Nottingham will be crowned the UK’s gaming capital with the grand opening of the National Videogame Arcade (NVA).
Saturday, March 28 marks the official opening of the UK’s first cultural centre for gaming, based at the location of the former Connexions building on Carlton Street, Hockley.
The £2.5m project aims to empower game-makers from all walks of life and celebrate the UK’s heritage as a world leader in the videogame industry.
Laid out across five floors, the NVA showcases an array of exhibitions, which range from vintage gaming consoles to innovative new virtual experiences.
GameCity
The project is all part of GameCity, which started life as a small videogame festival in Nottingham almost ten years ago.
Iain Simons, the co-director at NVA and founder of GameCity, stresses the importance of understanding the history of videogames.
He says: “To be able to trace the roots of videogames in how they have changed, like with controllers and fan culture, is really interesting for people who might have only played games in the last few years.”
Simons also spoke about how the project aims to inspire the creation of video games.
Video: Iain Simons discusses the message behind NVA
Highlights at the arcade include a permanent feature which explores the history of videogame culture in Britain – from the world’s first game-playing computer at the 1951 Festival of Britain, to the latest virtual technology innovations.
How big is the gaming industry?
- There are 1.6bn gamers in the world
- The UK games market made £3.9bn in consumer spending in 2014
- In Europe, 43% of parents play videogames with their children
- With almost 2,000 games companies
Another feature, entitled Jump!, examines the development of video game physics and the all-important jump button through a series of interactive and playable exhibits.
Schools programme
The NVA is expecting around 60,000 visitors a year, including a number of pupils as part of a schools programme that offers tailored workshops.
With the support of Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham City Council and the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, the arcade will have one floor dedicated to education – where students can get a hands-on experience of game production.
The programme is designed to complement all areas of the school curriculum.
Professor Murray Pratt, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Nottingham Trent, said:
It’s really going to give Nottingham a new dimension.
“It’s supporting an art form because video are many things such as being used in science and the gamification model is used in education.”
The professor also discussed the university’s flourishing relationship with GameCity and his personal affinity with videogames.
Video: Professor Murray Pratt on the NVA
As Nottingham welcomes future GameCity annual festivals, the venue will be a key landmark for local and visiting gamers.
It is expected to generate £2.5m for the local economy over the next three years and has also employed 20 members of staff.
The NVA is open between 10am and 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays.
To book tickets and for more information, visit gamecity.org.
