Services:
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, and on a freelance basis since 2011.
I specialise in helping organisations find and realise the potential of videogames. Typical services I provide are:
Developer relations.
Event production.
Event programming.
Videogames curation.
Physical prototyping.
Exhibit construction.
Technical setup.
Workshops.
Public speaking.
You can read a little more about specific projects and clients to the right; click through on each for more detail.
If you need someone with a good balance of social and technical skills, level headed in a crisis and able to make the most of scarce resources, contact me via the link above or email
Projects:
Feral Vector
Feral Vector began as an experimental event for independent developers, and has become a festival about game design and play. Rather than just talks, it also features live games, prototypes, discussions, workshops, walks, roleplay, installation art, and performances.
GPS 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.
Nottingham Hackspace
(Non-profit) David was one of the three 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 […]
Controller Factory: A Maze Berlin
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
GameCamp
(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 […]
Gambling Lambs
A non-profit experiment in running a board games event with a different and inclusive community. Gambling Lambs was a new type of social board games night that ran monthly from 2009 – 2014. It focused on board and card games that are novel, deep enough to be interesting, yet casual enough people can comfortably have […]
Clients:
EGX x MCM
Since 2008 I have curated submissions for the Leftfield Collection, a part of EGX. EGX is one of the biggest videogame shows in Europe; taking place in the ExCeL Centre and the Birmingham NEC, attracting over 80,000 visitors per show.
The Tentacle Collective
The Tentacle Collective, run by Payload Studios, is a collaborative showcase for independent commercial videogame developers, touring various large events such as EGX and Insomnia. Stand owner Payload Studios consulted me on the initial concept, then hired me to test out components for the stand build.
Manchester Day Games Room
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 Game Jam
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
Virgin Media hired me to curate and run VMGS (Virgin Media Game Space), 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 videogame developers. The space ran in August and September of 2013, before taking highlights to the Eurogamer Expo.
GameCity
From 2011 – 2014, leading up to the establishment of a permanent facility that has now merged with the British Games Institute, 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; […]
Rumpus Royale
The Wild Rumpus run energetic club nights featuring the best in multiplayer indie games and live music. At GDC 2013 in San Francisco, YMPT assisted with tech and production for Rumpus Royale MMXIII, a series of indie game world championship tournaments.
Slingshot Effect
2.8 Hours Later is a live zombie chase game that spans entire cities. Before it was sold, it was devised and run by run by Slingshot Effect, 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 […]
Nottingham Trent University
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.