THE first details of this year’s Yorkshire Games Festival line-up have been announced when a top games artist returns to his home city as the headline guest.

The festival, of which Bradford College is the main sponsor, takes place at the National Science and Media Museum and videogaming is high on the agenda.

It will be welcoming Bradford-born Mohammed Ikram, known as Iki in the industry, as a headline guest.

Iki studied at Bradford College before going on to become one of the industry’s top visual effects (VFX) artists at Naughty Dog – the studio responsible for highly acclaimed games such as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us.

He will be back in his hometown to deliver a keynote speech, discussing growing up in Bradford and becoming one of the most sought-after artists in the games industry.

Also joining the line-up are indie developers Oli De-Vine and Phil Duncan, of Ghost Town Games. WiFi Wars, a live comedy game show where the whole audience gets to play along, will be another key attraction at the festival. It is hosted by comedian and videogame pundit Steve McNeil, presenter of Challenge TV’s Videogame Nation and a team captain on Dara Ó Briain’s Go 8 Bit.

Festival director Kathryn Penny said: “To have Bradford College back as our main sponsor is fantastic news and means we can build on last year’s success to make 2017 even better. We’re incredibly excited to announce these first details of what’s promising to be a great line-up for this year’s event.”

Richard Thomas, Provost of Bradford College, said: “Bradford College is immensely proud to be Headline Sponsor of the Yorkshire Games Festival for two years running.

“The Yorkshire Games Festival will feature many professionals including our own alumnus Iki Ikram who will be flying over from California.

“The festival is a wonderful opportunity for our students and staff to engage with key figures from the industry.”

In other games news, the National Science and Media Museum has acquired the studio equipment used by the internet super channel The Yogscast at its first permanent home - ‘YogTowers’ in Bond Street, Bristol.

Elinor Groom, Curator of TV and Broadcast Culture at the National Science and Media Museum, said: “We are thrilled to have acquired this amazing piece of gaming history.

"It will play a key part in telling the story of how the landscape of broadcasting and broadcast technology has changed over the years, forming part of our next major development - our Sound and Vision Galleries.”

The Festival, produced in partnership with games business network Game Republic, is taking place between November 8 and November 12.