BAFTA/ Jamie Simonds Conor Maynard and Ben Hanlin presented awards to Rhianna Hawkins aged 16 and Adam Oliver aged 15, at the BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards 2014.
The talented finalists of the Young Game Designers competition 2014 made their way to BAFTA's headquarters on Saturday 12 July for an exciting awards ceremony packed with game demos, Yogscast Kim, HatFilms, Conor Maynard and star of ITV's Tricked Ben Hanlin.
After the finalists put their gaming skills to the test and previewed the computer games made by the nominees of the Game Making Award, they were ushered in for the start of the ceremony. With all the finalists in attendance, all that remained was the nerve-wracking announcement and it was left down to Conor Maynard and Ben Hanlin to reveal the winners.
Rhianna Hawkins, the first ever female YGD winner, was presented with the Game Concept Award for Tomatos Role, involving a tomato as the central character, directed by the player through a fruit salad of obstacles.
Mark Ogilvie, Design Director at Jagex and jury member for YGD 2014 said: “It's a funny, exciting idea with a real spark. As a concept it is difficult to fault, the beauty is it is simple and tactile. I can feel the personality of this designer and would like to work with them.”
Adam Oliver took home the Game Making Award for AlienX, in which the player travels across four solar systems and completes 21 levels to battle the boss AlienX.
Andrea Wastlund, Assistant Producer at FreeStyleGames, said: “AlienX has so much thought put into it…I’m very impressed with the design and puzzles, and it could work on iPad. Amazing!”
“Rhianna and Adam are two very exciting new young game designers. Rhianna, our first ever female winner, bodes well for the future of our male-dominated industry, and Adam, who has received a top award at the third attempt, demonstrates the power of perseverance."
- Harvey Elliott, Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee
Now in its fourth year, the BAFTA Young Game Designers initiative aims to inspire the game designers and game-makers of the future by giving 11-16 year-olds the chance to design and create their own game and develop it with industry professionals.
As part of their prize, Rhianna Hawkins and Adam Oliver both received:
• 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
For more information, www.bafta.org/ygd
