V&A museum opens first ever game design residency

The Victoria and Albert Museum is on the hunt for developers to take part in its first ever game design residency.

Organised in collaboration with industry trade body UKIE, the V&A is looking for digital game designers to work with the museum’s collections, particularly works in the Britain 1500-to-1900 galleries, through public engagement activities.

The game design residency will take place in London for a six month period between October 2013 and March 2014. The selected designers will receive a monthly bursary, studio space and a budget for materials and equipment.

Support will also be provided by V&A staff, the University of Abertay and an industry mentor throughout the project.

Once the residency in London has been completed, a production period will take place in Dundee that will occur before the end of 2014.

“Game design is a growing industry in the UK and Britain is now one of the leaders in the world in this field,” said V&A residency co-ordinator Ruth Lloyd.

“It is a highly skilled form of design that requires both creative and scientific skills. The V&A’s first game design residency is an exciting opportunity for the museum to recognise and support this form of design and will offer a game designer access to specialist expertise as well as use of the V&A’s extraordinary collections as creative inspiration to produce new work.”

University of Abertay professor Louis Natanson added: “The V&A’s first ever games design residency is an incredibly exciting opportunity for designers in the early or middle stages of their career. We’re delighted to see the world’s greatest museum of art and design and the V&A at Dundee both embrace the enormous creativity and cultural importance of computer games.”