By Rory Reynolds
RETRO computer game legend Pac-Man is to receive a new lease of life – by battling boredom at bus stops.
Passengers waiting for buses in Dundee will be treated to a blast from the past with a chance to play the 2D video game, which was first released as in arcades in 1980.
The initiative is part of the NEoN Digital Arts Festival in November, which aims to boost awareness of Dundee’s computer games industry – nicknamed Silicon Glen.
Scotland is currently home to several top games companies, including Rockstar North in Edinburgh, who produced the massively popular Grand Theft Auto Series.
The video games industry employs around 500 workers in Scotland and generates an estimated £20million each year.But many of the geeky programmers work in tiny teams of fewer than 10 employees.
Donna Fordyce, an industries production manager at Scottish Enterprise, hopes the festival will bring the small teams closer together to boost Scotland’s excellent image in the gaming world.
She said: “The festival is organised by a group drawn from many of the territory’s leading digital media companies, universities, commercial organisations and individuals.
“The companies involved include Realtime Worlds, Denki, Sooper Double D, Hungryboy and Avian.”
Guests at the festival will include Rockstar executive and GTA creator David Jones and Bud Luckey who designed the characters for Toy Story and Finding Nemo.
Fordyce added: “Having Bud Luckey from Pixar keynoting the first day has obviously been a real honour for us.
“Bud’s someone who’s work has inspired many of us now working in the industry, and seeing the way his artistry has translated seamlessly in to the digital realm has shown the way for many of us.
“But the main highlight is sure to be just having so many incredible people gathered together in one place, talking, laughing and being inspired by each other.”
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