WELCOME Welcome to the British Academy Games Awards in 2013, our annual celebration of inspirational talent and the very best games of the past year… Alongside our Awards, we’re expanding our learning programme, and we now hold more than 250 events a year across the UK and US. These include a multitude of games events and initiatives, including developer Q&As, masterclasses and lectures; most of which are filmed and made available on our BAFTA Guru website. I encourage you to take part, and spread the word – we’re determined to attract the best young talent to the industry, and inspire them to achieve the same level of excellence we honour here tonight. One of our most established games initiatives is the highly-regarded BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, now entering its fourth year. As well as winning a trip to SCE London Studio, the most recent winners, Charlie HuttonPattemore and Christopher Purdy, visited Abertay University, where Charlie had the opportunity to develop his game with a previous Ones To Watch winner. Both Charlie and Christopher’s prototype games are on display this evening. We’re also focused on women in games. Although girls represented a good third of our Young Game Designers entrants last year, our recent Career Pathways survey revealed that young women were markedly
less likely than young men to consider a career in games and, more worryingly, were more likely to be discouraged from entering the industry. So, we have set up a Girls Into Games group, bringing together games professionals, educational establishments, youth groups and careers advisers to understand the issues, showcase best practice and encourage greater engagement. And so to tonight’s Awards. This year we waived the entry fee for the first game that companies submitted, which resulted in an overall increase in entries, particularly from indie developers. We also introduced a new category – British Game – to celebrate creative development here in the UK. Good luck to all tonight’s nominees. Thank you to BAFTA’s energetic production team, including Kelly Smith, Clare Brown and Sophie Deveson, and to our wonderful host, Dara O Briain. Thanks also to the BAFTA juries and the Games Committee, thoughtfully chaired by Harvey Elliott. And thank you all for your support and exceptional work. Enjoy the ceremony. JOHN WILLIS CHAIRM AN OF THE ACADEMY
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