BAFTA Young Game Designers awards ceremony programme, 2025

CELEBRATING

YEARS OF

B A F TA Y O U N G G A M E D E S I G N E R S AWA R D S 2 0 2 5 D I G I TA L B R O C H U R E

OO F F FI C P ART R TNNEERS RS I CI IAALL PA

bafta.org/programmes/young-game-designer

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Welcome messages

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Game Concept Award 10-14 years

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Game Concept Award 15-18 years

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Game Making Award 10-14 years

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Game Making Award 15-18 years

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Alumni Stories

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Meet the partners

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Thanks

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Welcome messages

INEL TOMLINSON YGD 2025 Ceremony Host

It’s one of my favourite times of the year. An event I get excited for every time the calendar date rolls around. That time when I am delighted to introduce you to some of the brightest, most creative and insanely talented young game designers on the planet. My button-mashing fingers and joystick-twiddling thumbs have been itching to play your amazing games for months.

And now it’s finally here. It’s time for the BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards 2025. Let’s go!

Every year, I’m always astounded by the shared passion, creativity and imagination on show at these Awards. Our expert panels of game professional judges have sorted through hundreds of brilliant submissions to select the final list. Each and every one has demonstrated a masterful talent for artistic creativity alongside a keen understanding of story, game mechanics, themes and tone. And let’s remember, this is just the start of their journey. If these exceptional young people are the shape of the future of the games industry, we are in good hands.

Imagination knows no bounds and it’s this aspect of BAFTA YGD I love the most. Taking a glimmer of an idea and transforming it into an engaging creative work is what BAFTA YGD is all about. This year’s entrants have also demonstrated immense resilience in bringing their creations to life. I’m sure there were setbacks and frustrations along the way, but that’s part of the creative challenge and what makes the finalists and their games so inspirational.

We particularly noticed the heavy impact that the pandemic, lockdown and the shadow of global discord has had on this year’s submissions. Darker themes and

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stories abounded more than ever before among the more fun, escapist entries. It’s wonderful to know that BAFTA YGD provides a space for young people to voice their concerns about the things that matter the most to them in such a creative, bold and expressive way.

That’s the magic of games. Great storytelling has the power to engage us on an emotional level, to help us understand complex, world-impacting issues, to connect us through play, to boost our mental wellbeing and promote empathy towards others.

Games entertain us, educate us and bring us together, and, as an interactive medium, there really is no other artform like it. That’s why I’m so passionate about BAFTA YGD and its commitment to fostering creativity and inspiring the next generation of game-changing game-makers.

To all our finalists, many congratulations. You have put in a tremendous amount of effort and your games are brilliant. To those who missed out, I urge you to give it another go next year.

STAY INSPIRED. STAY CREATIVE. AND LET YOUR IMAGINATIONS FLY.

This is a very special year for BAFTA Young Game Designers, as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the programme. Over that time, we’ve received thousands of entries for the competition, all demonstrating an exceptional array of game designs and concepts and showcasing the remarkable young talent of the UK. It’s truly inspirational and this year’s selection is no different.

I’d like to thank Jonathan Smith from Tt Games, whose vision led to the creation of BAFTA YGD all those years ago. We all have to start somewhere and I’m so happy that BAFTA YGD has become a significant launch pad for that journey to begin.

Games are at the forefront of contemporary mainstream media, with recent BAFTA and YouGov research revealing that more than a third of British adults think games are important to their wellbeing and provide a form of social connection. Games create worlds that connect and inspire us, they allow us to explore our imaginations, identity and emotions in a safe space, and can even shape the world around us in a meaningful way. Our industry is packed with talented, passionate people who have a story to tell, so having something like BAFTA YGD, which allows young people to express that same enthusiasm, is essential.

Investing in the future of our industry is vital, so I’d like to thank our BAFTA YGD partners, Criterion Games, EE, Hasbro, PlayStation and Warner Bros Games. Your support allows us to work with UK educators to support children and young people who are interested in games, providing them with hands-on experience in the field and creating accessible pathways into games careers.

Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. Enjoy the spotlight and I look forward to seeing what you go onto next. Here’s to the power of play, the spirit of collaboration and a bright future ahead.

TARA SAUNDERS Chair of the BAFTA Games Committee

We’ll be celebrating this year’s entrants and past winners at both our Virtual Ceremony and the BAFTA YGD Showcase later this month (28-29 June). I’m also thrilled that we will once again be partnering with The Science Museum Group in their Power Up galleries in London, Manchester and Bradford. This allows us to showcase our recent winners’ brilliant work alongside some of the most iconic games from the last 50 years, so even more people can experience your games and be encouraged to let their own imaginations and creativity soar.

One of the most rewarding aspects for me, as chair of the Games Committee, is witnessing the impact this unique competition has had on the industry. Past finalists have gone on to forge sustainable industry careers, many utilising the incredible support network that only BAFTA can provide along the way. Whether it’s attending our programmes and events, receiving our bursaries and scholarships, or simply joining our collaborative games membership family, if you want to kickstart your career in games, BAFTA is the place for you.

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T H E F IN A LISTS For the most creative and original concept for a new game See the designs at bafta.org/programmes/ young-game-designer

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02

Game Concept Award 10 - 14 years

BLOS S OM

CL AY-V ERSE!

Oscar Cooper (11)

Leon Dudhill (13)

A japanese learning game, where you walk through quaint Japanese towns to large cities like Tokyo or Osaka and learn words such as すし (sushi). A 2D side scroller, where you interact with objects and the Japanese words pop up above your head!

The player’s job is to learn as much Japanese as possible to fill in the word book that the sushi shop owner “Mr Sushimii” has given you. Each level introduces harder vocabulary and rewards players with new sushi to try. The game ends in a unique boss fight against The Landlord—convince him in Japanese not to sell the sushi shop! With almost kid-drawn art and funny characters, the game makes language learning accessible and fun for all ages.

A unique 3D puzzle-adventure platformer where players sculpt real-world clay models, scan them with the companion app, and watch as AI animates their creations into fully playable characters. It blends hands-on tactile creativity with digital gameplay in an open-world adventure designed especially for pre-teens. Set on the tropical island of Sculpterra, players explore to rescue the Mini Clays—who play a key role in problem-solving, exploration, and survival in Clay-Verse and ultimately help you defeat the villain, Doughhawk. With intuitive controls, no violence, and increasing difficulty, Clay-Verse encourages creativity, exploration, and hands-on interaction. A built-in community hub lets players share and download creations, while weekly challenges promote creativity and collaboration in this safe, playful, and imaginative open-world adventure.

C U RS O RA MA

FRY DA SP IDA

Alastair Cooke (14), Manjeevan Khanijau (14) and Dougie Fabbroni (14)

Vaughn Bragg (14)

A new and revolutionary take on 2D pixel RPGs where you ARE the cursor. After being thrown out of a destroyed laptop, your quest is to navigate through files and return the sacred essay to the boss. Your companions are apps, they sell you abilities, new cursors and upgrades to help you on your quest. Unlock new cursors like the magnifier (reads small text) or boxing glove cursor (packs a punch) to progress. Along the way through the laptop’s files, you will solve puzzles and fight viruses, once you discover the internet, the end is in sight. All levels are multiple different files, however, the art stays true to the pixel art style as do the characters and enemies.

A fast-paced, chaotic cooking-based co-op game in which 1-4 players take control of the limbs of Aran, a down on his luck spider chef just trying to make ends meet, to try to keep their restaurant in New Bug City afloat and their customers happy!

Aran has 30 in-game days to pay off loan sharks, or he will be evicted and his dream will be shattered! Each day, players choose recipes, cook bug-themed dishes like “gnatchos,” serve quirky insect customers, and balance speed with quality to earn money.

Upgrades, like sharper knives or faster movement, help, but drain your budget. The cartoonish art style, unique bug-world aesthetic, and increasing difficulty make it a chaotic, strategic challenge.

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02

Game Concept Award 10 -14 years

H ER O M U N CH E R

INK Y VOID

Thiago van Vlerken Rene (13)

Matthew Scott (13)

A retro-style hack & slash dungeon crawler with an anti-hero twist, you play as Chester, a living chest and mimic. Flipping the traditional dungeon story, your goal is to defeat the heroes that have entered the dungeon looking for coin and glory, selfishly looting whatever they find in their path. They progress in difficulty, such as from Mage to Sorcerer to Necromancer to Archmage and as you progress, you gain new abilities and upgrade through a skill tree using class coins that will help you with each type of enemy. A unique mechanic of turning into a chest when idle, introduces tactical ambush opportunities, rewarding patience and positioning alongside fast combat. Colourful pixel art and humorous storytelling add charm and heart.

A whimsical 2D exploration platformer set on a little moon, where a tiny astronaut crash-lands with only a paintbrush. Players explore the open world to discover air pockets, and unlock new abilities like ink-boats or hovering. Using ink, they draw objects to solve puzzles and overcome challenges; these in turn reward the player with upgrades, such as extra ink or oxygen storage and new tools. The harder the challenge, with complex puzzles or bosses, the more powerful the abilities. The world is handpainted in watery greyscale ink, the astronaut having a fishbowl looking helmet and trusty paintbrush on their back. Players can’t jump unless using trampolines and the direction of gravity varies around the circular map encouraging creative navigation and thoughtful exploration.

R EEF R EV IVA L

SEASHELL BAY

Arabelle Mazumder (12)

Beatriz Sauma (12)

An underwater adventure, puzzle game where Spongy, a brave sponge, is on a mission to restore the Great Coral and revive marine life after a fierce storm. Swept away from his coral kingdom, Spongy must explore amazing underwater realms like kelp forests, sunken ships, and glowing volcanic vents. He meets helpful sea creatures like Shelldon, a wise old clam and Tilda, a playful sea turtle, as Spongy solves their tricky puzzles, avoids predators, and collects treasures, he gains special powers from friendly ocean creatures, allowing him to grow coral and rebuild his lost kingdom. However, Spongy can’t touch the coral directly, or it will be damaged. Each level reinforces teamwork and caring for marine ecosystems while teaching about climate change’s impact.

A cozy, sun-kissed life sim where you build a home on a floating island you wake upon, slowly uncovering it’s a slumbering sea turtle guiding you toward fabled Seashell Bay. Document your journey in a scrapbook, befriend animal travellers, such as a shy jellyfish artist who paints with glowing ink, collect ocean treasures, and craft your dream life. The main goal is to rebuild a community scattered by a great storm. Collect driftwood, build homes, and sketch wildlife while uncovering the stories of former villagers who once lived on your island. The world is vibrant, warm and welcoming with glowing plankton, misty mornings, and playful wildlife, it feels ever-changing, full of wonder, and perfect for exploration.

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T H E EC O B OTS

THE UND EAD

Amy Jin (12)

Tanisi Rawat (14)

Intended to educate younger players about caring for the world and encourage them to take real-world actions for the environment. The EcoBots are robots who have come to Earth on a journey to restore nature, for Earth’s environment is in great danger, and you, as an EcoBot with unique abilities —like SproutBot, who plants trees in forests, are needed, in order to save the world. During the game, players solve puzzles and play minigames based on real-life environmental challenges, such as endangered wildlife or polluted oceans, in different biomes (Desert, Forest…), with levels gradually becoming more difficult, as they try to restore the world. Levels begin with dark, gloomy visuals to reflect environmental damage, but as players succeed, vibrant colours return.

A psychological RPG horror storygame where the player wanders a melancholic, post-apocalyptic, futuristic world, in hopes of a purpose; a solivagant in a lonely world filled with zombies, in search of their missing family. To reunite with their family, they have to progress in the main story line, and uncover the truth behind the outbreak. They encounter NPCs which enable alternate routes and side quests. Every map provides a contrast, with the colour palette reflecting the character’s emotions and responses to their surroundings; the art style is eerie and poignant, with an emphasis on the blues and reds for juxtaposition. The Undead tackles the concept of personal identity and inadequacy, the comfort of loneliness and individuality.

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T H E F IN A LISTS For the most creative and original concept for a new game See the designs at bafta.org/programmes/ young-game-designer

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03

Game Concept Award 15 - 18 years

BLB O

INKBOUND : THE P LOT UNFOLDS

Lucas Bullen (16)

Jiya Talati (15) and Trisha Dave (14)

A 2D puzzle platformer in a world where the world leader disregards science for his own political purposes. Waking in the rubble of a collapsing dimension, without memory of its life before; the BLBO test subject discovers its ability to travel across the growing fracture that divides what was once home. You must help BLBO rediscover its history so it can bring its splitting universe back together. It has four main gameplay rules: a realityswap teleports you to the other side, only this will change gravity, the player needs to match the colour of an ability to use it, and the camera never cuts. A mind-bending game, BLBO challenges players to question if evil is inherited, or learnt.

Play as the heroine of a book, Elowen Thorne, desperate to be a hero, without having anybody to save. You soon find out you’re in a book that has been ripped apart by the author, Jane Wright, in an effort to create a world without suffering. Piece together the author’s life to find the missing pages, that are hidden in important places in the real world. You must travel between your kingdom Iola, and 20th century London, using mirrors. As the pages unlock your own world, you can discover the secrets it hides. Help others and become the hero you were meant to be.

You learn about regaining your life after tragedy and helping others to heal.

M AT ER IA L SH IF T

MED PAL

Joel Mackay-Sirera Trull (18)

Sarah Zadi (18)

A bold re-interpretation of chess where you play as Equilibra, an agent of cosmic balance, who has been tasked with restoring equilibrium through a series of boss fights with each piece. Set in an abstract black-and-white dimension, with each boss arena located on a different floating island themed after a chess piece.

Each boss has two phases—a black and a white phase—each representing an internal conflict that must be reconciled for them to unify as one. Equilibra uses her powers of balance to absorb energy from the bosses’ attacks, switching phases before redirecting the energy between them. The goal is to restore unity instead of just defeating the boss.

A learning game designed to teach the player first aid. Players choose a first aid skill module, like CPR, and progress through two game modes: MedPal’s Training Lab, where skills are taught in three levels (identifying signs, learning correct steps, and a gamified activity), and Lifesaver Mode, where players are put in a simulation which mimics a real word scenario. MedPal is a friendly robot that emerges from a medical kit. MedPal’s expressions dynamically change based on gameplay, reacting to the player’s progress which remains light-hearted and fun to ensure the player is comfortable playing. Players earn badges and XP, face increasingly complex simulations, and must requalify if they fail.

This game develops skills that can be used to save lives!

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03

Game Concept Award 15 - 18 years

M I KK A B OUZU Isabelle Taylor (17) and Emily Sun (17)

MOD ULO – A GAME AB OUT SYNTHESISING

A burnt-out game designer who has lost her passion for art and must journey through three of her unfinished games, writing endings for them to rediscover her lost creativity. The game is set in four areas, the real world; Castlepunk, a medieval metroidvania; The Adventures of 4, an RPG with a Japanese inspired environment; and Untitled which is a white space filled with assets and notes from her younger self. The goal of each level is to fix bugs and finish sections of the games, in turn, Mikka gains closure and understands something new about her passion for game design. Part of the gameplay is breaking the game down into its most fundamental components and manipulating them in unexpected ways.

Arthur Davies (14)

N EB U L A N U ME R ICS

RHY THM HELL

Charlie Gray (18)

Camila Montes Duque (17)

A game that combines learning mechanisms and an interactive open world space game. It follows the story of a reconnaissance space mission gone wrong, causing you, the player, to find the parts to rebuild your ship and discover the origin of the strange corruption plaguing this solar system... This game is a mixture of Sci-Fi action and mathematics, with each unique planet and the life that inhabits it being inspired in design by different Key Stage 4 mathematics modules, such as Number in Caves and Probability in Casino City. On each planet, the player will learn different modules, until meeting The Professor, an evil overlord who has corrupted the solar system and plans to take you down too!

A horror rhythm game set in a South Korean inspired ghost town.

You play as Yohan, a young musician from a wealthy family who wants to rebel from their conformity and runs away in search of a haunted ghost town. He creates his own portable amp and sets off. Once there, he sits down to play bass and discovers that his music can exorcise a strange entity. With this new found knowledge he decides to end the town’s misery with his music and find who started it all. Players explore the town, find key items, uncover secrets, and battle enemies by hitting rhythm cues.

Rhythm Hell is playable on Sega Mega Drive for sustainability.

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A puzzle-platformer game where players must use the power of modulo to travel from one side of the level to another. Obstacles can be controlled by the player so they can be passed. As levels become more difficult, the player will soon be required to use Modulo to connect different elements together so they control and modulate each other. You play as a little cube, Anna Logue, on a big quest to bring colour back to the world of Synthesizia, changing the elements of the world around you and linking them together in new and unusual ways to traverse strange realms and rescue your friends-and learn how to use a synthesizer!

S U BJ ECT 19

WARP ED REALIT Y

Joseph Sheehy (15)

Adriene Waite (17)

A 2D survival horror game set in the 1960s. You play as Test Subject 19, trapped in a government research facility beneath a working hospital. While exploring, 19 uncovers hidden audio logs and notes left behind by Dr. Beau Walker. These clues slowly reveal the unsettling truth behind what happened. Gameplay focuses on exploration, with moments of intense tension. 19 must manage limited resources, hide from imagined monsters, and avoid threats as the environment bends and distorts around him.

Chase sequences bring extra pressure, with static and visual glitches reflecting 19’s unravelling mind. With branching paths and multiple endings, there are new pieces of the story offered each time. Reality and illusion blur together, leaving players to question what’s real and what’s not.

A free roam exploration in 3rd person where a child is trying to get downstairs for dinner, but has to traverse through a house warped by their own imagination and overrun by living versions of their toys. The child will find normal household objects amongst the wild jungle surrounded by magical plant life with an art style that is kind of cartoon cell shaded anime aesthetic.

Players fight creatures using upgradable swords with inspired fighting mechanics, manage stamina and health via vertical bars resembling fizzy drinks and complete quests for NPCs to gather materials. The story is serious but fairly upbeat, making for a subtle and dark twist towards the true story at the end of the secret ending.

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T H E F IN A LISTS For the best original game made using freely available software Play the games at bafta.org/programmes/ young-game-designer

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04

Game Making Award 10 - 14 years

E C H OLO CAT IO N

FOR THE G OLD

Nathan Modi (13)

Sam Kingston (14) and Sebastian Heitz (14)

A minimalist exploration game where you navigate complete darkness using only sound. Playing as a knight who has lost their sight, you rely on a sonar gun that emits sound waves to briefly reveal your surroundings. Set in a pitch-black environment, the game challenges players to move carefully using sound and memory. There is currently no storyline beyond the main character, but future plans include developing a plot, adding more levels, and refining the game’s art style for consistency. Through making Echolocation, the entrant learned how to build systems in Unity, code gameplay mechanics, and add polish to enhance the player experience. The game emphasises atmospheric immersion and the unique mechanic of sonar-based navigation.

A top-down dungeon crawler where you are an army general who has decided to raid the local dungeon for money, as you are running out of creative excuses as to why paychecks are late again. You gather a large army of troops and advance through a dungeon filled with enemies and treasure. For the Gold is a game of chicken, your score is determined by how much gold you have when you decide to leave the dungeon - die and you get nothing.

Each time you start a new run, the dungeon has a different layout, and there are new enemies and treasures to find. Good luck out there, and remember; you’re only in there for the gold!

O N E D IM EN S IO N

P L ANET D R OP

Hayden Hughes (12) and George Milligan (13)

Daniel Tachauer (14)

A challenging, anger-inducing 2D platformer focused on precision, timing, and clever use of a grappling hook. Players use simple controls—A and D to move, Space to jump, and Left Click to fire the grappling hook—to navigate increasingly difficult levels filled with traps, tricks, and sudden surprises. Each time the player reaches a portal at the end of a level, they’re thrown into a new and more intense challenge, with no two levels being the same. The first level offers helpful hints, but after that, players are on their own. Planned improvements include refining sprite design, enhancing the grappling hook mechanics for smoother gameplay, and ramping up the overall difficulty to test players’ skill and patience.

An addictive cosmic puzzle game where you drop planets to merge them into ever bigger celestial bodies, trying to create a supermassive blackhole to clear your way to more high scores.

Identical planets combine to form new planets, and players need to make their drops in the right places to ensure they don’t block themselves and fill the well; game over. The merging planets get ever bigger until a star is created and then two stars will create a blackhole which clears the playing space to allow for higher scoring. There is a high score leaderboard and the game features a soundtrack with multiple different tunes to enjoy. Merge planets, climb the leader board, and create your ultimate galaxy!

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04

Game Making Award 10 - 14 years

RTS C HES S

SERV ER STORM

Taman Nutakki (14)

Matthew Scott (14)

An action roguelike real-time strategy based on chess where you need to pay taxes each round to a greedy king by defeating enemies. In a land ruled by a greedy king, you must pay taxes that increase every round. You need to claim bounties by defeating enemies in chess to pay this tax. As the taxes get higher and higher, the challenge increases with harder enemies but better bounties. Use the money you have left over each round to buy new pieces and expand your chess army. Do you have the skills that it takes to keep paying the ever-increasing tax? Future implementations include custom pieces not normally found in chess and a wider range of shop items.

A fast-paced action roguelike about fighting malware in a computer. You play as a cyber security guard (a cute lizard), sent to defend a computer from malware threats. Defeat 16 waves of different types of malware (e.g. Viruses, bugs, computer worms etc) to win. The final boss is the hacker who started the malicious attacks. You pick an upgrade in the form of a new malware deleting tool or more health points after clearing a wave. Waves get progressively harder and tools offered to you get more powerful as well. You lose all your progress when your health hits zero, leaving the computer to be hacked. You will have to start from the first wave.

S I R F LO OF IN GTO N

SP L AT

Thiago van Vlerken Rene (13)

Theo Hale (13)

This game takes place in a procedurally generated castle filled with eerie ambient sound. You play as a noble knight with a magnificent Floof, a lethal plume. Using a hair slam and explosive floof throws, he battles skeletons and bats in pursuit of the legendary Golden Floof—the fluffiest treasure of all. The adventure begins with a tutorial where the player practices rolling, attacking, and collecting floof throw ammunition against a dummy. As Sir Floofington ventures through the different levels, he faces tougher enemies. He finds conditioner bottles that grant temporary immunity and heart pickups to restore his health. After clearing four dangerous levels, Sir Floofington reaches the castle’s highest chamber. There, he faces the mighty boss and guardian of the Golden Floof.

A difficult platformer with a unique twist - you can only jump!

The game is set in a forest. The main character is a little red berry who must get back to his house before dinner. He has fallen to the bottom of the forest but he is so focused on his hunger that he can’t stop running. This means that your only control is “jump”.

The aim is to bounce him back to his house and get him to his dinner. Future improvements would mean a change to the tree sprites to follow the same art style and the addition of a settings menu with volume sliders. This game is both fun and hard and also looks good.

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T H E ST Y M P H A LIA N PR OJ E CT

WHISP ERS OF THE REALMS

Fionnlagh Carter (14)

Marcella Godoy (13)

A retro, top-down combat game where a plucky survivor of an advanced post-human corvid civilisation, must fight flocks of killer robot birds of their own creation, with eggsplosive traps!

Set in the far future, the descendants of the corvid birds (called the boids) have developed an advanced civilisation. They built powerful autonomous machines, which one day turned against them. The player’s boid has evolved the ability to lay explosive grenade-like capsules instead of eggs and combines this with taking advantage of the droid horde’s predictable flocking, to lure the enemies into traps. The player eventually fights their way to the final confrontation with the droid commander, destroying the last of the droids and freeing the boid civilisation.

A fantasy pixel-art side-scroller that blends intricate storytelling with stunning 8-bit graphics. There exists a harmonious world with three elemental Overseers: VERDANIS (nature), CYROMAR (ice) and PYROVUS (fire). Envious of their harmony, a menacing villain, ENVY, emerges and threatens to unravel their delicate balance. Only Willow, our hero, can restore order before it’s lost forever. The player is immersed in a vibrant pixelated world filled with magic and monsters, spanning across four unique levels: the mystical Arcane Woods, the frosty lands of Frostbloom Peaks, the fiery terrain of Emberfall Valley, and the ominous VOID. As Willow, players collect key shards to unlock the next world by defeating enemies — all in preparation for the final battle against ENVY.

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T H E F IN A LISTS For the best original game made using freely available software Play the games at bafta.org/programmes/ young-game-designer

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05

Game Making Award 15 - 18 years

4 0 3 : EX I T FO R BIDDE N

BAT TLE BEAT

Jack Pexton (17)

Robert Russin (16), Daniel Brenan (16) and Taliesin Jones (16)

This game takes place in a controlled testing chamber, a single, unchanging room where every trial occurs. While the player remains trapped inside, an unseen “Admin” observes and controls the environment from outside. At the end of each trial, time rewinds, resetting the room with new challenges, such as shifting gravity, lava, darkness, lasers, and eventually, reality-breaking glitches. The goal is always the same: to reach and press the red button. The player plays as XK-78A3, a prototype artificial intelligence model undergoing training, who must complete a series of increasingly complex parkour and problem-solving trials.

As the player progresses, the simulation begins to break down, but as the simulation begins to break, so does the system trying to contain them.

This game sees the player - a solitary astronaut, battle their way through musical levels, collecting upgrades in the form of records along the way. Each level includes a new boss, with a new soundtrack and beats to fight to. You must master battling and moving to the beat to outmanoeuvre and defeat the enemies. You will encounter music that increases in complexity, by changing in tempo or having enemies that move on the off beats. The enemies themselves all have entirely unique behaviours and ways of fighting, that means you must learn through experience how to beat them, with a new strategy every time. The player grows more powerful, as they gain magical music records that augment their powers.

C IR C LE B OY

D OD O-A-G OG O

Dylan Williams (17)

Ethan Dale (17)

An innovative puzzle platformer with a fun character who has a unique bounce ability he uses to overcome challenges and scale a tower block on a building site. Circle Boy thinks he’s a superhero because he has this special ability to bounce higher the further he falls. In this game, he wants to scale the highest tower block on a building site to achieve the ultimate bounce off the rooftop.

There are easy levels where players learn the bouncing technique and how the puzzle elements work, before going onto more challenging levels that test and develop Circle Boy’s bouncing skills. The game feels fun, with the animation style, backgrounds and music all showing a sense of humour.

A fast-paced single player platformer set in the 1600’s on the beautiful island of Mauritius. Drawing upon the African and Indian culture, an Afro-beats soundtrack sets the scene as you are introduced to two very friendly dodos called Danny and Denny. Sailors have captured one of them and now it’s a race against dinner time. Making their way through the island’s different levels the player needs to dodge predators along the way and, as the dodo is a flightless bird, use palm trees to climb up platforms. There’s also plenty of delicious fruit for the dodo to eat to score extra points. Your mission is to rescue, lead them to Lion Mountain and save the dodos from extinction.

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05

Game Making Award 15 - 18 years

FACTO RY P R OTO CO L

FURNITURE FU

Calvin Nguyen (17) and Henry Phipps (17)

Luke Rayfield (18)

This game takes place in a vast, industrial facility now, for the most part, empty. The factory deems you an “anomaly” due to the facility’s appalling quality, causing all sorts of mischief to stop you. You are a lone robot racing through endless corridors and floors trying to avoid deadly entities all while completing tasks at machines as your oil depletes over time. You have only one goal, survive the increasingly difficult obstacles in your path.

Your survival depends on finding machines to refill your oil bar, however the unpredictable and random encounters force you to adapt and be more cautious. To win you need to rely on quick thinking and reaction to situations, the game requires you to go fast, but not foolishly.

A combination of demon fighting and furniture arranging, two very different gameplays that come together in a strangely compelling juxtaposition. You are a pro ninja and first-time homeowner, just unpacking your things, when the underworld comes through the floorboards to stop you. Fortunately, your furniture powers you up and gives you new abilities to face the ghouls. Placement of furniture is very important, and you need to match furniture with similar furniture. Happy furniture is powerful furniture, so you need to treat your furniture right. The combat rewards timing and reflex skills, whereas the decoration rewards strategy and puzzle solving. You need to master all these skills to do well. Beat demons, master tasteful home design, and repeat.

N O U S C H ÓRA

SOCIET Y OF LIG HTS

Jack Rafferty (18) and Tallulah Martinez (18)

Calvin Qi (17), Harry Tyrrell (17) and Nehan Zaeed (17)

An eerie narrative-driven game. It is set inside the fractured mind of a person who has forgotten his own name, and follows his journey as he tries to remember who he is, where he is, and how to get out. The player has to complete trials which all contain unique gameplay mechanics along with pieces of the story that can be obtained in any order, allowing the player to make their own theories. The game never fully descends into horror, as to ensure that anyone can play the game. There are no jump-scares for this reason. The game culminates with a surreal nightmare/ dream sequence, leading to a tense escape sequence combining all of the mechanics that the player has learnt.

This game is set inside an abandoned war-torn mega city, where you control a little rusted oil lantern, exploring your way through the cold city. Each level the player is welcomed to a new area of the city, from the collapsing skyscrapers, to the parliamentary building; they are unique and have many hidden secrets, where the player can look and find. Your goal is to save the dying lanterns and light up the dark world. Complete puzzles requiring your light, bounding on mirrors and saving your lantern friends to brighten the area. Showing the true history of this dystopian world. With hidden messages in real world (Ukrainian) languages, similar corporate logos, and government sigils, the story is shown and not told.

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T H R OU G H T H E DA R K N ES S

WHAT ’S INSID E

Ruby (18)

Dexter Byrne (17) and Juanita Grace-David (16)

A game where you have to follow the sound of music in the darkness, in order to complete the maze. It is based on how blind people play games and raising awareness. The player needs to get through 4 different mazes in the darkness. They are required to listen to the music to help them get through. The game requires a gamepad, as that will give out rumble effects for the player to know if they are hitting walls. There are flare mechanics, which can light up the area for a brief time. However, these flares are very limited so players are required to use them wisely. Subtitles allow deaf players to equally enjoy the game.

A Quasi 3D horror game where the player has to escape a kidnapper’s home, isolated from the world in the woods. Across five days, the player must traverse through each room in the house, find different items and, avoid their captor at all costs in order to find a path that will help them be free from this maze and break out. The player will have a set amount of time each day to locate items scattered across the house and return to the basement before the kidnapper returns home. Puzzles and minigames will be a hindrance as the player must complete them in order to obtain the items they need. Everything aids in your ultimate escape.

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06

Alumni Stories

ALUMNI STORIES As we celebrate 15 years of BAFTA Young Game Designers, we share the journeys of previous winners and finalists. Our YGD alumni are testament to the power of early career intervention and we continue to celebrate their success…

Ayo Norman-Williams Ayo’s journey began as a finalist in 2018 with Dream Detective in the category of Game Concept (15–18) and he’s been building on that momentum ever since. While studying Games Technology, he completed a game design internship at Playground Games, gaining hands-on experience and recognition as a rising talent.

Now working as a junior technical designer at IO Interactive, Ayo is contributing to the future of interactive storytelling. His latest project, the highly anticipated 007: First Light, is already generating buzz and is set to thrill players worldwide when it launches in 2026.

Cameryn Tuliao 2015 winner of Game Concept (10–14) with Dreams, Cameryn turned passion into purpose. Studying Game Design at Abertay University, they transformed creativity into a career. Now a narrative designer, Cameryn celebrates the release of their first commercial game, Desert Angels, a gripping, story-rich exploration adventure set in a haunting desert scrapyard.

Available now on Steam worldwide, Desert Angels invites players into a world of mystery, emotion, and discovery.

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Dan Pearce

Rhianna Hawkins

Dan was part of the first-ever YGD-winning game, Hamster: Accidental World Domination, in 2010. Just four years later, he was nominated for a BAFTA for his debut game Castles in the Sky, following his selection for BAFTA’s inaugural Breakthrough Brits cohort. Now working as a freelance game developer, Dan recently contributed to I Am Your Beast at Strange Scaffold. Reflecting on BAFTA’s impact, he says, “Having the backing of an organisation like BAFTA and to be able to say, hey, these people actually see something in me… you can make a lot of really great headway”

Rhianna made history as BAFTA’s first female YGD winner in 2014 with her game concept Tomatoes Roll. Since then, she has blended her passion for languages and her experiences living in South Korea and Japan to create unique language-learning games, including British Sign Language, through her studio, Willow Flame Productions. “BAFTA has helped me meet game designers such as Hideo Kojima when he visited the UK, and when I was studying abroad in Japan, they gave me the opportunity to visit Sony Japan Studio.” Alongside developing her games, Rhianna mentors young creatives with MindJam and continues to support future YGD entrants.

Harry Petch

Tyler Rotheram

A Game Making finalist in 2016 with Illuminate, and again in 2019 with Tempo alongside fellow finalist Louis Jackson, Harry discovered a lasting passion for supporting others in game development. This dedication led to him receiving the YGD Mentor Award in 2021, recognising his efforts to inspire and guide young creators. After graduating with a first-class degree in Game Design from Abertay University, Harry now runs game jams and workshops, helping the next generation get started in games while staying active in the wider development community.

Tyler was a Game Concept finalist (15–18) in 2019 with Conundrum, a narrative puzzle game set in a first-person escape room. He’s now a mid-level technical games designer, recently finishing work on the BAFTA-winning Tales of Kenzera-Zau, a role he landed after meeting the lead designer at Yorkshire Games Festival through a BAFTA invite. YGD opened doors early on: “My first design job was from someone who just saw on an article that I’d got a YGD nomination and they reached out over Facebook…

And I’ve been in design ever since.”

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07

Meet The Partners

CRITERION GAMES We at Criterion Games are proud to have been an official partner to BAFTA Young Game Designers since 2014. As part of our mission, this partnership is essential for cultivating the next wave of game creators. Engaging with this group through BAFTA YGD brings us fresh perspectives, enthusiasm, and creativity that fuel our passion for games and game development.

PLAYSTATION SIE and PlayStation Studios are thrilled to announce the continuation of our partnership with the esteemed BAFTA Young Game Designer programme.

The YGD Awards has consistently been a nurturing ground for exceptional talent, and we are honoured to be a part of this journey. The future of game design looks brighter than ever as we continue to witness the unique and inspiring creations of these gifted young individuals.

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EE

HASBRO

EE has supported BAFTA for nearly three decades, sharing a commitment to support young people into the arts and film industries with initiatives such as the EE Rising Star Award at the EE BAFTA Film Awards, and our new Set The Stage programme mentoring young film makers.

Hasbro is a leading games, IP and toy company whose mission is to create joy and community through the magic of play. With over 164 years of expertise, Hasbro delivers groundbreaking play experiences - including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MONOPOLY, HASBRO GAMES, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG - and reaches over 500 million kids, families and fans around the world, through physical and digital games, video games, toys, licensed consumer products, location-based entertainment, film, TV and more.

2025 marks our first year partnering with BAFTA Young Game Designers which inspires young people to channel their passion for games into professions.

WARNER BROS. GAMES At Warner Bros. Games we’re delighted to once again be supporting the BAFTA Young Game Designer programme.

Providing essential skills, education, and job opportunities to enable people of all backgrounds to build careers in the entertainment industry is a key pillar for us as an organisation. Every year the quality at BAFTA YGD gets higher and higher and we’re thrilled to see the creativity, passion and skill that exists among the next generation of talent who will one day be working in our industry.

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08

Thanks

FIRST R OUND JUDGES Amerigo Moscaroli

Conor Clarke

Ken McFarlane

Sab Finlay-Smith

Andrea Sancio

Dean Noakes

Kymberley Cochrane

Sally Sheppard

Anjali Shibu

Evie Sanger-Davies

Luke Hardwick

Sam Webster

Anna Latchman

Fergus Haworth

Mark Faulkner

Sara Veal

Ayo Norman-Williams

Finn Carney

Mark Peters

Steve Kirby

Carlos González Díaz

Ian James Bradley

Michelle Collier

Theresa Johnson

Carmen Schneidereit

James Naden

Mike Fisher

Thomas Mitchells

Catherine Bygrave

John Hight

Natalie Beran

Tim Burroughs

Charlie Blay

Jon Murphy

Nida Ahmad

Tim Spencer

Chloe Gilgallon

Kain Do

Prakash Choraria

Tom Hughes

Chloe Mills

Katherine Welsford

Ren Alex-Rose

Vince Finlayson

Chris Pett

Kathryn Vinclaire

Richard Konecny

JUDGING PANELS Game Concept 10-14

Game Concept 15-18

Game Making 10-14

Game Making 15-18

Nigel Twumasi (Chair)

Katherine Bidwell (Chair)

Alyx Jones (Chair)

Des Gayle (Chair)

Derin Halil

Anna Hollinrake

Alan McDairmant

Dan Pearce

Harry Petch

Cameron Akitt

Cameryn Tuliao

Elz the Witch

Jon Paterson

David Valjalo

Dan Ayoub

Husban Siddiqi

Lauren Kaye

Jasmin Habezai-Fekri

Harvey Elliott

John Giwa-Amu

Nicole Gregory

Joanne Muckley

Matt Bull

Laura Helfer

Tyler Rotheram

Joe Straker

Sophie Knowles

Mark Cutmore

Zakia Khan

Lisa Gobbi

Rhianna Hawkins

Tom Coveney

Sarah York Steffan Powell

T HA N K YO U TO E VE RYO N E W H O G IV ES THEIR TIM E AND PASSION TO YG D

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HOST

PUBLICIT Y

Inel Tomlinson

WDM Entertainment

OFFI CIAL PART N E RS

AWA R DS V E N U E

Criterion Games

BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London

EE Hasbro PlayStation Warner Bros Games

F OR BAF TA Head of Children & Young People’s Programme Lisa Prime Children & Young People’s Coordinator Erin Howard Young Game Designers Coordinator Joanna Green Executive Director of Learning, Inclusion, Policy Tim Hunter Head of Games Luke Hebblethwaite

Producer & Director

PR & Communications

BAFTA

Ella Coveney

Christine Fleming

195 Piccadilly

David Doherty

London W1J 9LN

Debra Johnson

bafta.org

Production Team Julia Swabey Lauren Prince Phoebe Barden Editor Jamie Rowland Camera Darren Lovell Video Graphics Johnny Luu Event Producer

Erin Croasdale Joanna Turvill

Chair BAFTA Games Committee

Graphic Design

Tara Saunders

Nayumi Suyama

Chair

Fever Design Brochure Contributor Toby Weidmann

Sara Putt Chief Executive Jane Milichip

Partner Managers Emma Tarcy Ute Muller

Sophie Griffiths

Executive Producer Cassandra Hybel

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