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Forget about music, it 's videogame culture you should celebrate this summer. So here are a selection of games events, you need to get together to

We all know that the British in the summer, a mass of would-be music festivals, but honestly, after you filled 've seen Coldplay gig in a field with mid-teens, and with the right mouse button on the families, you 've seen' em all, but the video game festival is still a nascent concept, with each new event on the calendar to bring a fresh perspective on the concept.

Here 'sa selection of upcoming game festivities, all worth a visit if you' re at all interested in playing, or what they ...

Edinburgh Interactive Festival

The Radisson SAS Hotel, Edinburgh, August 11 to 12
Okay, you 've missed the first day, but if you can get up to Edinburgh on Friday for the last day of this well-established and interesting event. It 'sa full program of public meetings, looking at games in education, always in the industry and other relevant topics. Friday starts with a training session with Square Enix president Ian Livingstone and Channel 4 commissioner for education, Jo Twist. Later in the afternoon, Disney is showing its massively multiplayer action game Disney universe as a preview of Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Dare proto play

Caird Hall, Dundee, August 12 to 14
Another highly promising festival takes place north of the border, this time organized by the University of Abertay, which runs some of the best video game courses in the UK. The event will start with a keynote address by legendary designer David 'Elite' Braben, is currently working on upcoming titles Kinect, Disneyland Adventures. You 'll also be able to ok games, all finalists in this year' s Dare to be Digital design competition, as well as new tracks from Cobra Mobile, Tag Games and Crytek. There is talk game design, a BAFTA career workshop, wild jams and a pro-gaming tournament. Basically, if you 're at all interested in entering the games industry and see if there Dundee Dundee this weekend you will learn this weekend.

Gamefest

Birmingham NEC, September 16 to 18
The well-known games dealer will host the inaugural consumer video game show in Birmingham this year and attracted heavyweight industry support. Headline sponsor Sony is showing off PlayStation 3, and Resistance 3, while Sega, THQ, Disney, Nintendo, EA and Bethesda all offers demos of their Christmas merchandise. Perhaps the big news is that Activision brings military shooter sequel Modern Warfare 3 along - it 'll get the first time consumers in the United Kingdom in order to play the game. The event will be rewarded exclusively for cardholders, though, so you may need in your local store before applying for cards pop. It 's £ 10 for over-12s and a fiver for kids.

Euro Gamer Expo

Earl 's Court, London, September 22-25

The excellent video game site has been running its ? gamer consumer games show as part of the wider London Games Festival for a few years ago, and although the festival itself is made with 2011, the expo certainly isn 't. Directly to the public, this is a chance some of the biggest titles of the winter, Battlefield 3, PES 12, Dark Souls, Rage and Saint 's The Third Row to play. The event will also host the UK premiere of the OnLive-gaming service, and apparently they are giving away 'll OnLive thousands of consoles on the show floor. It 's also an indie-games room, a retro-gaming tournaments and corner. Keep an eye on the official Twitter feed for regular updates.

Shepton Digi Festival

Haskins Retail Centre, Shepton Mallet, October 6 to 8
The first of two extremely interesting West Country festival. DigiFest is produced as a festival of digital art and media culture in Somerset, Bristol, Bath and the wider South West, and centers mostly on photography, film and performance will be charged. However, the event will feature a panel discussion on the UK game industry, which is hosted by Sean Dromgoole of industry market research firm, GameVision. It 's an official Twitter feed with the latest information.

GameCity

Various venues, Nottingham, October 26-29
Ah, GameCity. If I had my way, it would be compulsory for all British players to participate in this wonderful, imaginative programming event. And not just because I 'll re-run daily talk show, that it (the organizers love it if my own insignificant participation of their headline signings) connector. You and me, you 'll be able to legendary game designer Eric Chahi, Naughty Dog boss Richard Lemarchand, offbeat studio thatgamecompany industry father figure and Ian Livingstone to catch. There are discussions, keynotes, workshops, evening events and interesting things to see and do in a large tent on the square. What more could you ask?

RuneFest

Old Billingsgate, London, 29 30 October

This community event for the hugely popular massively multiplayer online game is a lively gathering of like-minded runiacs, mixed parties, quizzes, games and sword fighting classes with opportunities for developers to meet and about future projects Jagex. Prices start at £ 59 for one day and happen to go up to £ 179 for a VIP weekend. This year the event celebrates the tenth anniversary of the game, it should still fanatical. And don 't forget to come in costume for the Halloween party.

Extended Play

National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, November 3 to 5

Billed as the South West 's first and only digital festival is Extended Play is a two-day event, focusing on the topic' games as a service '- in other words, persistent, the idea of ??MMORPGs, downloadable content, online games and so on. Details are currently scarce (they 're sending out press releases next week), but included the organization of industry speakers and sessions and a game jam, and it' s at start-up studios, students, and the targeted public. It is possible I 'll convincing at the event on games journalism, but don' t let off. I 'll provide more details as they come, but this is a great opportunity for budding game designers in the West Country to insiders and to meet like-minded talent.

Bradford Animation Festival

National Media Museum, Bradford, 8 to 12 November
Another long-running favourite and a great event for students of game design. The first two days of the festival feature a dedicated BAF Game strand, which offers talks, discussions, screenings and workshops as well as hands-on gaming sessions. It's also worth staying on for the animation programme too, which features inspirational work from around the world. We recorded an edition of the Tech Weekly podcast on stage here last year, and we'll be back in some capacity this year - if they'll have us. Follow the museum's official Twitter feed for info on the evolving schedule.