Nottingham Game City 2011 announced

The organisers of Nottingham's gaming festival have announced next year's dates and say they hope to beat the recent record 45,000 attendance.

GameCity will run from October 25 to 29 and while GameCity director Iain Simons said the full line-up was still far from being confirmed, he has promised a mix of big name and indie developers.

The event has become a staple of the British gaming calendar and it is known for breaking new ground. In October this year events included the world's first videogame stand-up comedy show with the presenters of the radio show OneLifeLeft, Ste Curran, Simon Byron and Ann Scantlebury.

There was also a late-night concert in a church by videogame music composer James Hannigan as well as a game of Pac-Man on the streets of Nottingham and a tie-up between Nottingham's Primary Care Trust and Electronic Arts to promote the health benefits of gaming.

Mr Simons said: “The critical, industry and public response to the festival in 2010 has been fantastically encouraging - proving there’s a real appetite for alternative ways of exploring videogame culture. We can wait to get to work on new ideas for 2011.”

With the event just under a year away, organisers say there is still plenty of time for people to become involved.

"We're asking anyone from developers, publishers, gamers and even cake makers to help make next year's festival better than the last," says Simons.