29 June 2019 | BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, London
HRH The Duke of Cambridge, KG President of the Academy
Welcome to the 2019 BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards The games industry is always excited to see the new ideas from our upcoming designers in the BAFTA YGD competition. The Game Concept category reminds us about the flexibility of games to express ourselves. BAFTA firmly believes that games are art and your entries into this year’s award show just how ideas and themes can be interpreted to create something wonderful and new. I am always impressed by the technical ability of those in the Game Making category. In particular, how they have overcome any difficulties they encountered during the game making process. Making games is all about overcoming challenges – when things stop working or do not react in the way you expect it can be very easy to give up. I admire all of you for submitting a working prototype! The Mentor Award is hugely important in celebrating those who equip their students with all of these skills. This year’s category shows how many different sources of games education is becoming available – not just in schools but in separate clubs and studios. Our YGD educational resources have been developed alongside industry professionals and we welcome feedback on how to improve and aid you further in the classroom. Congratulations to all the entrants and I cannot wait to see your next games!
David Gardner Vice President for Games, BAFTA
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The BAFTA Young Game Designers competition is now in its ninth year and we are seeing massive leaps in how young people are using the medium of games - the perfect combination of creativity, art and technology - to express themselves and the world around them. It is wonderful to see such a wide range of creative ideas in this year’s entries and it is particularly humbling to note the theme of climate change and how important it is to protect our environment. I find it reassuring to see the next generation of game designers using our innovative storytelling medium as a powerful vehicle for such important issues. The past year has seen YGD involved in a number of events around the UK. We joint-hosted the first Young Developers Conference at the Bradford Science and Media Museum as part of the Yorkshire Games Festival. This included a number of YGD workshops designed to speak to young people, parents and teachers about how to come up with new game ideas. We also took part in the inaugural Interactive Futures Festival in Leamington Spa and attended the Norwich Gaming Festival, where we spoke about the importance of games and their impact on young people. It is incredibly important to BAFTA and the games industry in general that we are open to healthy discussion around the power and reach of games, and that we highlight some of the fantastic work they do in bringing people together and addressing difficult topics. To give our Young Game Designers the support they need would not be possible without our industry partners, Creative Assembly (SEGA), Criterion (EA), Jagex, King, PlayStation, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. We gratefully thank them all for their generous support. I would also like to thank the commitment of the BAFTA team and Melissa Phillips in particular, who so brilliantly champions our art, inclusion and diversity of ideas. Best of luck to all finalists and I hope you have an excellent ceremony. We are very much looking forward to seeing what you do next!
Dr Jo Twist OBE Chair of BAFTA’s Games Committee & Chair of the Game Concept Award Jury
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YGD 2019 It has been another fantastic year for the BAFTA Young Game Designers. The 2019 competition welcomed a new partnership with the Yorkshire Games Festival, where we hosted the Young Developers Conference at the National Science and Media Museum. We will be returning again in February 2020! We are currently busy planning for the launch of our 2020 competition (in October this year) at Alexandra Palace, where we will be joining with various YGD supporters to put on a number of events for young designers, parents and teachers. This year many of our previous winners returned to help with various stages of the YGD jury. We caught up with Sophia Shepherd and Prithvi Kohli to hear about their experiences and get their advice for this year’s finalists.
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I can say with confidence that all of the finalists’ games this year are of such incredible talent. It has been so great to see young people tackling themes such as environmental issues and representation of LGBTQ+ communities. I’ve loved my year with BAFTA YGD; meeting incredible people from the games industry and going to events has been an exciting experience I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. In terms of advice: keep exploring and engaging with game design and talk to other entrants at the ceremony! All the finalists have so much potential and I’m very excited to see what they all do next.” Sophia Shepherd, 2018 15-18 Years Game Concept Winner (Tea & Tartlets along with teammates Kat Shields & Rin Jones)
Right: The 2018 YGD Award winners Prithvi Kohli, Sophia Shepherd, Kat Shields, Erin Jones, Harry Thurston, Dalvia & Tiya Dhillon, with presenters and hosts of the ceremony; Bottom left: Winners of the YGD Game Concept 15-18 Award, Sophia Shepherd, Kat Shields & Erin Jones; Bottom right: Prithvi Kohli, winner of the YGD Game Making 15-18 Award
This year’s finalist games have been super impressive as always, both in terms of their creativity and execution. Seeing such creative and innovative ideas, from how games can be used to tackle climate change to exploring unique and innovative ways of how narratives can be explored in games, and experiencing these ideas first-hand with such technically apt execution, has been an exciting and inspirational experience. My year with BAFTA YGD has been so inspiring and confidence-boosting; from attending BAFTA event and studio tours to meeting industry professionals. I have gained so much insight and advice for getting into the games industry — I’ve never been more excited about making
games! To everyone who entered this year: keep going! What’s most important is what you have gained and learned from this experience; if you’re a winner or finalist, make sure to use and learn from BAFTA’s opportunities; if you didn’t make quite make it there, use everything you’ve learnt and the skills you’ve gained from taking part in YGD, and just keep going! I can’t wait to see what you all make next!” Prithvi Kohli, 2018 Game Making Winner 15-18 Years
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THE NOMINEES
10-14 YEARS
GAME CONCEPT AWARD
A World Without You Luke Pierson (14)
“As the light and dark become unbalanced, two players fight together to reach the city and restore it as they try to survive an open world of teamwork!”
For the most creative and original concept for a new game
Escaping Giza
I Seek Death
Shreeya Srivastava (14) Jesse Waymont (13) Divya Sundararagan (14) “After the death of her father, seven
“Escaping Giza is a fun two-player desktop game set in Ancient Egypt for children over six. The game includes finding hidden objects, using secret powers and escaping the mummies, all while trying to get to the exit.” The game is set in a pyramid in Ancient Egypt with 15 levels. The aim of the game is for the two players to work together to get to the gateway and collect the amulet piece and the special item on each level, without being caught by the mummies.
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year old Frankie sets out on a journey to find ‘Death’, and ask him to send her dad home. She finds herself as a patchwork doll in a magical land, and her story is told in chapters representing the five stages of grief.”
The game opens in Frankie’s room, with the objective of leaving home to find death. The player follows Frankie into a forest, where she solves puzzles and trades with bugs that get larger in size. At the end of the level, she goes behind a tree and re-emerges as a patchwork doll in a patchwork village.
The game is an open-world multiplayer game where both players are connected and share a heart. A day and night cycle occur where the moon man (Lunare) can only adventure away from the heart at night. The same goes for the sun man (Solare) but with the day. You must rely on each other to protect and solve puzzles and battles in your ‘shifts’ as you gain friendships and help from side characters to get you into the city.
Lord of the Lockers
Anish Raja (12)
“Lord the Lockers in London” The game is based on the real-life scenario of forgetting your lunchbox in your locker. The story is that you accidentally leave your lunchbox in your locker over the summer holidays and when you come back, you notice that an unknown alien life form has developed inside your locker.
Colours
Echo
Escape Extinction
Evelyn Sanger-Davies (13) Anica Tahsin (14) Jessica Nunn-Wright (14) “An exciting game where the player
Annabel Davies (13) Jessica Argall (13)
“You wake up as a different person each day for seven days and have to fit in as them whilst trying to find out information about a mysterious person that keeps appearing and seems to know everything about you. Eat, sleep, repeat, but not in this game.”
“A fun, action-packed game which teaches you about saving animals through exciting mini-games, and creates a scrapbook of wonderful pictures of animals you’ve saved as you play.”
Our game is a retro indie game. The colour scheme varies depending on the level. The ‘overworld’ (when you’re moving around the room) is like the retro games, but when you talk to or interact with someone/ something, the camera zooms in so you can see them in higher definition and up close in first person.
Odoodem
Natalie Edwards (11)
“Stack your way to success with Odoodem, whilst learning about the Native Americans of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada.” Many poles actually have the most important figure on the bottom, while others are placed in the middle, so you can choose which order and which four heads you want out of ten possible heads. To progress to the next level, you have to solve an anagram or a matching and make a pair, or a multiple choice general knowledge question.
treks through a maze of darkness on the perilous path to find home.”
In this game, the player selects a character and uses echolocation to find their way around in a set time. The game is set in a pitchblack screen and the only visible thing to the user is the face of their character, which is an outline of a person’s face, and the waves, which are neon colours.
Pixel Trek
Hannah Bush (13) Shaiyana Suresh (12)
“A game with a moral: bigger goals can be achieved with smaller progressive efforts, however this is portrayed in a fun computer world game.” Imagine a world inside a computer system. It is made up of a number of sub-systems. In this game, these sub-systems are treated as part of the world, where the game begins its life. As one could expect, the life inside a computer system will revolve around information and data. Therefore, the game will centre around how the player will interact with these sub-systems by exchanging necessary data.
The player designs their custombuilt avatar, who explores the world map, finding endangered animals to save. Each level is a new animal, and they have to complete a series of mini-games and challenges to increase the number of that animal left in our world.
Whale Tales
Davidzo Makaya (14) Maewen Le Coguic (14) Scarlet Cefai-Price (14)
“A 3D simulation game highlighting the constant struggles a stray whale has to face, as it makes its way back home through an endless jungle of pollution in the world’s oceans.” Our game follows the heart-warming journey of a young whale who has been separated from its pod. It has to learn how to avoid and deal with the perils that come with navigating through a pollution-filled ocean because of the human race’s negligence.
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Change Starts with You
Kyle Randall (16)
“Evaluating a serious issue in today’s society in a non-graphical and enjoyable style. A game holding a moral meaning through the fun and challenging mini-games and story.” Plastic is one of the world’s biggest environmental issues today. This most versatile material is causing a lot of harm to our wildlife, especially birds and marine life. So, what would you do if you had the chance to resolve this issue?
Efflorescia
Colour Theory
Jagoda Warda (16)
Tyler Rotheram (18)
“Your name is Rem. You are trapped in a fading world losing its colour. With nothing but your old sketchbook, you must try restoring the land to how it once was while searching for a way out.”
“A thrillingly comedic interactive adventure game with escape-room puzzles, whose story is influenced by items.”
A third-person 3D adventure game with platforming features, which gives you the ability to manipulate the environment for utility and combat by drawing symbols on the screen using a mouse or graphics tablet.
Creatively Bankrupt
Amelia Hollingsworth (16) Elizabeth Orji-Smith (17) “RPG meets rhythm game in this heart-warming floral fantasy adventure.”
“An action RPG about a small animation crew turned part-time Robin Hood heist group. They snoop around studios in a hyperbolic Explore the four flower clans of entertainment-built city to share Efflorescia as a customizable once-exclusive resources, balance protagonist, gaining party members the scales, and bust open the big along the way and working together score - the secret vault!” as a team. Save the flower people from the feared underground crystal The story is of a freelance animation people by battling enemies through studio with different skill-sets trying to a rhythm-based minigame! break down barriers. Their goal is to collect the private tools and secret tech from other groups, retrieve copies, and provide versions that are able to be distributed for everyone to use. Other groups and sources help them with funding and quirky heist supplies, and you’ll hear their stories of triumphs and struggles as well.
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Conundrum
Conundrum is a first-person interactive adventure game with escape-room puzzles in which the player tries to escape a hotel they have been trapped inside. The player is put in the shoes of 16-year-old Sasser, who has been abducted and held in a hotel where he is made to complete trials based upon the seven cardinal sins.
Light Up, Lightbulb!
Celeste Herron (15) Eva Simpson (15) Lara-Anne Herron (17)
“Light up, Light Bulb! is an exciting and heart-warming tale centring around you, the player, and a colourful cast of characters that aid you in your adventure. Explore the world from a light bulb’s point of view and restore the light like a true hero!” When a family goes on vacation and hires an irresponsible pet-sitter that leaves the lights on, the house is plagued into darkness as the existing bulbs die out. It’s up to the player and their squad of light bulb friends to restore all the lights in the house.
THE NOMINEES
GAME CONCEPT AWARD
Coral
Josiah Hendy (16)
Coral is an open-world 3D action adventure title that encourages exploration and skilled play through a deep yet accessible combat and base-building system. The game is set in a vibrant underwater kingdom born from the imagination of a child named Carl.
Ocean Shift
For the most creative and original concept for a new game
Our Epiphany
Abigail Tan (16)
Yue Qi (15)
“An isometric puzzle-strategy game where the player navigates the ocean of an alien planet by manipulating the terrain, and learning about rocks and minerals along the way.”
“Pretty lies hide behind a pretty guise and, just as that is so, the layers we unravel from someone’s words can reach a much deeper level than what we typically expect.”
After a failed space exploration experiment by a scientific research organisation, the player has crash-landed in the ocean of an alien planet and must explore the environment by navigating the ocean and creating paths by altering the terrain.
Our Epiphany follows two boys who bump into each other, and not just figuratively, in a busy street by sheer co-incidence. The strong undercurrent of Maicha’s bubbling anger, combined with the shock and worry felt by Daichi causes everything around them to pause – literally. This unexpected surge of opposing emotions contorts their plane of reality, allowing them to see odd, ‘dandelion-like’ critters hovering around the stationary humans, who are all frozen except for the two protagonists.
15-18 YEARS
“A 3D action adventure game set in a colourful underwater kingdom born from a child’s imagination where the player’s progress is measured by their skill and competence.”
Pax Hibernia
Rossa Smallman (18)
“A management & political strategy game based around the process of peace & reconciliation in Northern Ireland, the player must manage and ensure the balance of power within the 11 district areas in order to achieve some form of relative peace.” Pax Hibernia allows players to explore the politics, culture, history, and people of Northern Ireland through a management and political strategy game. The game will feature game-play systems designed to emphasise the importance of diversity and democratic values within politics.
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BAFTA would like to thank all of our Industry Readers and Jury: Game Concept Final Round Jury: Tara Saunders (Chair) Adam Pearce Aoife Wilson Ary Shirazi Dean Dobbs Elle Osilli-Wood Mark Ogilvie Sophia Shepherd Game Making Final Round Jury: Dr Jo Twist OBE (Chair) Alysia Judge Des Gayle Jane Douglas Jim Jagger John Stanley Pete Brisbourne Prithvi Kohli
Every year is full of utterly fantastic and amazing achievements by people a lot younger than me, which makes me feel very old, but also very optimistic for the future of game development in the UK.” Pete Brisbourne, Senior Game Designer, Jagex, Game Making Final Jury
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“I’d encourage everyone who took part to keep continuing to develop their ideas, or come up with new ones! From what I saw, everyone is on the right path to having a successful future career in the games industry and I can’t wait to follow your journeys.” Tara Saunders, Head of Studio Operations at PlayStation London, Chair of Final Round Game Concept Jury
JURY My advice to all of the amazing entries that didn’t get to win THIS TIME... you cannot and will not be an amazing developer without setbacks, failure and disappointment. These are literally the raw materials that success is built from. Only when we learn from our setbacks and failures, can we truly improve. In short, KEEP MAKING, KEEP DESIGNING, KEEP IMPROVING!” John Stanley, Senior Designer, Criterion Games, Game Making Final Jury
Right: Game Concept Final Round Jury 2019: Elle Osilli-Wood, Ary Shirazi, Adam Pearce, Aoife Wilson, Mark Ogilvie, Dean Dobbs, Sophia Shepherd & Tara Saunders (Chair); Bottom left: Game Making Final Jury 2019: Jane Douglas, Pete Brisbourne, Jim Jagger, Prithvi Kohli, John Stanley, Des Gayle, Mel Phillips & Jo Twist (Chair) (Not pictured: Alysia Judge)
After this, enjoy your summer holidays! Just being nominated means you’ve achieved so much, but the best designers take time to invest in other hobbies and relationships (those experiences and inspirations can even be used for later game ideas). So just relax, don’t burn yourself out. You’re doing great.” Alysia Judge, Producer and Presenter, Game Making Final Jury
“The quality of applications was quite simply mind-blowing. Every one of these developers can look forward to a very exciting future in the games industry!” Jim Jagger, Director of Animation, Rockstar Games, Game Making Final Jury
QUOTES “Based on the quality, innovation and down-right wackiness of this year’s concepts, I know our industry will be in safe hands. The next generation of games designers will continue to push digital entertainment to new heights, challenging the place that games have in our culture. It blew me away!” Mark Ogilvie, Design Director, Jagex, Game Concept Final Jury
Reading through the game concept entries made me feel incredibly optimistic about the games industry. If this is the level of talent we have coming up, I can’t wait to see what games look like a decade from now! I’d advise all the finalists to promote their work - make a website, set up a portfolio, and enter game jams.” Elle Osili-Wood, Editor and Presenter, PlayStation Access
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THE NOMINEES
10-14 YEARS
GAME MAKING AWARD
Deep Sea Dash
Catherine Lanaspre (13) & Faith Ekundayo (13) “A fish that struggles through a sea that is abundant with plastic, hoping that it will get past the plastic to safety.”
For the best original game made using freely available software
Ladder Climb
Louis Charles (14)
LASERASE: Demolition in the future
“A strategy game involving climbing ladders to move up and down floors, Max Robinson (14) in order to avoid enemies and traps, to get to the goal at the end of “A demolition puzzle game where each level.” the player uses a mirror to reflect a laser at targets to blow them The player moves in one direction up... avoiding lethal TNT which on and bounces off the walls to detonation would blow you up!” change direction. The player can place ladders anywhere in the level In my game, the player is trying to move up or down floors in order to demolish part of a building in to avoid traps and enemies, collect three different areas: a city, the power-ups, get to the next floor and countryside and a factory. The finally get to the goal. The player player must demolish the bricks can be damaged by ghosts and by deflecting a laser onto it using spikes, and can collect hearts to mirrors. Every level, the player is regain health. given one to three mirrors and a few bolted mirrors, which they use to win the level.
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In our game, a fish has to swim past the pieces of plastic that are floating in the ocean to get to the flag. We based our game on the real life impact humans are having on the environment. We were inspired after we read an article in the news about a dead whale that was washed up on the shores of Indonesia with 1,000 pieces of plastic in its stomach. This game is to inform players of the impact people are having on the environment.
Spooky Da Ghost Pavanjot Town (13)
“Prepare for a fun time, filled with rage and maybe laughter.” You go through a tutorial level that is quite easy before going to the menu to pick ‘Level Two’. This is the hardest level in the game, being a gravity shift level. After you complete that level by getting 100 points, you then watch a short animation where something happens to Spooky and leaves the game at a slight cliff-hanger.
Donut Rush
Elytron
Temesgen
William Roper (14)
“Donel is a newly fried doughnut, and doesn’t want to be sent to the shops to be eaten, like his fellow doughnuts before him. He decides he must escape the factory and try to prevent fellow doughnuts from the fate of being eaten.”
“My game is a tower defence and strategy game, which allows your player and turrets to progressively get stronger as the enemies get more powerful.”
You have just been fried, and you have to escape the factory to get to the city. Once you’ve left the factory, you go on a rampage through the city to find doughnuts in tanks, which have been sent to be sold in shops (known as ‘Stray Donuts’) and release them from their glass tanks so that they may reach safety.
Succession
Elsie Habgood (11)
“Succession teaches the player about the kings and queens who ruled England from 1066-1901, with colourful graphics, weird noises and crazy game modes.” Succession’s aim is to teach the player about the kings and queens who ruled England from 1066-1901. The player begins by playing the ‘Five a Day’ game mode on day one. Five a Day is a game mode that tests the player on five different kings and queens every day. By only learning five each day, it makes it an easier challenge.
You goal is to defend against the enemies (or beetles) which try and break a wall down separating you from them. When you kill the enemies, you gain gold, which can be used for weapon upgrades along with automatic turrets to help kill the enemies. To counter the players’ power growth, the enemies get stronger throughout the game by starting from a tier 1 enemy to a tier 3, then a boss.
Far-Fetched Phantoms
Alex Robinson (12) “You are a girl named ‘Laxmi’, exploring a haunted mansion where you encounter multiple Phantoms who extinguish your light. Fortunately, you have brought your magical far-fetched powers that let you push away Phantoms.” You explore a haunted house and protect yourself against the Phantoms that attack you. You have a shield and far-fetched magical powers to help you make your way through the house unharmed. Make sure your light isn’t extinguished in the time limit, as that will cause you to lose and have to restart that level.
The Creature Study Water the Crops Squad: Spell Like James Lindsay (11) Nobody is Watching! “Climate change is making it hard for Elise Scheurer (10)
“You are a mythical creature flying in the sky (dragon, griffin, phoenix or Pegasus). You have to spell 12 words perfectly to unlock the next level.” If you have at least seven correct, you succeed. If you have less than seven, you fail. All the correct words will be displayed at the end of the level, so that you can memorise them if you would like to try again to aim for a higher score (There are 11 levels).
Spud the potato farmer: there’s less rain and more storms; but you can help water the crops by diverting precious rain during the stormy season using crazy inventor Wizz’s drone umbrellas.”
Your aim is to direct precious water on to your two fields of potatoes during the stormy season. The more water the plant gets, the healthier it is. But if the plant dies and turns brown, it won’t recover.
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Blindspot
Nils Andre (15)
“Blindspot is a game for people with vision impairment as the player has only their sense of hearing to move around and win. This means that someone with vision impairment will not have any disadvantage compared to someone who can see correctly.”
Green Launch
Abigail Tan (16)
“A challenging fast-paced action platformer where you use your ‘Solar Launch’ abilities in an alternate reality to overcome hazardous obstacles and discover how to save the environment.”
In the game, you, the player, has to reach the endpoint to finish a level. To do so, the player will have to use sound only like a visually impaired person. This means that someone with vision impairment will have the same chance as someone without to win at this game.
In Green Launch, the player runs a computer simulation that takes them into an alternate reality where the world has been devastated by human impact on the environment. They have to overcome the challenges of the alternate world to find out what needs to be done to prevent the same thing happening to the real one.
Slow Moe
Space Core
Mathew Rhys Jenkins (16) Jude Birch (18)
“Slow Moe is a fast-paced, simplistic, 2D platformer where using slow motion will allow you to collect power-ups and defeat enemies.” Slow Moe is an arcade style game where you have to survive infinite amounts of enemies whilst collecting different coloured squares. You will direct Moe, the cute grey square, initially through five tutorial levels and once mastered (and you’ve watched the celebratory 2D firework show!) through five infinite arenas. Moe will encounter a wide variety of enemy squares that he must defeat in order to gain the highest score possible and survive!
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“Asteroids, but an open-world adventure game - with dungeons to explore, boss fights and a huge story!” Space Core starts in a futuristic utopian world. In this world, consciousness is a form of energy, like matter. Humanity has just made a breakthrough in conscious technology allowing people to harness the power of their mind to manipulate matter.
Pop Pixie
Joe Anderson (18) Michael Bell (18) Miles Kneeshaw (18) “You can’t judge a can by its label.” In this game, you play as the ‘Pop Pixie’, who seems to have a gut feeling that something nefarious is going on in Mentoes Corp. He knows it is his responsibility to take down the Mentoes operation by infiltrating their headquarters, discovering its secrets and fighting through floor after floor of gremlins to get to the top and take down the evil Mentoes’ Man.
Tempo
Harry Petch (17) Louis Jackson (16)
“A top-down fantasy action game where all aspects of the gameplay are synchronised with the music.” Tempo is a mix of a rhythm game, a ‘Metroidvania’ and bullet-hell. You play as a silent wizard equipped with a magic staff and (in the middle of the game) magic boots. The staff automatically fires a projectile in time with the beat of the current music track playing, as well as the player being able to perform a dash by holding either SPACE or any of the shoulder buttons/triggers, unlocked part way into the game to provide a sense of progression.
THE NOMINEES
GAME MAKING AWARD
Raptor Run
Joshua Pattman (16)
You play as a raptor, your goal being to defeat the T-Rex titan in as little time as possible. You can gather a herd of other raptors to assist you, and take down other dinosaurs along the way to rack up a high damage bonus for you and your herd. To regain health you must have enough energy, which can be increased by eating one of the dinosaurs that you and your herd have killed.
They Came from the Sea
Thomas Robson (18) “They Came from the Sea is an endless, wave-based 2D shooter, where your goal is to survive and get a new high score on the leader boards!” The player is tasked with running around an island, and getting chased by wave after wave of ghosts with nothing but their wits, speed, and gun to defend themselves with. The game cannot be beaten, as the objective of the game is to challenge yourself to see how long you can delay your inevitable defeat.
For the best original game made using freely available software
Warped Reality
Anthony Moran (17) Joseph Sweeney (17) “Day to day activities can become rather boring, however for five year old Noah, everything has the potential to be fun when he lets his imagination run wild, such as protecting his precious gold when he should be getting ready for school!” You play as ‘Noah’, who is told to get ready for school by his mother. Upon reaching his bathroom you are prompted to interact with the bath tub, which sparks his imagination and it turned into a pirate ship instead! When sailing, you stumble upon a map, which is where the game truly starts.
15-18 YEARS
“Raptor Run is a fast-paced dinosaur survival game where the player uses their skill to grow a herd to tackle the end boss in as little time as possible.”
Wip
Adam Pace (18) “A short story-driven platformer about friendship, loss and moving forward.” You the player come across a PC that is running an old operating system and has been out of use for many years. Stored within it you find an abandoned game project and its protagonist “Char1” a highly advanced AI that has been running on the desktop.
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YGD MENTOR
THE NOMINEES
The BAFTA YGD Mentor Award recognises individuals who have made an effort to inspire and mentor young people to learn more about programming and game design skills, in particular those who have helped young people that might not have had an opportunity to explore games creation otherwise.
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Mr. Matt Guest Head of Computing, Summerhill School, Kingswinford, West Midlands I would like to thank you for shortlisting me for the YGD Mentor Award. I am very proud, but also very humbled that my students have nominated me. I just feel that I want to do my best for the kids, so to discover that they appreciate it so much is lovely! Britain has a long-standing leading role in video game development. It’s part of our culture and I feel passionate about helping to develop young people who can contribute to the industry’s future success – and have a lot of fun at the same time. Video games and their creation has been such a big part of my life and has helped to make me the person that I am. I am desperate to ignite the same joy into others and hopefully a career in this proud British tradition.
Ocean Spark Studios (Ellie Brown, Zach Cundall & Helen Andrzejowska) Huddersfield Ocean Spark Studios is a video game development studio that has a strong focus on inspiring the younger generation of games design students. We constantly strive to enlighten not only children, but parents too, about the opportunities within the games industry. Throughout the time of the business, the team have found several families from low-income backgrounds who would have had no other way of having a chance to get involved in something like this. It is because of this that Ocean Spark run free-to-attend workshops throughout the Yorkshire region, which allow children from any background to get involved and use some amazing tech. With Helen and Ellie never having female role models within the industry, becoming the role models they wish they had when they were a young age is a huge drive for the studio. We aim to make anybody from every background feel comfortable and to believe that anything is possible when it comes to games. We’ve found in many schools that creativity is often pushed away from children, but it is our aim to bring the imagination to life, to show everyone that if you want to achieve something, you can. We constantly strive to inspire the younger generation and we find it so rewarding to see the products these children create at the end of their time with us.
Mr. Matthew Applegate Creative Computing Club, Suffolk For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by what can be achieved through the medium of video games. I have been fortunate to work for some of the biggest tech and games companies in the world on a number of products, and I take that experience into the classroom to help the next generation of game designers and programmers. In 2012, I founded the Creative Computing Club - an organisation that currently works with over 300 young people a week in Suffolk, helping them to engage in technology-based sessions. The club delivers short courses on game design, computer programming, robotics, AI, VR and more. Through its informal and non-competitive environment, it has allowed the young people to gain confidence and qualifications in areas that interest them the most. Through its seven-year history, it has produced several successful alumni who have gone on to work both locally and nationally in the games industry. As part of the club, we organise trips to events like EGX, run retro game weeks, and take part in international events like Ludum Dare Games Jam. During this school year, I organised the development of a video game across nine schools in Suffolk, with over 300 young people contributing graphics and concept art. This year, I have also opened the first Creative Computing Centre to help promote the use of video games in schools, and to teach more young people game design and computer programming. 17
YGD GOING FORWARD The BAFTA Young Game Designers competition is now in its ninth year and we are seeing massive leaps in how young people are using the medium of games - the perfect combination of creativity, art and technology - to express themselves and the world around them. Next year will mark the 10th Anniversary of the BAFTA YGD Competition. We will launch again and open the 2020 competition on Wednesday 2nd October later this year. It is so exciting to see how far the competition has come and what our previous winners and finalists have been up to. In 2010, when YGD started, the landscape for computing in the classroom was very different. The learning potential of games was only just beginning to be explored and the games industry was concerned that not enough young people were considering careers in games. This inspired BAFTA to create YGD in order to introduce young people to games design and the possibilities for creative expression and the storytelling it affords. Since then, YGD has gone from strength to strength. It helped make the case for the introduction of Computer Science into the Curriculum and is now one of the central planks of BAFTA’s learning programme. We would like to use this opportunity to than our BAFTA Colleague, Niyi Akeju, who devised and delivered the early years of the BAFTA YGD initiative, and has been actively involved in it ever since. She is now moving on to new career adventures, but YGD will remain as part of her legacy and a testament to her dedication for supporting the creative talents of young people. See you in 2020!
Left: Winners of the first YGD competition in 2010: James Cook, Sam Taylor and Dan Pearce. Dan Pearce went on to become a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and was nominated for a BAFTA award for his Debut Game in 2014
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PARENT & FINALIST QUOTES “‘A World Without You’ - I love this game idea from my son Luke. When I read his concept and looked at his artwork I could see Luke’s personality in the game and characters. Sharing his heart, working together as a team, protecting and caring about others. A quiet determination to defeat and overcome challenges on his journey through life. I am very proud to see my son in this world!” Lisa Pierson, Parent
I am very excited to have made the YGD finals with my friend Louis. We have been friends since the YGD finals in 2016 and have kept in touch since. We do Game Jams together and bounce ideas off each other. Our different skills enable us to come up with interesting game ideas!” Harry Petch, Game Making 15-18 Years Finalist “I was very shocked when my Mum told me that I’d made it into the final. I was extremely shocked as I thought that I would not make it that far in the competition due to my game almost being impossible to beat! Overall I am happy and excited, and I can’t wait for the future!” Pavanjot Town, Game Making 10-14 Years Finalist
I was genuinely surprised as I have never done anything like this “This is my second time entering this competition and I’m thrilled to have made it to the finals again. I was very surprised to be a finalist in both categories! YGD has
been a fantastic opportunity to draw together different aspects of game design, from planning out mechanics to building working prototypes.” Abigail Tan, Game Concept & Game Making 15-18 years Finalist “I am so proud of Jagoda for being selected as one of the finalists. I know how important it is for her as she is very passionate and interested in becoming a game developer in the future. She was very eager to enter as it provided her with the experience and confidence to continue creating and developing her ideas.” Anna Warda, Parent
It’s wild thinking I made it this far. I entertained the thought of me being in the games industry (despite not really seeing ‘myself’ in it at the time) at a young age; I would of happily collaborated on someone else’s cool idea and I still want to. I never entertained the thought that my idea would be seen as a viable game idea by a group of professionals in the industry.” Elizabeth Orji-Smith, Game Concept 15-18 Years Finalist “To have my game chosen for the second year in a row is a massive achievement for me, and has given me the confidence to pursue game development professionally in the future. I love to program and make games, so to think that this could be my future is truly an amazing thought.” Anthony Moran, Game Making 15-18 Years Finalist
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BAFTA YGD would not be possible without the generous backing of our partners. From offering amazing prizes, funding for outreach work and participating in our judging panels, their support has been invaluable.
Creative Assembly “CA is proud to support BAFTA Young Game Designers, as part of our Legacy Project’s commitment to inspiring and educating the next generation of game developers. BAFTA YGD is a fantastic opportunity for young people, no matter their background, to realise their creative potential and receive advice from experts to help them make their first steps into the industry.”
Criterion Games “Electronic Arts and Criterion are proud to enter our 7th year supporting BAFTA YGD. Working with, inspiring and helping develop the next generation of game makers is core to EA’s mission to “Inspire the world to play”. Our involvement in BAFTA YGD brings us fresh perspective, enthusiasm and creativity that reaffirms our love of games and making games.”
Jagex “BAFTA YGD continues to be an excellent opportunity for young people to experience a sliver of what the ‘real’ games industry has to offer. By taking part, these budding game designers get to rub shoulders with industry professionals, an utterly priceless experience as they begin to work towards their careers!”
King “We are proud of our continued partnership with BAFTA and to once again be sponsoring the Young Game Designers Awards. At King, we’re passionate about making great games that people love to play and we need to keep developing a strong pipeline of talent in order to keep on doing that. This year’s entries have helped to showcase some of the great young talent we have in the UK and we hope that these awards will help encourage and inspire the younger generation.”
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PlayStation “We are thrilled to be a part of the BAFTA YGD programme, connecting with the next generation of game creators. At Sony Interactive Entertainment, supporting emerging talent is close to our hearts, as we directly involve young, up-and-coming developers through the PlayStation First academic programme. We’re delighted to partner with BAFTA once again, to help shape the future of the games industry.”
Ubisoft “We’re very pleased to be a returning sponsor for BAFTA’s Young Game Designers Awards. The YGD programme is a wonderful platform for individuals at the start of their development journey; the support and encouragement on offer from the passionate team at BAFTA is simply fantastic.”
WB Games “We’re proud to be a BAFTA YGD industry partner. Investing in the next generation of creative talent is vital to the future of the industry: that’s why, through this programme – and Warner Bros. Creative Talent – we are working in partnership with BAFTA to support upcoming talent.”
Acknowledgements With thanks to
For BAFTA
Hosts Alysia Judge Aoife Wilson
Director of Learning & New Talent Tim Hunter
Award Presenters David Gardner Dean Dobbs Jane Douglas Siobhan Reddy Des Gayle Mike Bithell
Head of Production Cassandra Hybel Games Programme Manager Melissa Phillips Producer/Director Kylie McCarroll
Script Steve McNeil
Assistant Producer Georgina Cunningham
Set Design Tom Denning
Event Producer Ciara Teggart
Event Crew Connection Crew
Production Assistant Olivia Comer
Camera Operators Darren Lovell Suzanne Smith Jon Dibley Jeremy Mason
Projection Team Stuart Alinson Martin Oxley
Sound George McMillan Autocue Portaprompt (Olivia Waterstone) Photography Claire Rees Jordan Anderson Jamie Simonds Gabi Torres Hannah Hutchins
Editors Daniel Dalton Stuart McFeat Graphics Johnny Luu Press Sophie Dudhill Communications Nick Williams Ben Smart Fiona Simpson Dana Thompson
Printing Taylor Bloxham
Partnerships Charlie Perkin
YGD branded merchandise Learay.co.uk Ivory Graphics Ltd
Graphic Design Lucy Shephard
Publicity Pedroza Communications
Official partners Creative Assembly Criterion Games Jagex King PlayStation Ubisoft Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WB Games)
Juries With thanks to all readers, jury members, chairs and BAFTA 195 Piccadilly
The Academy chooses Garda, supporting excellence in print. Printed on Garda Satin. Supplied by Taylor Bloxham.
Additional Support Alexa Tamsett Beth Walsh Emma Nicholson Emma Tarcy British Academy of Film and Television Arts 195 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LN T: 020 7734 0022 F: 020 7292 5869 www.bafta.org Head of Games Committee Dr Jo Twist OBE Chair Dame Pippa Harris Chief Executive Amanda Berry OBE Chief Operating Officer Kevin Price
The carbon impact of this paper has been measured and balanced through the World Land Trust, an ecological charity. www.taylorbloxham.co.uk
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