The notorious animé allnighter delivers back-to-back movies with breaks to answer the call of nature, load up on caffeine and take on some more sugar. Things kick off at midnight and wrap up at around 9.00am. There will be DJs in the bar and the MangaWall for you to show off your artistic talent! The Films for 2008 are:

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME

TEKKON KINKREET

VEXILLE

APPLESEED: EX MACHINA

APPLESEED EX MACHINA (2007, JAPAN, SHINJI ARAMAKI)

Ahead of the release on Blu-Ray and DVD (June 2nd) we present the UK Premiere of this fantastic animated feast in association with Warner Home Video.

 Gorgeous art design, zippy, entertaining plot” – Anime News Network

“Pumped to the max visually” – Variety

Based on the popular all action manga by Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell) Appleseed Ex Machina is the first animated feature from action-master John Woo (Face/Off). 

 This thrilling spectacle has all the trademarks of a Woo film; outstanding design and visual style slow-motion gun play, all-action set pieces and a gripping romance.  A combination of meticulous motion capture and superb cell-shading CGI animation really make Appleseed: Ex Machina a must-see.

Following the non-nuclear war that killed half the world’s population, the city-nation of Olympus stands as a beacon of hope in a world of chaos and conflict. The utopian metropolis is governed by Gaia, a vast artificial intelligence, and administered by genetically engineered humanoids known as Bioroids, whose designer DNA suppresses strong emotions. With Bioroids being half of its population, peace and order are easily maintained. DEUNAN, a young female warrior, and BRIAREOS, a veteran cyborg-soldier, are both partners and lovers. As members of E.S.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus, they are deployed whenever trouble strikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by the arrival of a new member to their ranks Stunning, brilliant, awesome? Nothing really describes how fantastic this looks.

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (2006, Mamoru Hosoda, Japan)
One of the most acclaimed animé features in recent years, THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME is an animated adaptation of a 1965 young adult novel that had been an instant sensation in Japan, spawning countless films and TV programs over the ensuing decades. Director Mamoru Hosoda updates the tale to present-day Tokyo, all while remaining true to the same enchanting story of a girl who learns to time-travel.

TEKKON KINKREET (2006, Michael Arias, Japan)
Two orphaned brothers; the tough CANNY KURO and the childish, snot-nosed SHIRO live in the streets of ‘Treasure City’. Together they are known as Neko and they are homeless, living out of a car in a junkyard. These children also serve as the city’s superhero guardians. Arias, a veteran CG artist who produced ‘The Animatrix’ project, is American, but his filmic world here is deeply, nostalgically Japanese, looking like an alternative universe built from the more fantastic bits of Showa-era (1926-1989) architecture and design fallen into a tawdry grandeur. This metropolis is a sprawling, gorgeous mess.

VEXILLE (2007, Fumihiko Sori, Japan)
In the year 2077, Japan withdraws from the world community after defying international treaties on the development of bio-technology. With a force field to stop people getting in or out, nobody beyond the fortress country has any idea what’s happening within its borders.

An elite team of commandos – the SWORD unit, led by the beautiful VEXILLE (Meisa Kuroki) is sent in to Japan to bring back information on their robotics programme. What she finds there comes as a major shock, prompting a series of exciting set pieces as Vexille and a small rebel force go up against the country’s corporate bosses. 

With Redbull, Purbeck ice-cream and a goodie bag you’d be mad to miss it. Our line-up this year features the best collection we have ever had

Super Smash Bros EUR Release Date Announced

 today nintendo announced that smash bros brawl will be released in europe 01-05-08 and with full downloadable content.

As part of its strategy to extend its advertising sales reach for game publishers, Double Fusion today announced a new sales partnership within the Nordic marketplace.

karnig4media, headquartered in Stockholm, will now represent Double Fusion’s game advertising network in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland. karnig4media already represents a strong list of traditional and digital media heavyweights such as Sky News, Times Online, Bloomberg TV, Business Week, National Geographic and Newsweek. Today the Nordic media market is worth an estimated €7.8 billion, of which €1 billion is spent on digital media.

“Scandinavia is a sophisticated and highly connected region with a booming games audience. This partnership provides us with the perfect platform to rapidly build and grow advertising sales within the territory. karnig4media is respected within the market, enabling us to more quickly make inroads into the global brands that are active within these countries, and to provide local advertising campaigns to Nordic companies seeking to take advantage of in- and around-game opportunities,” commented Frank Sagnier, Double Fusion’s European Managing Director.

“In-game advertising is a fast growing segment of the marketing mix and Nordic companies are very interested in learning how to best utilise these new opportunities. karnig4media is proud to assist them by associating itself with a sector leader in the form of Double Fusion” commented Michael Karnig, karnig4media’s Managing Director.

With the partnership in place, Double Fusion will have access to the increasing levels of digital media ad spending in the region, aligned with the burgeoning games audience in the Nordic countries.

“Having the highest broadband penetration in Europe and a sophisticated games audience which is booming make the region an incredibly compelling place to further develop a fast-growing dynamic in-game advertising business,” Sagnier continued.
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About Double Fusion
Double Fusion is the game advertising expert. The company brings together the leading in-game ad serving technology, the broadest network of games across a wide variety of genres, and a sales force that has helped create and evolve the in-game advertising industry. Double Fusion provides marketers and their advertising agencies with the broadest range of in-game, around-game and web-based solutions with which to engage and sell the valuable and hard-to-reach gamer demographics. Double Fusion is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Chicago, New York, Jerusalem, London, and Tokyo. More information on Double Fusion is available at www.doublefusion.com.

Advertisers interested in opportunities within the Double Fusion network; and developers and publishers interested in increasing their per-title revenues through integrated and dynamic ad placement opportunities should visit www.doublefusion.com.
Double Fusion is a registered mark of Double Fusion, Inc.

All trademarks, copyrights, registered marks, brand names, registered brand names, product names, and logos found in this press release are the property of their respective owners, may be registered in certain jurisdictions, and are mentioned in this release for identification purposes only

For the second year running Jagex has been awarded a place in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies list.

UK, Cambridge, 10th March, 2008 – Jagex Ltd, the online games developer, today announced it has been voted one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the second year in succession, and is the only games company to make the prestigious Sunday Times poll.

“I have never worked at a company with such an employee-friendly ethos and it is a great achievement to be the only games company to appear in the top 100 list. It has been a busy year for everyone at Jagex, developing RuneScape and launching our new games portal, FunOrb. Making the Times list is a great reward for everyone’s hard work over the past 12 months” said Geoff Iddison, CEO, Jagex Ltd.

About Jagex Ltd
Jagex Ltd is an independent games developer and publisher based in Cambridge, England, with over 350 employees. With proprietary graphics compression, game engine and network communication technologies, Jagex creates online games which are enjoyed by millions of players around the world.

SCI-FI-LONDON is delighted to announce that Hollywood Legend, JOHN LANDIS (Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London) will head the Jury for the 1st SCI-FI-LONDON 48 hour film challenge as part of this year’s SCI-FI-LONDON, the UK’s only dedicated science fiction and fantastic film festival (30 April – 4 May 2008).

The 48 hour Film Challenge will take place 5 – 7th April 2008.  Entrants register as a team online and then attend a briefing on April 5th where they are given a randomly generated film title, some dialogue and a prop – all of which must be in their 5 minute film.  They then have 2 days to write, shoot, edit and complete the film and return it by Noon on April 7th.  

Louis Savy, Festival Director said  “It is a real honour for us to have such an eminent filmmaker as chair of our jury.  We know how tough a 48 hour challenge can be and wanted to reflect that by having a jury who really know about filmmaking.”

The other members of the jury are Actor/Presenter EMILY BOOTH, Programmer for the London Short Film Festival PHILIP ILSON, Head of Branded Content for Sci-Fi Channel KEN JONES and Editor of SFX Magazine DAVE BRADLEY.

Prizes include a Canon HD camera, £250 cash, Archos video player and much more.  The winning film will also be screened as part of our closing night gala ceremony.

All the films made will be screened at the festival and then all go online at SCI-FI-LONDON.TV, our online film festival.  The event is being supported by The Sci-Fi Channel, the UK’s cable and satellite broadcaster.

We Will keep you informed as more info comes…

Government’s renewed commitment to the creative industries “good for the games industry” comments ELSPA
 
Tuesday 26th February/…ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) today warmly welcomed the Government’s launch of its new apprenticeship strategy paper ‘Creative Britain: New Talents for a New Economy’.

The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport has, in partnership with BERR and DIUS, launched the new strategy for the creative economy, and ELSPA is particularly delighted to see the games industry singled out to benefit from several specific Government commitments such as:

• The commissioning of research to better quantify the economic benefits of the creative industries with special attention to the value added by innovation in those industries.

• The commitment to identify the barriers to investment in next generation broadband. In addition to growing consumer expectations, innovative new services like online video games, video and music distribution and user-generated content are set to expand, government is to ensure that where possible it takes action to remove constraints on future development of the market.

• Increase awareness of the current R&D tax credit scheme and investigate how to make it more user-friendly for small businesses, with a particular focus on the video games industry.
• In respect of globalisation, the UK will take the lead in opposing practices that unfairly distort competition, such as working with Europe to determine whether the incentives offered by Canada to video games companies contravene WTO rules.

Paul Jackson, Director General of ELSPA, said: “The Government’s commitment to bring creative industries from the margins to the mainstream of the economy and policy thinking shows a marked change to the government’s attitude towards creative industries which can only be good for the games sector.
“We are very pleased Andy Burnham linked the idea of Film credits to support for the videogames development community. Whilst we are very different in terms of content we face many of the same issues.

“We are also glad to see Margaret Hodge looking into whether the Canadians have been anti competitive. Going to the WTO is the modern equivalent of “sending a Gunboat”… So Hurray, unfortunately this gunboat takes a decade to arrive!”
 

Have you ever wanted to get Wario or Mario’s head on a pumkin to light up those dark evenings?
Look what i have found on my travels!! Join up print the stencil and bobs yer pumpkin!

How awesome are they!!!

Basically these are the tips from http://www.zombiepumpkins.com This is such a great way of doing pumpkins for halloween, I will be doing a couple with my lil one this halloween.. If you get round to it take some pics and post on the gaming forum, maybe do the pimp mushroom you never know it may get you a prize!!!!

#1 - Buy a carving kit For detailed designs like those found here, the right tools are a MUST! You can find pumpkin carving kits in just about any store that carries Halloween items. They should come with a drill tool, a poker tool and a couple mini-saws. The saw with the smaller teeth is best for fine detail work. These kits might also come with patterns but ignore those and use your Zombie Pumpkins! patterns!
#2 - Choose your pumpkin Find a pumpkin that’s roughly the dimensions of the pattern you want to use. Obviously a tall pumpkin will fit the vertical designs a little better. For a very detailed pattern, a larger pumpkin will be easier to carve. Pick a smooth one that’s free of scratches, dents, gouges or rotting spots. Also make sure it has a flat bottom so it will sit upright and not roll away. Never carry the pumpkin by its stem. Wash and dry it thoroughly before starting.
#3 - Cut open a lid Cover your table with a plastic table cloth (garbage bags work well also) to make cleanup easier. With a sturdy kitchen knife, cut an opening around the stem. Cut a 5 or 6 sided shape, or a circle with a notch, to make replacing the lid easier. Cut in at an angle to prevent the lid from falling into the pumpkin. The hole should be an inch or two wider than your fist, to allow for scooping out the guts. You might also try cutting a bottom opening instead, allowing you to place the finished pumpkin over a lit candle or electric light.
#4 - Scoop out the guts Remove the bulk of the seeds and strings with you hands. Then use the scraper tool (or a big spoon) to scrape the inner walls of the pumpkin clean and smooth. Scraping the front wall (where your design will be) to about one inch thick will make carving easier. You can check thickness by pushing a straight pin through the wall. Remember, light bouncing off the inside of the pumpkin is what creates your final image. Thoroughly cleaning out the inside will make for the best presentation.
#5 - Print and attach the pattern When printed, the patterns should be about the size a standard sheet of paper. You can reduce or enlarge the pattern to fit your pumpkin with a photocopier. With scissors, trim off the excess paper so the design more easily curves around the surface of the pumpkin. Place the pattern on the smoothest side of the pumpkin and tape securely around the edges.
#6 - Transfer the pattern Use the poking tool (or push pin, small nail) to lightly poke holes along the lines of the patterns, making sure to go through the paper and the pumpkin’s outer skin. Depending on the level of detail needed, make your holes 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart. When you’re sure you’ve poked along every line, remove the pattern and save it for carving reference. If you have trouble seeing the dots after removing the pattern, you can rub flour over the design to turn the dots white, or connect the dots with a fine point marker.
#7 - Begin carving Placing the pumpkin in your lap can help keep it steady. You should start by carving the smallest pieces first (eyes, teeth, etc). Hold your carving saw tool like a pencil and insert it straight into the pumpkin, on one of the dotted lines. Begin sawing (up and down motion) along the lines, connecting the dots. Use the paper pattern as reference as you carve. You’ll be removing the pieces that are shaded grey. Generally, you will want to work your way out from the center, saving the largest areas for last, as removing large chunks will make your carving surface unstable.
#8 - Keep on carving Follow curved lines by gently turning the saw in the direction you wish to carve. For sharp corners, pull out the saw and reinsert at the new angle. Never twist the saw or it will bend or break. When cutting out the larger pieces, cut them into two or three smaller pieces to allow for easier removal. Leave the cut shapes in place until you are finished cutting all lines. This will give the surface added support until you are done. When you’re sure all shapes are cut, gently poke out the pieces with your fingers.
#9 - Final touches Once you’ve removed all of the cut pieces, look your design over and compare to the paper pattern. Placing a flashlight inside the pumpkin will allow you to see the holes clearly. If some openings don’t look right, you can use the detail saw tool to carefully trim the inside edges of any excess flesh. Trimming in at an angle will allow more light to come through. If you accidentally break off a part of the design, you can reattach it with toothpicks.
#10 - Preserve the pumpkin Once carved, a jack-o-lantern doesn’t last more that a few days before starting to dry out and shrivel up. Coat the cut edges with generous layer of petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) or white glue. Use your finger on large openings, and a cotton swab to coat the tiny openings. This helps seal in the pumpkin’s moisture, extending its life to a week or more. You can also store a jack-o-lantern in the fridge when not on display and soak a dried out pumpkin in water to bring it back to life. But you can spare yourself some of that trouble by carving as close to Halloween as possible.
#11 - Light it up Light a small candle and place it inside the pumpkin. Votive candles in glass candle holders are a pretty safe bet. Plain white candles will give off the most light. If you replace the lid while lit, a blackened area will form inside the top of the pumpkin. You can cut a 1 or 2 inch hole in that blackened area to act as a vent to allow heat and smoke to escape. Or for a longer lasting (and safer) method of lighting your pumpkin, you might consider one of the LED Pumpkin Lights available from this website.