Play Blackpool May 2,3,4 2015

[DDNI]

Anyone planning on going?

http://www.playblackpool.com/

[kipper2k]

would love to be able to get there. always liked Blackpool

[DDNI]

lol That would be some trek for you!

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by DDNI

lol That would be some trek for you!

yah, i did actually go there last year too, April is not really the month for Blackpool, but, it doesn't rain in the pubs. fish and chips wasn't all that good eiher, my brother cooks an awesome fish n chips

[amigakit.com]

We will most probably be there too. We attended last year.

[fitzsteve]

I'd like to go, the first replay in Blackpool was without doubt the best meet I've been to with my AmiFriends

I didn't enjoy the Manchester 'Play Expo' events as much.

Ahh, the memories... http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php...m-R3tr0-R3play!

[Adrian Browne]

I've been meaning to go. it's supposed to be a lot of fun.

[lifeschool]

Hi gang,

You dont mind if I post official news here do you??

Here is something to get you in the mood.

The classic arcade will be returning to Play Blackpool.
Retro Games Party (RGP) those purveyors of the very finest of arcade machines will be supplying cabinets again for this year’s show. The arcade is always one of the most popular features at our events so we're pleased to be able to confirm we will have 80 machines this year, all set to free play.

Expect to see all your favourites - Space Harrier, Pacman, Star Wars, Galaxian or perhaps Outrun and give smashing your personal best one more go. If beating a PB isn't your thing, come and watch Jon Stoodley try and get the perfect game on Pacman instead. Jon was so close at last year’s expo - is Play Blackpool finally going to be the show where he achieves his dream?

We will confirm which machines will be making an appearance closer to the event. Feel free to send post any suggestions to us of what you would like to see and we'll pass them onto the RGP team. We can’t promise they will be able to bring every cab requested but we’ll do our best to make sure we have all the favourites!

So come and wallow in some lovely arcade nostalgia at Play Blackpool 2015 because, after all, Blackpool is the Daddy of seaside arcades!


First wave of indies confirmed for Play Blackpool.
Last year we delivered you a Smorgasbord of indie titles at Play Blackpool and we're continuing with our commitment to supporting indie studios this year. We already have several studios confirmed for Play Blackpool 2015 and many more to come.

Back to Basics Gaming - Terra Incognita - http://www.backtobasicsgaming.com/

The world of Terra is slowly falling into chaos. A great war is coming and it’s time to take up arms against a corrupt royal family. You must travel across this huge world and unite the nations of Terra, recruiting comrades along the way.

Tall Studios - Shoot 'Em Up Kit - http://www.tallstudios.com/

The Shoot ‘Em Up Kit enables anyone to create a professional looking game without the need for programming. By focusing on a single genre the Shoot ‘Em Up Kit is able to provide the tools, assets and options for making great shmups; whether that is side-scrollers, vertical scrollers, third-person, 2D, 3D or a whole new style no-one has dreamed of yet.

New Reality Games - Data Hacker: Reboot - http://www.newrealitygames.co.uk/

The stage is set for a struggle that spans many Worlds and their people; a struggle that is bigger than any man, woman or child. Who knows what trials you will face, what adversity you will defy in your quest for the true meaning of existence?

Applications are still open for Indie developers looking to showcase their game at Play Blackpool. To register your interest and for more info, simply complete the form on the website contact page choosing the option ‘Exhibitor Enquiry’.


Even more GamesThatWeren't
One of our more unusual features last year was our GamesThatWeren't (GTW) feature. GTW is a website dedicated to news around the world about unreleased games, incomplete games or prototype games and findings.

This year we'll be bringing you even more Games that literally weren't with the help of Frank Gasking, one of the site creators and with some contributions to the display from some of our Special Guests. More on that to be revealed in due course!

Frank will be bringing his personal C64 setup containing the entire GTW64 collection to load up titles and demonstrate any new findings as part of the feature. He will be on hand to talk about the archive, how it was started and discuss their best findings so far.

If you are a games developer and you have unreleased games or code you’d like to see at the event, please get in touch and we will add your contributions to the games on display at the show.



Andrew Oliver confirmed as first guest for Play Blackpool

Andrew and his brother Philip Oliver initially rose to fame as the ‘Oliver Twins’ in the 1980s when they developed several hugely successful franchises, including the ‘Dizzy’ adventures and the ‘Simulator’ series.

Andrew co-founded Blitz Games Studios with Philip in 1990, where he guided the company in all technical aspects. Along with the team, he developed many original and licensed games and worked with huge clients such as Activision, Electronic Arts, Hasbro, Microsoft, THQ, Namco, Konami, Intel, Disney, DreamWorks and Sony.

Andrew is now responsible for the technical side of Radiant Worlds.

The Oliver Twins said "We’re really looking forward to reminiscing at Play Blackpool about our last 30 years in games, as well as looking forward to predicting a little of what the future holds. Our influences and experiences have taken us on an amazing journey since the Dizzy days and we can’t wait to show everyone the cool new stuff our team is creating on our latest title SkySaga."

As well as giving a talk, Andrew will be contributing to our GamesThatWeren't feature and will be on-hand to sign some of your memorabilia.

We also have something very special lined up with the team at Radiant Worlds. We will reveal all soon…


RetroCollect spear-heading Retro Tournaments
Can anyone image a Replay show without the RetroCollect boys and girls running tournaments? No, neither can we! So when we started making plans for this year's Play Blackpool one of our first ports of call was RetroCollect HQ armed with Jelly Babies to bribe the team. Thankfully no bribing was needed and the Jelly Babies were shared out equally during the meeting.

The guys are keeping their plans for Play Blackpool under a veil of secrecy - it's a need to know basis and even we don't have the right level of security clearance. All we know is that it will be 'completely awesome' and there will be a selection of gaming challenges so diverse there will be something for even the most casual of gamers.

Also, wearing two different hats during the weekend will be RetroCollects Katsu aka RetroGradeGamer. Pioneer of the 'one shot challenge' Katsu is also keeping tight-lipped on his plans but you can bet it will involve Shmups!

Classic Gaming Championship heat confirmed for Play Blackpool
The UK's first and only National Classic Gaming Championships will return in 2015 with a heat scheduled for Play Blackpool. A full announcement will be made through the CGE website very soon on all other planned heats, but competitive gamers should mark Play Blackpool in their diaries as one of the locations for this years' championships.

For a run down on what happened throughout last year in the Funstock.co.uk Classic Gaming Championships, head over to the dedicated website. If you think you have what it takes to be the 2015 UK Classic Gaming Champion, better get your game on - there is some serious competition out there...



We will be providing more updates in the coming days and weeks and more press releases will be issued soon. Below are our social media links for your convenience...

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

Please remember to comment, share and like our posts as they appear.

We really appreciate your support, your articles, social media and all your videos. Your support is vital to the show success.

Play Blackpool takes place on 2-4 May 2015 at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre in Blackpool. Tickets can be purchased through the website www.playblackpool.com.

Andy Brown,
Director,
Replay Events Ltd.

[lifeschool]

PLAY NEWS
The arcade is always one of the most popular features at our events so we're pleased to be able to confirm we will have 80 machines this year, all set to free play. We will announce some of the games on our facebook page closer to the event.

Expect to see all your favourites - Space Harrier, Pacman, Star Wars, Galaxian or perhaps Outrun and give smashing your PB one more go.

If setting a Personal Best isn't your thing, come and watch Jon Stoodley try and get the perfect game on Pacman instead. Jon was so close at last year’s expo, reaching the fabled 'split screen' - is Play Blackpool finally going to be the show where he achieves his dream?
Find out More!


Radiant Worlds
As well as presenting attendees with an exclusive hands-on preview of their brand new game, some of the Radiant Worlds team will be on hand to chat with players and offer some pointers on how to play.

Chief Technical Officer Andrew Oliver will also give a developer talk and take part in a Q&A session about the game and its progress.

Andrew and his brother Philip Oliver initially rose to fame as 'The Oliver Twins’ in the 1980s when they developed several hugely successful franchises, including the ‘Dizzy’ adventures and the ‘Simulator’ series.

“I’m very much looking forward to Play Expo in Blackpool in May where I’ll be reminiscing about the 80’s and making classic games like the Dizzy series and many other best sellers for Amstrads, Spectrums and other 8 bit computers. Since then I’ve been leading teams making games for virtually every gaming platform and I’m particularly proud of our latest game, SkySaga. I look forward to presenting this game and giving people the opportunity play SkySaga in the expo area. I hope to be around most of the time to chat to people about the games industry.”

SkySaga: Infinite Isles is an open world sandbox game where players have their own persistent home worlds that they can customise however they wish. The game is currently in closed alpha testing.

In SkySaga: Ininite Isles you create and follow your own path to success, combining skills and tools to suit your needs. Every action you take defines you – the way you look, the tools and weapons you make, your home island, and the challenges you overcome.

As well as giving a talk, Andrew will be contributing to our GamesThatWeren’t feature and will be on-hand to sign some of your memorabilia.
Find out More!

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

Please remember to comment, share and like our posts as they appear.

We really appreciate your support, your articles, social media and all your videos. Your support is vital to the show success.

Play Blackpool takes place on 2-4 May 2015 at the Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre in Blackpool. Tickets can be purchased through the website www.playblackpool.com.

[TMR]

i think it's actually got to the point where i'm a fixture and they'd be surprised if i didn't turn up! i'm taking the "unmanned rig" again so look for some HP L1706 VGA monitors with a C64 with a neon blue power light, an A600HD and an Atari 8-bit (not sure what else is going yet) connected and those'll be mine but you might have to wait for me to wander past. =-)

[Dastardly]

I'll be there on the Saturday, loitering around the Commodore area as usual

[lightcycle]

i'm going on the sunday.might see you there.

[lifeschool]

Grand Prix Experience!
Have you ever wanted to be a racing driver? Well now is your chance as we bring a full sized Formula One race car featuring state of the art simulation software. For a small charge you can try your hand at proving you are the next Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel?!

The full size Formula One simulator uses recreation suspension components to provide the closest possible replication of a Formula One car. The simulator also uses genuine Formula One wheels and Pirelli tyres, further adding to the realism. The added effects of the force feedback steering, paddle-shift gears, the inbuilt rumble pack and the stunning sound effects provided by the 5.1 speaker system, really provide the closest experience you will ever get to driving a Formula One car.




http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

Hewson Consultants Panel confirmed!



We are able to confirm another guest for Play Expo today. In fact it is plural this time – we have a number of guests!

Hewson Consultants are 35 years old this year and to celebrate this great occasion we invited Andrew Hewson to Play Blackpool, along with a few other Hewson alumni for a panel talk and Q&A session.

Andrew said “It’s a privilege to be invited along to Play Expo Blackpool and I’m especially pleased about having the opportunity to interact with the retrogaming community face to face. Their passion, enthusiasm and level of knowledge never ceases to amaze and delight.”

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

Llamasoft return to Blackpool!
As confirmed on their YakYak forum, the Llamasoft dynamic duo, Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin, will be back for their 7th Replay show in a row! They always bring something amazing to blow our minds, so we can’t wait to see what they have up their tie-dyed sleeves this year!

Hi Guys, as every year, even this year Llamasoft will be present at Blackpool Replay 2015 event , this one to be precise – http://www.playblackpool.com/

Again, we’ll be demonstrating some VR stuff!

Still preparing stuff .. there’s a “mini” “secret plan” going on .. we’ll see ..
So if you can “don’t miss Blackpool we’ll be there”

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

Dave Rowe Special Guest!

David Rowe, the artist behind some of the most loved video game box art (such as Speedball, Ant Attack and James Pond) and the cult children’s TV show Knightmare will be appearing at PLAY Blackpool!




David will be taking part in a talk and QA session as well as selling deluxe prints of his wonderful artwork.

The talk will be heavily illustrated using a feed from my iPad and I will cover what it was like to be an illustrator in the early Eighties and how I got into doing games covers.

With no email, social media or web sites and no art packages to work with, everything was done by drawing and painting using real pencils and real paint. Sending half-tone drawings by fax for approval was state-of-the-art technology back then!

I will show roughs, sketches and final artwork plus the printed inlays on a selection of well-known titles and describe my remembered anecdotes.

I will also talk about the Knightmare TV series and our Indiegogo campaign for The Art of Knightmare, including a video that includes Hugo Myatt in his role as Treguard performing against chromakeyed Knightmare room backgrounds. I will explain the process and how it was such a leap forward at the time.

I am hoping to meet some of the many people in the retro gaming community that I have had contact with over the last few years and bringing some of my stored artwork into the light of day.

Regards,
David

For more, check out his game artwork here:
https://davidroweblog.wordpress.com/


http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

More from The Oliver Twins



We previously told you that we would have the UK’s first hands on preview of SkySaga from Radiant Worlds, the company created by industry legends The Oliver Twins. We also told you that Andrew Oliver would be in attendance to talk about the game and also the history of the Oliver Twins’ games. Well, we can now announce that Andrew will be joined by his brother Philip, meaning we now have both of the famous Oliver Twins at Play Blackpool!

Andrew and Philip will take part in two talks on the Saturday of the show at 1PM and 3PM. The first will be a reminiscent look back at their back catalogue and the life of a bedroom coder in 1980s. Then at 3PM they will talk about their ambitious new project, SkySaga: Infinite Isles, and some of the team will be on hand with the game playable on the expo floor.

Andrew and Philip rose to fame as ‘The Oliver Twins’ in the 1980s when they developed several hugely successful franchises, including the ‘Dizzy’ adventures and the ‘Simulator’ series, published by Codemasters.

So don’t forget to bring your Dizzy games and other items for the Oliver Twins to autograph!

“We’re very much looking forward to Play Expo in Blackpool in May where we’ll be reminiscing about the 80’s and making classic games like the Dizzy series and many other best sellers for Amstrads, Spectrums and other 8 bit computers. Since then we’ve been leading teams making games for virtually every gaming platform and we’re particularly proud of our latest game, SkySaga. We look forward to presenting this game and giving people the opportunity play SkySaga in the expo area. We hope to be around most of the time to chat to people about the games industry.”

-Andrew and Philip Oliver

Check out their Let's Play series on youtube:
[ Show youtube player ]

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

Event Next Weekend!!

Lucy Lowe Attending!

As confirmed on their Uncle ART kickstarter page, Lucy Lowe will be attending the Play Blackpool event.

If you see her, please do say Hi.



Holly Wrote:

"We have Lucy going to the Replay retrogaming event Play Blackpool next weekend; where 6000 retrogamer enthusiasts will be all in one place for a whole weekend! She's going to be interviewed on the mainstage about it and they're going to play the music through the PA too! It's very brave of her to do this but she'll do a fantastic job I know! You can tweet Lucy to show her some support and encouragement at @LucyLizLowe on Twitter! GO, LUCY GO!!"


http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

Talks & Cosplay Schedule Confirmed!

Talks are always a key part of PLAY events and this year is no exception. As usual the talks will take place on the Conservatory stage. Below is the running order, but do keep an eye on the information screens at the event just incase of any last minute changes.

Saturday
1pm – The Oliver Twins – Our history in games

2pm – Cosplay Masquerade

3pm – Radiant Worlds and SkySaga – Heroes Wanted

Sunday
1pm – David Rowe – Video Game Posters and The Art of Knightmare

2pm – Cosplay Masquerade

3pm – Steve Lycett – How to make a Racing Game (Sumo Digital)

Monday
1pm – Hints & Tips for Videogame Pioneers – Andrew Hewson will be joined by Simon Cobb and Stewart Gilray for a Hewson Consultants Panel Talk

2pm – Cosplay Masquerade

3pm - NEW ‘Ask Me Anything’ with Jeff Minter. Jeff answers your burning questions.


http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/

[lifeschool]

RetroCollect Tournament Lineup

The folk at RetroCollect have revealed their tournament lineup for Play Blackpool and it’s another good one. Here’s what they have said…

Time flies when you’re playing retro games, so much so it’s that time of year again where we gear ourselves up for a pixel-packed weekend at the seaside. Once again RetroCollect will be making a proud appearance at Replay Events’ Play Blackpool, with plenty of gaming challenges on offer.

For the last few years we’ve aided Replay Events at the majority of their events with what we do best – retro games. Bringing along a selection of handpicked challenges with prizes to be won, we’ll be putting the RetroCollectees out there to the test on the Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive, and many other platforms too.

Elsewhere at the show members of this very site can look forward to catching up again in person, and spending a weekend away at the arcades too. We’ll also be bringing along our much loved freebie table too – a space allocated for retro gamers to either donate or take anything they’d like for free, whether it be unloved NES games, ZX Spectrum tapes, or anything at all.

But enough with the niceties, what challenges do we have in store for you this time round?

NEW – Waggle-O-Mania Championships (Commodore Amiga)
NEW – 16-Bit Flappy Bird (Super Nintendo)
NEW – F-Zero Score Attack (HuZero Homebrew on PC Engine)
Sonic Robotnik Boss Rush (Sega Mega Drive)
Sonic 2 Time Trials (Sega Mega Drive)
Nintendo NES World Championships (Nintendo NES)
Soldier Blade Caravan Special (PC Engine)
Master System World Championships (Sega Master System)
Donkey Kong Country Challenge (Super Nintendo)
Starfox Challenge (Super Nintendo)
Super Nintendo World Championships (Super Nintendo)

All of our competitions are free to play as many times as you like over the long weekend, with prizes up for grabs for the greatest high-scores amassed. Simply turn and show off your skills.

Needless to say we’re looking forward to another seaside adventure which will no doubt leaving us longing for the next event. Until then, be sure to let us know if you’re attending and we’ll see you all in Blackpool.

http://www.playblackpool.com/
https://twitter.com/ReplayEvents/
https://www.facebook.com/ReplayEvents/