Bristol’s ambitions to become a world centre for gaming, animation and visual effects – and benefit from the huge opportunities that could bring – will be analysed in a major new piece of research.
The survey follows the successful staging in the city of the first SouthWest VR Conference, a national showcase which threw a spotlight on the world of virtual reality in film, games, TV and animation.
The event, which is set to become a major annual event in the industry calendar, attracted leading lights from the industry, with the line-up including Sony Computer Entertainment, Bossa Studios, Atlantic Productions’ Alchemy VR, Unity 3D, nDreams and Innerspace.
Innovations launched at the conference included the VRgo chair, a hands-free, wireless chair with huge potential to shake up the gaming market and beyond.
Its inventor Joe Ryan is based at the Pervasive Media Studio at Bristol’s Watershed, the studio which also produced the highly-successful AlphaSphere musical instrument.
The new survey, commissioned by inward investment agency Invest Bristol & Bath in partnership with the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, will identify the skills, training and recruitment needs in the games, animation and VFX (visual effects) sectors in the West of England.
The findings of the survey will create a more detailed picture of the skills and competencies of these industries, helping to attract further investment and greater business opportunities to the region.
Ben Trewhella, managing director at award-winning Opposable Games, which organised SWVR and is based at Bristol’s Games Hub, said: “The Bristol and Bath region is already becoming a global centre for virtual reality – the region hosts a growing number of experimental games and interactive developers, established TV, film and animation producers, a thriving developer scene with some of the UK’s brightest mobile app developers, and a background of engineering and entrepreneurism in chip design and product design – all the skills needed to create the next generation of consumer VR experiences and applications.
“We’re at the start of a hugely exciting time in technology – virtual reality and augmented reality games, experiences and applications are about to explode like the web, social and mobile before them.”
Invest Bristol & Bath digital sector specialist David Maher Roberts added: “The Bristol and Bristol region is in a prime position to capitalise on the huge opportunities advancements in gaming and virtual reality are expected to bring across a multitude of disciplines including entertainment, architecture and aerospace. The region’s thriving tech hub has the skills and experience, as well as the collaborative and innovative approach required to become one of Europe’s leading gaming and VR hubs.
“The region already has a world-class reputation for creative and digital production, high tech, and aerospace and advanced engineering. Only recently Bristol and Bath were named as being home to the largest digital cluster outside London in a new report by TechCityUK.
“The region has seen a 65% increase in new digital companies incorporated between 2010 and 2013 and was recently chosen to host a testbed for cutting-edge Future Cities technology, including driverless cars.
“This survey will help create a more detailed picture of the strengths and needs of gaming, animation and visual effects industries in particular, helping to further build the region’s reputation as a leading hub for technology and innovation.”
The survey, which should take only 10 minutes or less to complete, will run until March 20.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/IBBagvfxsurvey
