Local Belper boy, George Wysall, 12, announced as finalist in BAFTA Young Games Designer Awards
London, June: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the finalists in a nation-wide competition to find the game designers of the future, and the educators who inspire them. The winners, chosen by a panel of games professionals, will be revealed at a special awards ceremony at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly in London on Saturday 8 July.
George Wysall, 12, from Belper has fought off tough competition from hundreds of entries across the UK, to see his game ‘Island of Illusions’ recognised in the Game Making (10-14) category. The game sees the player act as a pirate making their way through four increasingly hard levels to hit the emerald treasure.
Speaking about becoming a finalist, George, who attends Belper School, commented: “I’ve loved games designing for a number of years but before this game I’d always struggled to create my own characters. I’m really proud that I created the protagonist and most of the animation in this game from scratch using code. It took hours of work and was really hard but having it recognised by BAFTA has made all the effort worthwhile and inspired me to carry on developing my coding skills. I’m really excited about the ceremony next month and meeting other young games designers from across the country.”
The BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) competition, in association with Nominet Trust, gives young people the chance to design and create their own game. The initiative is now in its sixth year and has seen previous entrants go on to attract commercial interest, as well as a nomination at the British Academy Games Awards, BAFTA’s flagship ceremony for the games industry.
Forty games, made by individuals or teams of young people aged 10-18, will be vying for the Game Concept Award and Game Making Award, which recognise a written game idea, or a game made using computer software respectively. The winners of both strands, in 10-14 and 15-18 age ranges, will receive a host of prizes, including: a mentor from the games industry to help them develop their skills further, tours of leading games studios, and a prototype of their game created by a team of developers. For the list of prizes, go to: http://ygd.bafta.org/about-ygd/ygd-news/ygd-2017-winners-prizes
The young finalists come from across England, Scotland and Wales – stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance – and one-third is female. The successful entrants include two who were also finalists in 2016. To see the full list of young finalists, and to play the games in the Game Making category, go to http://ygd.bafta.org/winners-nominees
Five educators are in the running for the YGD Mentor Award, which is presented to an individual, nominated by the public, involved in the education of young game designers. The winner in this category will be announced at the Awards ceremony in July. The Mentor Award finalists come from schools, colleges and code clubs in Renfrewshire, West Sussex, Suffolk and Bristol. For profiles of the Mentor Award finalists, go to http://ygd.bafta.org/about-ygd/ygd-news/ygd-2017-mentor-nominees
BAFTA is also presenting a YGD Hero Award for support for young games designers by an industry professional or development team. The winner of this award, selected by the BAFTA Games Committee, is announced today as Unity Technologies, creators of Unity, the largest global development platform for creating 2D, 3D, VR and AR games and experiences, including a free version for personal use.
Nick Button-Brown, Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee, said: “Each year I’m truly inspired by the amazing games that we see and the talent, creativity and enthusiasm that all our entrants show. I never fail to be humbled by how much better their work is than what I could do at their age. The entrants to this competition will help to define the future of the games industry, and I for one look forward to seeing what they come up with and playing their games.
“BAFTA Young Game Designers also recognises those who inspire the next generation, and we’re delighted to honour the companies and teams within our industry that encourage people to get involved in making games, as well as the individuals who work tirelessly to inspire the next generation of games makers to achieve their dreams. The awards ceremony in July is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate with all the winners and finalists.”
Chris Ashworth, Programme Director at Nominet Trust, said: “Nominet Trust are delighted to support BAFTA Young Game Designers for the third consecutive year. It’s a great opportunity for young people up and down the country to take part in, and be inspired by the games industry and for the sector itself to ignite an interest in STEM careers. Once again, we’ve been overwhelmed by the creativity and thrilled to see a sustained increase in the number of entries from girls.”
Jessica Lindl, Global Head of Education at Unity, said: "We are very grateful to BAFTA for this recognition. At Unity, we believe every young person should have the opportunity to learn how to become a creator, and not just a consumer, of technology. That's why we invest so deeply in building a powerful and flexible engine that makes young people's dreams a reality."
The BAFTA YGD competition is part of a year-round programme of activity that gives young people and educators unique insights into the games industry and access to the creative minds behind some of their favourite games. Support includes: a website (www.bafta.org/ygd) where BAFTA members, award winners and nominees share their insights and advice and a range of teaching resources that link the BAFTA YGD competition to the national curriculum.
Nominet Trust – the UK’s only dedicated tech for good funder – is headline partner of the initiative, working with BAFTA to develop additional schools-focussed activity addressing the under-representation of women in the games workforce. Other supporting partners of BAFTA Young Game Designers include: Criterion, Bcdkey.com, Jagex, King, Ubisoft, SEGA, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Unity and WB Games. Abertay University will support the development of the games of the winners of the BAFTA YGD competition. For further details about the initiative, visit www.bafta.org/ygd.
BAFTA YGD Awards ceremony – event details:
Saturday 8 July at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London
13:00 Red carpet arrivals and reception, including display of finalists’ games
14:00 Ceremony commences
16:00 Ceremony ends
Follow the ceremony on the @BAFTAGames Twitter account #YGD.
More News From Amber Valley Info
| Companion Pass For Eligible Disabled Gold Bus Card Users Now Available Eligible disabled Gold Card holders can now apply for a companion pass, allowing another person to travel with read more | |
| Mobile speed camera locations in Derbyshire during May 2024 Derbyshire Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team (C.R.E.S.T) will be carrying out mobile safety camera enforcement read more | |
| Travel Survey Launched For Belper, Glossop And Ilkeston How do you get around town if you live in Belper, Glossop or Ilkeston? And what improvements do you think should be made to m read more | |
| Call Out for Hobby Horse Riders to Take Part in DCG Fundraiser for Brave Ex-Student Derby College Group (DCG) is staging a Hobby Horse Charity Event at Broomfield Hall for Libby Dod read more | |
| Unique stone cottage with a twist revealed at Derbyshire development A century old stone building that stands opposite woodland, has now been given a complete make-over in Derbyshir read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Cold Callers claiming to be working on behalf of Derbyshire County Council Policehave seen and increase in reports of 'cold callers' where people are claiming to be working on behal read more | |
| Subscriptions For Amber Valley Borough Councils 2024 Garden Waste Service Are Now Open The garden waste collection service is available to all residents in Amber Valley except for r read more | |
| Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley Mobile networks are being improved in Ripley boosting the speed, performance and coverage of mobile services in the area. read more | |
| Trent Barton Buses - Extension Of The £2 Single Fare Cap Trent Barton Buses have confirmed their participation in the extension of the £2 single fare cap until the end o read more | |
| Crich Tramway Village Looking For An Engineering Manager The successful candidate for this post will have excellent management skills gained whilst working in a practical workshop e read more | |
