WOOHOO! IT’S THAT SPECIAL TIME of the year again when the world descends on Edinburgh to get their jollies. Yes, it’s another Dare ProtoPlay.

Last year we went and let everyone get their hands on Quarrel in an unpolished state, which turned out to be an awesome long weekend. Not only did we get to see where improvements needed to be made, we also got to see first-hand just how happy we could make people with our word-play (the memory of which only makes me sadder that Quarrel still isn’t out there for the rest of the world to enjoy).

This year we have the quite different but not less splendid Juggle! on Xbox, which is soon to be released through Xbox LIVE Indie Games. And to add to the mix we have some prizes and Denki Goody-Goody Bags to give away. Whey-hey!

(We will also have the new versions of Denki Blocks! and the latest version of (sigh) Quarrel for good measure.)

Andy, Paul, Sean and I will be in full effect on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. So if you happen to be in the area, do drop by and say “Hi” or “Wotcha” or “Awwight!” or whatever your preferred form of salutation might be.

Of course, ProtoPlay isn’t all about us… I’m looking forward to reviewing the 15 labours of virtual love from the Dare teams and seeing what comes out the other end of the 48-hour Game Jam.

I’m also keen to get my hands on – well, in or in front of, I guess – Kinect Sports. As a Wii Sports fan I’m interested to see how this form of play feels without a prop in hand (I’m hoping for a positive experience here).

Oh, and I’m jibber-jabbering to share words of wisdom here and there, including at the Dare/BAFTA Video Games Workshop, which should be a doozy.