Our friends at The House of Indie are busy putting together the next edition of Screenshake. To amp up the excitement for the festival, they’re bringing a small taste of what to expect to the Permeke library in Antwerp next week. Under the moniker Screenshake Sidequest (link in Dutch), the hallowed hall of books will play host to a range of Screenshake pillar activities, such as an arcade game expo, a panel talk and live games accompanied by live music.
Spearheaded by the master craftsmen of Devillé Arcade, you’ll be able to discover all sorts of interesting arcades around the library all week. The controls of these arcade cabinets are designed to be as intuitive as possible so even people without prior video game experience can enjoy them. There will be games that focus on artistic emotion, encourage multiplayer, grant insight into the game development process, and of course there will be an arcade dedicated to Belgian games. Come and enjoy these games for free during opening hours of the library from November 13 (starting at 2 PM) until November 19.
On Wednesday the selection of arcade games gets expanded by a range of playable in-development Belgian creations. You’re free to play the games on offer and talk to the creators about their games. At 8 PM there’ll be a panel talk about the challenges of creating games in Belgium, featuring different Belgian indie developers.
To finish off the Sidequest week with a bang, there’s live gaming accompanied by live music on Saturday night. If you manage to survive the atmospheric wall of sound launched by Mount Venus, you should stay for the chiptune madness of Chipzel, turning 8-bit Game Boy music into a very danceable beat. Get your tickets here!
Just like the main festival, the Sidequest looks dead set on showing that video games are a lot more diverse and creative than most people think. By placing the revolutionary medium into a temple of classic culture, we hope a lot of new people get to experience games in new ways, and get excited for the festival in February. Hope to catch you there as well!