The man behind Rockstar North becomes latest big name to be added to digital arts festival list

Dave has driven the success of Scotland’s flourishing games industry, having co-founded DMA Design, which would be later renamed as Rockstar North, creator of the best-selling and universally acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series. In 2002, he formed Realtime Worlds that scored a major hit with its original title Crackdown that has enjoyed incredible success on Xbox 360. His team’s latest title, the massively multiplayer online action game APB looks set to revolutionise the way we play online when it launches next year. Jones said: “I’m excited and honoured to be asked to open NEoN – we have such a phenomenal amount of local talent across all forms of digital media and the NEoN festival showcases this talent. I am looking forward to seeing both what’s on show at NEoN itself and what comes out of the creative brainstorming and partnerships that will inevitably take place there too”.
Jones joins a roster of influential and iconic figures from all walks of the digital arts, including Pixar character creator Bud Luckey, academic manager for Microsoft Andy Sithers, commissioning editor for Channel 4 Alice Taylor, Simon Parsons of the BBC, as well as video game soundtrack composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall.
Project manager for NEoN Donna Fordyce welcomed Dave to the group of event speakers: “Dave has proved to be a great asset to the Scottish digital arts, with an influence that can be seen the world over through his games and interaction with the wider digital media industry. He is a key player in an industry that continues to grow steadily and, through his NEoN session, will deliver a fresh perspective on the sector today.” Ticket rates, event programmes, news alerts and booking details for NEoN Digital Arts Festival can be found on the official event website at http://www.northeastofnorth.com and on the official Twitter feed as weareneon.