Bit of Alright is returning, and soon: May the 10th.

Last year, after the first ever Bit of Alright finished, I was speaking to the production team (Jo and Ross), and they asked “How do you think that went?”. I replied: “I think it was okay, but what I’d really like to do, next year, is this, again… but… but on a converted East German fishing trawler built during the Cold War. It’d have AV and stages in the cargo holds, and a lovely crew, and it’s outlook would be primarily cultural rather than commercial. If only such a thing existed”.

That’s a lie, I didn’t say that, but this is no lie at all: Bit of Alright will be happening again, on May the 10th 2013, 12:00 — 17:00, on the M.S. Stubnitz, a converted East German fishing trawler moored at Canary Wharf in London. It has AV and stages in the cargo holds, a lovely crew, and their outlook is primarily cultural rather than commercial. You can pretty much see by their Flickr stream just how fantastic a venue it is.

Speakers for BoA this time include Mike Bithell, Holly Gramazio (Hide&Seek), George Buckenham (Die Gute Fabrik), Cara Ellison (Littleloud/RPS), Ben Milsom (Mind Candy), Mitu Khandaker (The Tiniest Shark), Stephen Morris (Greenfly Studios), and Jonathan Whiting, among more to be announced. Subjects will range from game and level design through to Twine games and building custom hardware. Of course, there’ll be loads of live games to play as well, and some unconventional design workshops.

It’s going to be brilliant. Tickets are on sale at Eventbrite, and the very limited early bird ones are only £25.

In the same weekend, on the same ship there’s also the Apocalypse Gameshow shortly after Bit of Alright, and the night after another London based Wild Rumpus.

If you can’t make any of those, the ever stalwart GameCamp is on the following Saturday, 18th of May at LSBU. Tickets are being sold separately for all of these events, and you can get your Bit of Alright one here.

A presskit with logos and the first release is also downloadable here.

Edit: BoA is also on Lanyrd now.

(Lovely artwork, once again, by Amy Blackwell).