croc, bear, and deer along with a bird voiced by Megan Thee Stallion and a herd of head bopping buffalo.

Directing as a New Mum

Alexandra Davy | Blue Zoo

A walkthrough being a first-time director, first time mum, and full time storyboard artist all wrapped up in a neat little package!

Exploring Animation Styles - From Sonic to Optimus Prime

Marion Strunck | The Mill

Join Marion Strunck from The Mill give a little analysis about the various animation styles and processes found in Advertising, showcasing a commercial for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Direct Line's latest collaboration featuring Optimus Prime.

The Differences between Cinematic and Gameplay Animation

Sophie Shepherd | Creative Assembly
Chloe Bonnet | Creative Assembly

Chloe Bonnet and Sophie Shepherd will showcase what the differences are between their disciplines. They will compare their experiences working at Creative Assembly, they'll outline the areas where both specialties meet and where they diverge. A talk for animation students interested in understanding game development specialisms.

Narrative Design in The Dark Pictures Anthology

Tom Heaton | Supermassive Games

Exploring the process around narrative design in The Dark Pictures Anthology.

LUNCH

Lunch break

Game Development in the North East (NE) panel

Bruce Slater | Radical Forge
Sally Blake | Silent Games
Kimberley Turner | Double Eleven
Dom Shaw | Ukie

Join us for a fantastic panel of speakers from some amazing North East studios as they discuss game development and the state of play in the North East region of the UK.

Hear from the following studios: SockMonkey Studios, Double Eleven, Radical Forge, Ubisoft, Silent Games, with panel chair by Dom Shaw from Ukie and #RaiseTheGame.

BREAK

A 30 minute break

Making Mexico: How Playground Games re-created the vibrant, diverse open-world Mexico in Forza Horizon 5

Gareth Harwood | Playground Games

See behind the scenes in how Playground Games re-created the vibrant, diverse open-world of Mexico in Forza Horizon 5. Learn about the creation of individual needles on the desert cactus, to the sprawling historic cities, the challenges of building dense lush jungle and vast volcano topped vistas and how the endless, fun driving experience culminates to create the Ultimate Horizon Adventure.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands: A Pipeline, Development, & World Building Adventure

Kate Pitstick | Gearbox Software

Game development is challenging at the best of times. Figuring out how to work through both local and global disasters makes it more so. We'll take a look at how world building was done for TTWL, and some of the tools used to remotely develop Gearbox's newest IP.

CLOSE

Todays event closes

Sifu Combat Animation

Kevin Roger | SloClap
Maxime Blondeel | SloClap

Finding the right game feel, while staying true to Martial Arts.

How Impactful UI Can Transform Your Game

Edd Coates | Game UI Database

UI (User Interface) Design is one of the most important, yet misunderstood artforms in game development. Many studios still haven't fully realised its transformative potential in their games. From the modest minimalism in Breath of the Wild to the comic-book constructivism of Sonic Forces, great UI not only makes navigating the game fun, but it also defines its visual identity and branding. Join Game UI Database founder Edd Coates as he explores the principles of impactful game UI, as well as some tips and tricks that you can use to create a unique and memorable experience for your players.

LUNCH

Animex breaks for lunch

KUNG-FU & SPEEDPAINTING | Sifu's Art Direction & World Building approach

Paul-Emile Boucher | SloClap
Marwan Ghandri | SloClap

A talk about Kung-fu cinema, painterly aesthetic, and how these inspirations impacted production through world structure, graphic style and lighting.

BREAK

A 30 minute break.

Your Accessibility Career: From Student to Full-Fledge Developer

Chris Goodyear | Many Cats Studios

Accessibility is the new normal for development. A project can not afford to forget about it and be unsupportive to their players. But if your a novice with accessibility, where do you start? Whether you are a student or developer, Chris will help you get started and learning about accessibility.

A Lot to Unpack: the Tools and Pipelines of Unpacking

Tim Dawson | Witch Beam Games
Wren Brier | Witch Beam Games

Unpacking may have won players over with its simplicity, but there’s actually a lot going on under the hood! Join developers Wren Brier and Tim Dawson on a tour of the many tools and processes that brought to life a game that features 8 time periods, 35 rooms, 1000+ unique items and 14,000 foley sounds. In a game where small details count, being able to easily iterate is crucial. This behind the scenes look will cover how the game was made and many lessons learned along the way.