London, 12 March: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced the launch of the 2014 BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, 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 opens as previous competition winner, Dan Pearce, is nominated for a BAFTA at this evening’s British Academy Games Awards.
BAFTA Young Game Designers is UK-wide competition open to 11-16 year olds, and consists of two strands: The Game Concept Award, to create a concept for a new video game; and the Game Making Award, to submit a game created using freely available software.
Young people can enter one or both categories, as an individual, as a pair, or as a team of three. Finalists in both categories will attend a special awards ceremony at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly in London, on Saturday 12 July, and the winners 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 copy of all Warner Bros. game releases in 2014 on day of release (subject to age restrictions and Terms & Conditions);
• Exclusive signed artwork from previous Criterion Games releases, courtesy of EA;
• A special PlayStation®First Little Big Planet Education starter kit for the winners’ schools, consisting of two PS3 and three PS Vita consoles with respective Little Big Planet software, presented by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
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 The 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.
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”. During the visit, the Duke met previous competition winners Charlie Hutton-Pattemore and Christopher Purdy, who won the Game Concept Award and Game Making Award respectively in 2012, and Dan Pearce, who was part of a team of three that won the first competition in 2010 with their game Hamster: Accidental World Domination, and is today nominated in the Debut Game category at the British Academy Games Awards with Castles in the Sky.
Harvey Elliott, Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee and the BAFTA Children’s committee, said: “BAFTA Young Game Designers is back bigger and better this year, with a host of opportunities for young people to learn from the experts before entering the competition. After only four years, we already have our first BAFTA nominee who was nurtured through the initiative, and we look forward to helping other budding young game designers take their first steps towards a career in this exciting industry.”
Industry partners include EA, Jagex, King, Sony Computer Entertainment UK, SEGA, Unity, Warner Bros. UK 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 its tech experts to create a game app.
The competition is open to all UK residents (including residents of the Channel Islands and the Isle Of Man) aged between 11 and 16 years-old during the current academic year. The deadline for entries is midnight on Monday 26 May. To enter, and for more information, visit: www.bafta.org/ygd.
For further information, please contact:
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Rosie Mann
Tel: 020 7010 0843
Email: [email protected]
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Hollie Rendall
Tel: 020 7010 0829
Email: [email protected]
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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 http and www.bafta.org/guru.