Wired.co.uk published a great article on igest 2009, the interesting gaming festival that had 1000 players racing through Bristol, chasing moose with their mobile phones, joining a 100-player game of Snakes and Ladders and painting the town – and each other – red.

Wired describes igfest as “incorporating elements of augmented reality and crowdsourced theatre.” The interview with Simon Johnson stressed that street gaming is not all just running around. As he explaines, a good pervasive game changes the players' perception of the people and environment around them, and explores the concept of permission.

Ifgest might be over for another year, but pervasive gaming events can be found throughout the UK. Simon Games’ iglab, a beta test of games in development runs every month in Bristol. Hide&Seek is touring its mini-festival Sandpit until late November with monthly events in London.

Read the full article: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-09/17/zombies,-space-invaders-%28and-gamers%29-take-over-bristol.aspx