Winners Announced for the Young Game Designers 2024 Competition

• Winners were announced by actor and comedian Inel Tomlinson at a digital ceremony
• The ceremony is available to watch in full on BAFTA’s YouTube channel
• The winning games will be displayed as part of the Science Museum’s Power Up experience in London and Science &  Industry Museum in Manchester

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BAFTA has today announced the four talented winners of this year’s Young Game Designers (YGD) competition, via a special digital ceremony hosted by actor, comedian and presenter Inel Tomlinson for the third year running.

The 49 finalists were competing for one of two awards - the Game Concept Award which rewards the most unique and creative game ideas, and the Game Making Award for the most technically impressive coding skills. Each of these awards is split into two age categories (10-14 and 15-18).

The Game Concept Award (10-14) was won by Orson Hayward (14) from Dundee, for his game concept ‘Collateral Damage’. ‘Collateral Damage’ is a fun, fast, frantic game for anyone who loves mayhem and was inspired by Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants book series. It follows the player as ‘George the Caretaker’ as he races to clean up damage caused by superheroes battling giant robots. Orson’s creation sees George the Caretaker’s dream of “one day retiring from his relentless job… to sip mocktails in Hawaii.” Players have the pleasure of seeing George sipping mocktails on a beach in Hawaii having achieved his dream if they complete ‘Collateral Damage’.

The Game Concept Award (15-18) was won by Tallulah Martinez (17) from Hastings. Their winning game concept, ‘The Whispering Wilds’, is set in a world of ancient magic, exploring the open world and discovering the four covens - dusk, dawn, day and night, who have been forced into hiding and learning about the world’s magical plants and their medicinal uses. Tallulah made the game for all audiences to educate them about history but particularly art-loving audiences and hopes playing ‘The Whispering Wilds’ “feels like you’re playing through an art piece or painting with your environment.”

The Game Making Award (10-14) was won by Ethan Linwood (13) from Hull, for his game ‘DnB Bullet Hell’ - a fast-paced, pattern based dodging game that is synced to drum and bass music where the player dodges bullets that shoot out from bullet makers that shoot in a variety of ways. Ethan found the music syncing and level design process two major challenges in the creation of his game and sought to learn skills to overcome these. He sees adding more playable characters with different abilities as a way to develop his game further in the future!

The Game Making Award (15-18) was won by Dan Wragg (17) from Hawksworth. Dan’s winning game, ‘Unplugged’ is an electricity-themed game in which players must solve a range of puzzles by powering electrical components. By using their battery and wire, players must reach their plug socket. Dan’s game is different to anything he’s ever made before and chose to let the design speak for itself by avoiding using text.

The BAFTA YGD ceremony was streamed on BAFTA’s YouTube channel, with highlights and clips available to watch on Twitter (@BAFTAGames) and LinkedIn. Official Partners of BAFTA Young Game Designers include: Criterion Games, Epic Games, PlayStation, Warner Bros. Games and Wizards of the Coast.

BAFTA Young Game Designers ceremony host Inel Tomlinson said: “Congrats to our four fantastic BAFTA Young Game Designers winners! We were blown away by the skill and creativity displayed by all our 49 finalists across the UK. We hope all these games will inspire and give confidence to anyone thinking of applying in the future. BAFTA Young Game Designers is a great way for young people to explore the craft of game design, I can’t wait to see what our Young Game Designers will go on to create!”

The four winners were selected from a pool of 49 exceptionally skilled finalists, by a jury of industry experts from some of the most well-known gaming companies in the UK. The juries were chaired by  Katherine Bidwell (Founder, State of Play Games), Nick Button-Brown (Founder, The Games Angels), Des Gayle (Founder, Altered Gene), and Tara Saunders (Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee).

Juror Shavonne Yu, Product Designer at META Reality Labs, Metaverse Equity in Horizon Worlds said: “I was honoured to serve as a juror for BAFTA's Young Game Designers competition. The level of craft, attention to detail, and creativity I saw has reinvigorated me to put more love into my own games! The future of gaming shines brightly.”

Juror Emily Brown, 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough and Lead Designer at UsTwo Games said: “It was incredible to see the level of creativity and imagination showcased in the Bafta Young Game Designers entries. The finalists for the concept category communicated the essence of their idea and backed it up with details. They placed us in the world they wanted to create. It was a pleasure to participate in the jury for the concept category and get a chance to see such a broad range of  creative ideas . I am excited about the new perspectives and ideas of the next generation of game makers.”

Tim Hunter, BAFTA executive director, Learning, Inclusion, Policy & Membership, said: “Congratulations to our winning game creators, and to our finalists, who have all displayed a tremendous amount of talent and creativity. It was great to see the finalists be inspired by such a wide variety of games and themes, as evidenced by the diversity of concepts and game mechanics. As BAFTA Young Game Designers continues to support the next generation of game-makers, it’s incredible to see so many young people across the UK being given the chance to pursue their passion at such an early stage, and to hear from leading industry experts at our BAFTA Young Game Designers Open Weekend. I look forward to seeing what our brilliant winners and finalists will do next.”

2024 winners will be featured in the prestigious Power Up experience, alongside some of the very best video games and consoles from the past five decades, including an array of previous YGD winners. Power Up will be showcasing this year’s winners at the Science Museum in London and at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester from 28 June 2024.

Further details on all the winners and their games will be made available here. Interviews available on request. Further information about BAFTA Young Game Designers can be found here.