The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today revealed the finalists of the 2014 BAFTA Young Game Designers competition for 11-16 year-olds, which aims to inspire the game designers and game-makers of the future by giving young people the chance to design and create their own video game and develop it with industry professionals.
The competition, now in its fourth year, consists of two strands: The Game Concept Award, for entrants who submit a written idea for a new game; and the Game Making Award, for entrants who submit a game they have made using computer software.
The finalists for both awards - who were selected by a jury of industry experts - will attend a special awards ceremony at BAFTA's headquarters, 195 Piccadilly in London, on Saturday 12 July, where the winners will be announced, following a final 'super jury' of games industry professionals and celebrity gamers.
The ceremony will be hosted by Ross Hornby (djh3max), Chris Trott (Trottimus) and Alex Smith (Alsmiffy), gaming filmmakers from
Youtube sensation Hat Films, part of the hugely popular Yogscast network.
The shortlisted entrants demonstrate the breadth of engagement across the country, with the 17 teams and individual finalists hailing from Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, London, Somerset, Warwickshire and West Sussex. For a full list of the finalists, and the industry juries, go to http://ygd.bafta.org/YGD-2014.
BAFTA President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, on a visit to a workshop in November, said: "BAFTA Young Game Designers is a brilliant scheme to get young people started in games".
Harvey Elliott, Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee and the BAFTA Children's Committee, said: "We're incredibly excited to be bringing all the finalists of this year's BAFTA Young Game Designers competition together to celebrate their achievements and announce the winners. The quality of the entries for both the Game Concept and Game Making Awards has been exceptional. I hope that some of this year's finalists will follow in the footsteps of Dan Pearce, a winner in 2010, who was nominated for a BAFTA earlier this year."
The winners of both strands will receive:
• A physical BAFTA Young Game Designers Award;
• Further development of their game with the University of Abertay Dundee;
• An exclusive, unique, studio visit, courtesy of Jagex;
• A selection of 2014 Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment game releases;
• Exclusive signed artwork from previous Criterion Games releases, courtesy of EA;
• A special PlayStation®First Education starter kit for the winners' schools, consisting of three PS3 consoles with Little Big Planet software and three PS Vita consoles with Tearaway software, presented by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
The BAFTA Young Game Designers initiative seeks to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become the next generation of successful game designers. It aims to demystify the creative process of games development and highlight how key qualifications in areas such as maths, physics and computer
Science are essential for those wishing to enter the industry.
The competition is supported by a year-round programme of activity, including: a dedicated website (www.bafta.org/ygd) where BAFTA members, award winners and nominees share their insights and advice through interviews and exclusive video content; a web series, fronted by internet celebrities Yogscast, that gives a light-hearted look behind the scenes of the games industry; an online 'feedback hub' where young people can submit ideas or questions about their entry, with the chance of gaining a personalised response from a games expert; and live workshops around the country.
Industry partners include EA, Jagex, King, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, SEGA, Unity, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and University of Abertay Dundee. Tesco and its technology companies support the initiative as a Mentoring Partner, offering opportunities for young people to be mentored by tech experts to create a game app.
Further details about the initiative, as well as teaching resources and details of workshops that took place around the country, can be found at www.bafta.org/ygd.
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world's most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures, scholarships and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit www.bafta.org, and to access the best creative minds in film, TV and games production visit www.bafta.org/guru.
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