Hello, I'm David Hayward and this site collects my freelance work. Currently based just outside Manchester, I've been running videogames festivals, exhibitions and conferences since 2003, on a freelance basis since 2011.

As a form, videogames span far more than most people yet seem to know, and I specialise in helping organisations find and realise that potential. Typical services I provide are:

Developer relations.
Curation of independent and experimental games.
Event production.
Event programming.
Physical prototyping.
Exhibit construction.
Technical setup.
Workshops.
Public speaking.

You can read a little more about specific projects and clients to the right. If you need someone with a good balance of people and technical skills, who is level headed in a crisis and can make the most of scarce resources, drop me a line via

Feral Vector (Formerly Bit of Alright) began as a conference for indie developers, but has become much more of an event. Rather than just talks, it also features live games, prototypes, discussions, workshops, roleplay, installation art, and performances. Spearheaded by David Hayward, with production management by Johanna Summers. The first one was held in February 2012, the most recent June 2016.

Bus Clock: Working as part of the Urban Sustainable Development Lab, with Angus Taggart writing software, I designed and produced a large scale physical prototype of an internet connected public clock. Aimed at opening up smart cities data to vulnerable user-groups who do not use smartphones, the Bus Clock uses real time GPS public transit data, counting down to an accurate, continuously updated arrival time for the next bus.

(Non-profit) David was one of the original founders of Nottingham Hackspace and remained a trustee for five years. Within 18 months of its founding, it grew from three men in a pub to one of Europe's largest hackspaces, with facilities for metalwork, woodwork, bicycle and motorbike repair, textiles, CNC machining, laser cutting, and 3D printing. It occupies a ten thousand square foot studio and workshop close to Nottingham City Centre.

Controller Factory: Collaboration with Jonatan Van Hove and Sos Sosowski for A Maze Berlin 2016. Participants learned about arcade parts, tools, soldering and microcontrollers, then under our tuition turned everyday objects ranging from paperbacks to ballet pumps into working videogame controllers.

Draftsight Workshops: One day workshop for a dozen students, taking them from zero knowledge to a basic proficiency with free CAD program Draftsight. Students gain a foundation in skills required to produce their own vector designs for production on tools such as laser cutters and CNC mills.

Public Speaking Workshops: I was once rigorously trained as a public speaker, and am skilled at passing this knowledge on to others. Initially devised for Game Republic and Creative England, I can deliver practical public speaking workshops for groups of up to ten, detailing aspects such as preparation, confidence, body language, speech, erasing bad habits and a host of related skills.

Business Piñata: I was invited to lead a student team at French experimental game jam Zoo Machines. With students Antione, Victor and Luc taking care of art and programming, I bult a custom controller for Business Piñata: Grasp the Earth, reach inside it, and perform secret handshakes with an invisible hand to make business leaders pony up the dough.

(Non-profit) GameCamp is the UKs only unconference devoted to games of all kinds. Organised by a group of game developers, journalists, lecturers and event organisers, it currently takes place at LSBU in London and attracts around two hundred and fifty attendees to each event. Among the many things required for each iteration, David Hayward, Ross Fowkes and Jo Summers have maintained and run the library of boardgames.

(Non-profit) Experiment in running a board games event with a different and radically inclusive community. Gambling Lambs was a new type of social board games night, focusing on board and card games that are novel, deep enough to be interesting, yet casual enough people can comfortably have a chat and a cup of tea over them. It took place once a month in Nottingham from 2009 - 2014.

The Tentacle Stand, run by Payload Studios, is a new collaborative showcase for independent commercial videogame developers, touring various large events such as EGX and Insomnia. They hired me to devise dramatic yet lightweight decorations and materials, research then solve design problems, make build and break plans, and instruct stand staff in executing them.

EGX is one of the biggest videogame shows in Europe; it takes place in the Birmingham NEC and attracts over 80,000 visitors. EGX Rezzed happens with BAFTA at Tobacco Dock in London. As part of both shows, YMPT run and curate submissions for the SEGA-sponsored Leftfield Collection, where a mix of new and experimental independent titles get to sit side by side on the showfloor with major console games.

Manchester City Council and Rock Paper Shotgun hired me to organise the Manchester Day Games Room. Two staterooms in the gothic splendour of Manchester Town Hall hosted a broad collection of board and videogames, played by thousands of people.

Develop, the UK's main videogames industry conference, hire YMPT to produce the Develop Game Jam each July. Support staff run the venue for two days while teams create games. At the end of the conference, with strict timescales and media managed by David Hayward, the teams present their work to Develop attendees.

Virgin Media hired me to curate and run VMGS, the UK's first public facing game space. Located in central London, it featured a mixture of exhibitions, events, and co-working space for London based developers. The space ran in August and September of 2013, before taking highlights to the Eurogamer Expo.

From 2011 - 2014, leading up to the establishment of a permanent facility, I acted as a production manager, screen content curator, exhibit builder and all round troubleshooter for the GameCity Festival in Nottingham. This predomiantly involved managing submissions and developer relations for the Open Arcade; held in main festival venues, as well as working on more unusual game installations and events.

The Wild Rumpus run energetic club nights and other events, featuring the best in multiplayer indie games and live music. At GDC 2013 in San Francisco, YMPT assisted with Rumpus Royale MMXIII, a series of indie game world championship tournaments.

2.8 Hours Later is a live zombie chase game that spans entire cities. It's run by Slingshot, who in 2011 commissioned YMPT to research and write a feasibility study of running the game in Nottingham. Subsequently, they utilised YMPT for location scouting in the city for a Nottingham leg of the game, which took place in March 2013.

Nottingham Trent University commissioned YMPT to investigate the potential to commercialise university facilities in relation to the videogames industry. The study comprised interviews with academic staff and game developers, cataloging of facilities and expertise, and research on similar programmes.