BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards 2018 programme

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HRH The Duke of Cambridge, KG President of the Academy

PARENT & FINALIST QUOTES “We couldn’t be more proud and happy for Jamie to have reached the finals. I love Jamie’s game – it’s so fun and I think his sense of humour really shines through.

I think everyone will have their own favourite Jelly Bean! He really wanted to learn about all aspects of game making and I think his game shows an amazing range of skills, from creating his own game engine, composing his own music and creating his own artwork as well as writing the story! What an amazing achievement and an unforgettable experience!”

Fiona Buttenshaw (Parent)

It feels so surreal that I have come within the top 10 out of so many other entries, when I was first told I was speechless. When first introduced to the competition from my teacher I became obsessed with completing my entry, the more I worked on it the more excited I got with submitting it. I came up with several ideas and I’m so glad I chose this one.”

Tierney Gettins (Finalist) I’m honestly still in shock. It doesn’t feel real that I’m actually a finalist, never mind that I’m a finalist in both categories. I’m overjoyed to be nominated this year, as this is the last time I can enter the competition because I’m eighteen. I’m really thankful for the patience and support of my loved ones throughout this process; they’ve seen me get pretty stressed while working towards this. I’m looking forward to the ceremony, and I’m looking forward to checking out the other finalists’ entries, as I have lots of respect for them and enjoy checking out their works.

Jordan Han (Finalist) “I’m so proud of James for making the final. He had lots of ups and downs writing Penguin Peril, but persevered to produce an amazing game, even composing the music. Thank you to all the judges who kindly gave up their time, Mrs Hope of the Monmouth Computer Science Fair and Milo at the Taunton Raspberry Jam for getting James started in Unity and Python, and all the other coders whose games James has enjoyed and learnt from.”

Alistair Lindsay (Parent)

I was genuinely surprised as I have never done anything like this before. I really enjoyed the experience and am glad for the opportunity. Hopefully this will open more doors for mine and my teammates’ futures.”

Elizabeth McMorrow (Finalist) “We are thrilled that Max and his brother Alex have both made it into the final 10. This is both brothers’ second submission to the BAFTA YGD competition, and Max’s fifth or sixth game. The process of taking a game from concept to completion has been an education in itself for both brothers, teaching them a lot of new skills, including computer graphics, maths, project management, a coding language and, in the case of Max’s T-Rex Need Eat, a lot of new words. Having a competition to provide a structure and incentive for those efforts has been invaluable.”

Michael Robinson (Parent)

I could not put into words how I felt when I found out I made the final 10! If you put a cat amongst dogs, the cat would stand out. That is how I felt about being a girl in my coding club. I was determined to show everyone that I could not only be as good, I could be better. I wanted to create a game that tackled the issues surrounding bullying. I used my experience to try and think out the situations and provide lots of options for the character. It was so fun creating this game as I love coding and could have spent hours more on it. Thank you BAFTA.” Chloe Rattle (Finalist)

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Welcome to the 2018 BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards.

It is fantastic to see such a range of games make it to the finals of the BAFTA Young Game Designers Awards. There are so many unique stories being told and it is an honour that these young people have expressed themselves through games as their chosen medium.

BAFTA believes that games are an art form within their own right and it is refreshing to see so many of our finalists embrace the different ways in which games can convey a chosen message.

We celebrated this concept earlier this year at the BAFTA Game Awards with our new ‘Games Beyond Entertainment’ Award which recognises games that deliver “a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment”. This new category was won by Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, which was developed in conjunction with psychologists to ensure its accurate depiction of mental illness.

Whilst some finalist games have focused on telling very serious stories and highlighting causes, it is also refreshing to see games that celebrate fun and frivolity. I am sure many of you will have enjoyed the way games engage and brings us together, having played through the finalist entries in the showcase today.

It is also heartening to see entrants who have focused on technique and design – producing well thought out prototypes with clear plans. Many have created their own assets, music and software to support their ideas. These technical skills are so important to the games industry as we rely on talent from so many different areas to create and support the games we love.

Congratulations to all the entrants and I look forward to more creativity being unleashed via YGD!

David Gardner Vice-President for Games, BAFTA

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The BAFTA Young Game Designers Competition started in 2010 and the initiative continually improves in the way it interacts and engages young people with careers in the Games Industry as well as just letting them have fun working with other kids and making games.

Whilst the competition is very important, it is only one part of the BAFTA YGD initiative. We have a large outreach programme running throughout the year, providing workshops, teaching materials and helpful information for educators. These include tips on how to build a Game Concept and enter the competition, but also offering careers advice and access to industry professionals from our partnerships.

During the last year, we put on workshops around the UK and made appearances at large gaming events around the UK such as EGX, EGX Rezzed, VFX Festival, The Liverpool Girl Geeks and The Norwich Gaming Festival. We are very proud to announce that we will be hosting a Young Game Developers Conference in partnership with the National Science and Media Museum in February 2019 as part of the Yorkshire Games Festival.

To give our Young Game Designers that same support would not be possible without our industry partners, Criterion, Jagex, King, Sony Computer Entertainment Group, SEGA, Ubisoft, Unity and Warner Bros. We gratefully thank them all for their generous support.

Best of luck to all finalists and I hope you have an excellent ceremony. I hope you have a long career playing and enjoying games. And, who knows, maybe you will join the industry, create diverse games that are culturally important, break new boundaries and enjoy the Games Industry as much as I have.

Nick Button-Brown Chairman, BAFTA Games Committee It is wonderful to see so many different ideas make it to the final of the Game Concept Award. I am always amazed at how our Young Game Designers treat their chosen concepts with such mature care and understanding, particularly for those that might deal with difficult themes.

Video games often receive a lot of unfair criticism in mainstream media. I think the BAFTA YGD Game Concept finalists show just how games can be used to convey a variety of different messages and evoke a huge amount of creativity and ingenuity from the talented young people behind them.

Dr Jo Twist OBE Chair of the Game Concept Award Jury I am always excited to see so many strong entries make it through to the final of the BAFTA YGD Game Making Award and this year is no exception! There is a huge amount of technical skill on display by our finalists – many entrants have created their own software, art and music to bring their games to life.

It is brilliant to see previous finalists and winners from our Game Concept Award now taking steps to begin actively making the games they have designed.

These young people had no previous game making experience and are now beginning to turn their ideas into playable prototypes!

Carolin Krenzer Chair of the Game Making Award Jury 3

YGD 2018 It’s been another fantastic year for the BAFTA Young Game Designers. The 2018 Competition launched in January and we have been busy putting on workshops and showcasing work from our 2017 Winners!

IDEA – IDEA.ORG.UK

2017 WINNERS’ UPDATE

We have teamed up with the Duke of York Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA) to create a new BAFTA YGD Game Concept pathway. You can develop your game concept skills through a series of online challenges, earning digital badges and unlocking rewards.

Spruce Campbell

Check it out at idea.org.uk

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Spruce Campbell won the BAFTA YGD 2017 Game Making Award (10-14 Years) at the age of 12. In April this year he was on a panel of rising star games developers at Apple Regent Street sharing his journey on game development and released his iPhone and iPad free-to-play game CYBER: JUMP on the App Store. He also showcased his game on the BAFTA YGD stand at EGX Rezzed!

Right: Daniel Smith’s The Spectrum Retreat; Below: Emily Mitchell working on her game Fractured Minds; Bottom Left: YGD winners Spruce Campbell and Elsie Mae Williams visit King Studios

Emily Mitchell Emily Mitchell won the BAFTA YGD 2017 Game Making Award (15-18 Years) at the age of 18 for her game Fractured Minds which was created with the hope of aiding understanding and awareness of mental illness.

With such an important message, Fractured Minds was picked up by a publisher in association with a mental health initiative to bring the game to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC and Mobile.

NEWS ON DANIEL SMITH Daniel Smith, 2016 winner of the Game Making Award (ages 15-18) has announced that his intriguing narrative-puzzler The Spectrum Retreat will be coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC this Summer!

“The best thing about YGD has been the opportunity, the doors that it has opened. Getting my game published basically came as a result of the conversation that I had while I was at the awards ceremony.”

Daniel Smith 2016 Winner (15-18 Game Making Award)

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THE NOMINEES

GAME CONCEPT AWARD

Barista

Grace Farsides (14) London “Welcome to Bianca’s, a swanky coffee shop in the heart of the city, and you’re their new barista, ready to make eccentric beverages, new friends and to explore!”

10-14 YEARS

Barista is game set in a coffee shop where the player assumes the role of a new barista. The challenge is to develop your skills making coffee and other beverages whilst also dealing with the variety of customers who frequent the shop.

For the most creative and original concept for a new game

IAN the Alien

Polar Blast

Psycat’s Adventure!

Westcliff On Sea

Harrow, Royal Masonic school

London

Joshua Robinson (11) “You are a tiny alien that has been created in a test tube in a science lab and you are trying to escape from the humans and other experiments that have gone wrong that also live inside the lab.”

As a tiny alien you are trying to escape from the lab where you were created. The lab is full of dangers such as humans who are trying to catch you and other experiments that have gone wrong – these are called EGGs (Experiments Gone Goofy).

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Diya Patel (13)

“Parca the penguin has to complete levels and run from Kalinda the killer Whale, whilst collecting fantastic fish bonuses and avoiding sly seals.”

The game is trying to help children learn about global warming and while the game is loading, there are facts about global warming and ways to make a difference to global warming by reducing your carbon footprint.

Heidi

“After a wrong-gone experiment leaves Psycat the ability to change between two forms at will, he and his companion Baby Snowcat seek out their former creator/owner.”

Psycat’s Adventure is a puzzle platform game that includes logic, pressing switches, buttons and, secrets. The main character, Psycat, has two forms: ‘Realcat’, a realistic cat and a different-looking cat; his original form.

Bristol Business

Anish Raja (11) Bristol

“Experience the thrill of Bristol’s public transport!”

The player has a BB phone (Bristol Business phone) (virtual) with a street map, bus maps, train maps, transport times and information and a calculator. The player needs to catch modes of public transport effectively.

Surf Simulator

Benjamin Cranston (13) Carnoustie, Lathallan School

“Surf the biggest waves and clean the ocean.”

The object of the game is to clean the ocean. As the surfer collects the trash from the ocean the levels and the waves become more difficult to surf and collect additional trash. The trash can then be sold for recycling allowing the surfer to build his dream surf board.

The Clue Finder

Heather Dixon (13) Tierney Gettins (13) Bolton, Mount St Joseph Business and Enterprise College

The Haunted

Robert Baird (13) Sonny Cunningham (13) Alexander Thomson (13)

Glasgow, Shawlands Academy “This is a game that highlights some “The Haunted is an ‘empty space of the struggles of living in a single station’ online multiplayer defector parent family and uses the concept game. You will collect items and of adventure and mystery to portray clues and try to stop the betrayer the story of a young girl called or try to complete your goal of Cassie who is desperate to find defeating your teammates.” her father.”

In The Haunted you have arrived The player hunts for clues which on a space station that you’ve lead them to Cassie’s father. It is received a SOS call from, but when an adventure mystery containing you get there you see that it’s three characters, one of which is devoid of life. You decide to the player. The game contains a explore, and that’s where the few woodland animals and some player takes control. monsters which appear at night.

Trapped

Dalvia Dhillon (14) Tiya Dhillon (11) Hull, Hornsea School (HSLC) “A retro 2D story about mental illness among teenagers with day and night segments which act very differently to each other.”

Trapped is a game showing the effect of mental illnesses on students.

Our game tackles a very difficult issue in the modern world, mental health. We have especially chosen to set our story in a school to show the impact a mental illness can have on a person’s life.

the unBEARable winter

Clelia Alishah (13) Lillie Henchley (13) Edie Sunman (13)

Hertfordshire, Aldenham School “A bear has to collect enough food to survive through the winter while completing mini quests and puzzles and meeting new animals.”

You control the bear and walk around and meet lots of other animals; varying to the previous selection, and presses on them to talk to them. Once the bear has spoken to them they will have been given a quest, for example go to the river and catch 20 fish in a certain amount of time.

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Bitweb

Aryaan Awais (18) Birmingham, King Edward VI Aston Grammar School “Bitweb – A simple game which makes you think backwards and forwards through a one-way world that has one way to win.”

Bitweb is a simplistic strategy and puzzle game about pathfinding: Plan your team’s route from start to finish by navigating through a grid of one-way barriers from one end to the other.

CloudScape

Crossbeats

Bedwas

Colinsburgh

Elizabeth Mcmorrow (17) Aidan Baker (16) Molly Morgan (17) James Doran (16) Dafydd Mulcachy (17) Brodie Millar (16)

“A platform-based world that combines the best elements of puzzle and rhythm games to create a new and fun experience.”

The islands of CloudScape exist high above the ground, home to lands and creatures of legend.

All with their own song, entire lives intertwined in a dance with rhythm. However, after centuries of peace, The Glitch has risen from its slumber, corrupting and silencing all it touches.

Dream Detective

The Great Fly Ayo Norman-Williams(17) Escape London “When 17-year-old Ava learns that she can see the future through her dreams, she becomes a detective over one crazy summer, investigating in the daytime and finding new leads in her dreams!”

Dream Detective is a story-based detective game/3D platformer hybrid, set in both the real world and in dreams. The game puts the player in control of Ava, a 17-year-old girl who has just finished sixth form.

Ava has just learned that she has precognitive dreams, where she is able to see future information about whoever/whatever appears in them.

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Tom Mort (15) Bebington

“Play as a fly who wants to leave the humans home!”

You will play as a fly who wants to return home to its family but there is a problem… The humans want to kill you!

“It’s a mad musical melee out there and all you’ve got to defend against the Clef Kings is your arsenal of combat instruments and your virtuoso!”

Crossbeats is a thrilling rhythm game in which players must exploit the rhythm of the beat to defeat their foes.

H.e.24

Nathan Burton (18) James Dare (17) Joe Harrison (17) Leeds “The world has been taken over by balloons. Humanity has been sent to the undergrounds in fear for hundreds of years. It is time to go see the damage that has been done.”

12 years later you wake up to find the devastation that has happened to humanity. After meeting up with a small group of interesting individuals, (a child who loves popping balloons, the happiest man alive who is in a wheelchair, and a girl who goes from being extremely hyper to extremely tired in a second) you leave the underground to take back your home.

THE NOMINEES

GAME CONCEPT AWARD

Down the Well

Ben Dunn-Flores (18) Reigate

“An iterative puzzle-platformer centred around two characters – one that charts a course and the other that takes it. This time, you use gravity – you fall upwards, or sideways, or corkscrew around obstacles and through enemies.”

15-18 YEARS

For the most creative and original concept for a new game

In Down the Well, you play as both an insectoid robot and a gravityaltering orb. The Insect can only walk along the ground and launch EMP grenades (which can be used to activate buttons, disarm turrets and disable guards). The Orb can fly and alter the gravitational field lines within it, leaving a trail of altered gravity behind it.

Take Your Thyme

Yue Qi (15) Coventry

Tea & Tartlets

Erin Jones (17) Sophia Shepherd (16) Kat Shields (16)

“Everyone wants to play the hero in their game, but why not be the most Wimbledon crucial hero behind one of the most important game mechanics itself?” “Tea & Tartlets is a top-down story-based simulation game in The game features the idea of which you run a cafe and progress ‘herbs’ – hence ‘Thyme’ in the through the game’s levels – place of ‘Time’ – and will allow for unlocking new recipes and players to control their character perks for your cafe each level – to navigate in the tranquil with a romance-focused story mountainous areas in search intermittent throughout.” for herbs and plants to create ‘medicine’ and ‘potions’ often The two main aspects of Tea & found in other games which have Tartlets are running your cafe and the ability to revive or heal. the story focused on the romantic interest of the game.

TransMission: Sidereal

Jordan Han (18) “Become the hero the universe deserves with the help of your diverse crew members, learning codes and uncommon communication styles along the way.”

An educational puzzle-platformer based around player and crew rescuing humans that have been abducted by aliens.

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THE NOMINEES

GAME MAKING AWARD

Beating Bullying

Chloe Rattle (12)

Holy Trinity Church of England School, Crawley

10-14 YEARS

“What happened to the terrified girl found in the hallway and what will happen next, you decide!”

For the best original game made using freely available software

¡HOLA MEXICO!

Maggie

Birmingham

Forest Row

Lauren Fenwick (12)

“An interactive, educational and exciting game inspired by traditional Mexican culture – say ‘¡Hola!’ to Mexico!”

My game tells you lots of information about traditional Mexican culture, and then puts your knowledge to the test with three unique, fun and educational mini-games.

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Harry Thurston (10)

“A minimalist puzzle platformer in which you guide Maggie, a cute red cube, through a series of levels using only her ability to stretch.

Good luck!”

The game is a demo in which you explore Maggie’s world by growing and shrinking. The ten levels in the demo start easy but get more challenging as Maggie moves through them. On her journey Maggie discovers that she has magnetic powers which enable her to defy gravity and allow her more freedom to move around each level.

My game allows you to talk to multiple characters so you can find out what happened there before you came. There are multiple endings that you can make to your choosing.

Mei-Ling – The Forgotten Princess

Aysheq Hussain (14) Birmingham

“An exciting third person open world action adventure game based around the central character, MeiLing who seeks to free her enslaved people from the forces of the evil mage, Holder of Death (HOD).”

I have been learning how to develop games in Unity over the last year or so and have been completing training courses on Pluralsight as well as some Unity certified video training, which has taught me a great deal about Unity and the game development pipeline.

Bee Simulator

Ariyan Hormoz (11) London “My game is about what a bee does in its everyday life while trying to keep humanity going.”

My game is about a bee going on a quest to pollinate and keep the crops and human population going.

He travels throughout lands learning about flowers along the way.

Dragon Jump

Iga Maslowska (12) Anete Nagla (12) Victoria Nixon (12) Gravesend “You are Ignis, a lost dragon, and you must collect all of the jewels and coins hidden and protected in each world – if you can endure the obstacles, heights and traps waiting for you – in order to finally create a portal to return home.”

You are a young dragon, lost due to your egg falling out of its nest and being carried away by the ocean. You wake up on a grassy field and have to survive, which is not easy if you are in a fantasy world full of magic.

Paddle Boat Panda

Penguin Peril

Alex Robinson (11)

James Lindsay (10)

London

Ilminster

“Paddle down an infinite river that is infested with crocodiles, obstacles and money.”

Player gets to choose from different boats to paddle down a river, collecting coins, avoiding obstacles and seeking to achieve new high scores. There are many different objects – Soda Cans, Glass Bottles, Logs, Beaver Dams and Crocodiles – which will all knock you off course making it harder to get further down the river.

“Rocky Penguin is trapped in a pool, under ice; she’s hungry and needs to catch fish before she runs out of energy or the leopard seal eats her; catch six fish whilst dodging the leopard seal to get to the next level.”

The tide is out and Rocky Penguin is trapped in a pool, under ice. Luckily for Rocky, there are some fish in the pool and Rocky won’t starve if she can catch them.

The Great Fraction Adventure

Jack Rafferty (11) Cowbridge

“A game where you use maths to beat monsters.”

In this game you are guided by a friendly robot called Tutoribot who helps you with your maths as you go along. You defeat monsters by converting fractions into mixed numbers, but be careful as a surprise awaits in the final level!

Game aimed at 9 to 11 year olds.

T-rex Need Eat: Type Real Weird Words Maximilian Robinson (13) London “Help Trex (the t-rex) feed himself on ‘D-xert’ the Cretaceous slug by typing the real weird words given to you before the timer runs out!”

In each level you are given unique words which you must type when they are presented to you. Of course, you have limited time to complete all these words. Don’t worry because any incorrect spellings will be ignored but if you run out of time, you lose.

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All Alone

Thomas Robson (17) Durham “An atmospheric 2D platformer, exploring the struggles that come with mental illness through metaphors and ambiguity.”

BattlePunk

Hannah Birrell (15) Elizabeth Hornsby (15) Tatiana Vlassi (15) Herne Bay

“BattlePunk is a pixelated RPG adventure set in a magical future My game is a 2D platformer in which where battles are constantly raging the player must explore a dark – you, a pacifist, are the only hope forest, suspended in time. In this the world has to change…” endeavour, the player must avoid falling into pits of dark mist, avoid Jasper, a pacifist, explains that a enemies, as well as various other curse placed on humanity 200 years hazards. The game consists of four ago has led to the world becoming levels, each with it’s own unique war torn by people who fight for design, mechanic, or setting. fun and reject peaceful lives. War has had a devastating effect on Jasper’s family.

The Elementalist

Life Raft Survival

Morgan Brown (16)

Abigail Tan (16)

Milton Keynes

Brentwood

“The Elementalist is a hardcore action platformer where you must harness the power of the elements in order to defeat the Armies of Darkness, restore the Kingdom of Reprobi, and return to paradise.”

Each level drops you into a single screen arena with enemies pouring in from multiple entry points. You must use the correct element to defeat them, or you will find yourself overwhelmed and unable to continue on your journey.

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“Cast adrift in a life raft, survive against the odds in an unforgiving tropical island environment where you are truly alone!”

In Life Raft Survival, you’re stranded at sea after a mysterious plane crash with only a life raft and a small survival device. You start by harvesting basic raw materials from tropical desert islands to craft more advanced equipment, including tools, new transportation, campfires and shelter.

Cacophony

Jordan Han (18) Dundee “Sometimes, when you listen to music, it can seem like the world around you changes before your very eyes...”

Cacophony is a platformer in which you play as a person who feels very strongly connected to the music they listen to. They are so connected to the music that every element of the music has a different effect on their perception of the world around them.

Memories

Anthony Moran (16) Joseph Sweeney (16) Luton “The game surrounds the life of a family who have been disconnected from everything they once knew and are trying to restore themselves of their memories before the darkness consumes them.”

Each level consists of a memory that is shared by one or more characters, starting with the day they moved into their house for the first time. The memory at the beginning of the level is corrupted with darkness and requires such darkness to be destroyed in order to progress to the second stage of the level where characters are shown the memory they once knew with one, slight alteration… They don’t exist within it.

THE NOMINEES

GAME MAKING AWARD

Coob Dools

Adam Pace (17) Sunderland “2-4 player platforming shooter mayhem.”

15-18 YEARS

Cool Doobs pits 2-4 players against one another in battle across four different levels, complete with their own unique features to make each match different from the last.

Levels are randomly chosen at the end of every round. Battles are short and fast paced to keep everyone involved.

Mouse Trapped

Michael Bell (17) Joe Anderson (17)

Northants School, Wellingborough “A nameless mouse is trapped in a series of difficult and deadly mazes by a negligent (but not actively malicious) scientist.”

The player controls the mouse as they navigate through each maze, which are mostly composed of immovable barriers and buttons that open and close obscured doors.

The aim of every level is to get the mouse to the cheese, which will typically be behind a closed door. Through clever manipulation of game elements, the mouse will open the path to the cheese and get their reward.

For the best original game made using freely available software

Super Boson

Tim’s Adventure

Prithvi Kohli (17)

Jamie Buttenshaw (15)

East Molesey

Cumbernauld

“An energetic and mind-bending puzzle/action game about particle physics, which aims to inspire scientific curiosity and interest in physics and other STEM fields amongst younger audiences by portraying science in a fun and engaging way.”

The player must navigate and reach the end of levels by taking control of different subatomic particles. Each of these is unique and behaves differently, requiring the player to think carefully and plan ahead for which particle to be and in which order to overcome obstacles.

“Tim’s Adventure is an open world role playing game where you play as Tim the Jelly Bean, and you’ve been set on a magical quest to save a land riddled with evil from the formidable Jelly Monster and its army of evil beans, by exploring the realm and duelling with evil beans.”

In Tim’s Adventure, Tim explores the land, talking to fellow beans and battling with the evil beans that are taking over the realm.

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THE NOMINEES

YGD MENTOR

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’ve helped young people that might not have had an opportunity to explore games creation otherwise.

Vanessa Bonthuys Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School, Canterbury “One of the things that makes my teacher “It is an honour to have been nominated, an inspiration for gaming and coding is and has truly inspired me to continue with that our lessons are actually really fun. running clubs and encouraging young I remember in particular a lesson in which people to become more involved in the we used BBC microbits to program small gaming community. Reaching out to animations, and I was challenged to students that are not as privileged, or do try to make a game out of it. This was a not have many opportunities to access really enjoyable lesson and also made games at home and share their talents me think about how I could be creative in order to influence their peers through in terms of games design, and how to playing and developing games. This solve problems in my code.” makes the hours of playing games on From Nomination my own and with my sons worthwhile!”

“She is one of the most supportive people I know. She has encouraged and supported me to push myself in my Computer Science lessons, which is one of the reasons that I decided to take it for GCSE.” From Nomination

Dr. John Bradford DigiLocal, High Tech Bristol & Bath CIC, Bristol “Every week at our Code Club he turns up with his infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun. He is really knowledgeable and will help us with our crazy and wild gaming ideas.”

From Nomination “John is an amazing person who inspires, tells and shows me that nothing is impossible. When I ask him if something is possible he always says yes, even if he has no idea how to make it happen which is great, because everyone around me always says no.”

From Nomination

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“My nomination was completely unexpected and very humbling.

DigiLocal is about giving those communities that might not see high tech as a viable career path for their young people the resources to run their own clubs and connect with the tech community on an equal footing. I just give young people the space they need to realise their passion for creating, and the connections to potentially turn that passion into a career.”

Guy Bramwell-Smith Access Creative College, Manchester “Access Creative College has 25 years of music education but, in Sept 2017, we launched our new games design courses. Guy originally started working as an admissions officer and maths tutor.

However, when he heard that we were launching games design courses, he made it his mission to become a tutor.

This in itself inspires the students and me to follow our passion.”

From Nomination

“You just need to watch him teach to understand why he deserves the award.

He is passionate, driven, enthusiastic and has a great relationship with all his students. They even love coming to college – which for a 16 year old to want to come means he must be doing something right.”

From Nomination “Mentoring young games designers is my passion – it is an honour to be nominated for the Young Game Designers Game Mentor award.”

Erika Rhodes Chenderit School, Middleton Cheney, Oxfordshire “Every lesson Mrs Rhodes turns up with a positive attitude to learning, she gives her heart and soul to our lesson and has spent some of her own money to help this department. Earlier this year she had the amazing idea to build a gaming computer, we connected the plugs and put in the mother board to make this computer and now we can use our leisure time to have some fun and calm us down before our GCSEs.” From Nomination

“She deserves this award because every time we need help on our game she will always be there to support us and help us break the barriers we may have to stop us from getting this award.

Also whenever we see her in school she always tells us something motivational like the school motto.”

From Nomination “I am surprised, pleased and delighted that the students enjoy the work that they are doing and are inspired to go forward.”

Adam Syrop Impact Gamers C.I.C., Bradford from them, give them positive ways to “Before I went to Impact Gamers I didn’t think I could do coding and game design use their skills and opportunities to thrive.

The games he encourages them to make because its not something lots of girls do support their social skills and helped but Adam encouraged me to believe in my abilities and persevere. There are way them to explore their emotions as well as not being violent or horrible in any way.” more boys that go to Impact but Adam From Nomination always makes me feel like my ideas are just as valuable as the boys and we all “WOW! It feels a bit crazy. BAFTA to me work together really well.” represents the best in the arts, so to From Nomination be considered is mind blowing. I hope people seeing this Game Mentor award “Adam set up impact gamers in BD5, which is in the 2% most deprived areas of will be inspired to invest their time and the country. Adam works specifically with skills into young people.” children from this area to get the best

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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 “Helping young people to be digital creators is a mission that Electronic Arts and Criterion Games are proud to support. We are passionate about inspiring, supporting, educating and working with a new generation of gamemakers. Working with BAFTA YGD is something we have done for the past five years and we are very happy to be involved again. We always feel truly inspired when we work with young people as they bring a fresh perspective and such great energy and enthusiasm.”

Jagex “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”

Sony Interactive Entertainment “Being part of the BAFTA YGD program offers a terrific opportunity to connect with the next generation of game creators. At Sony Interactive Entertainment, we’re actively shaping the future of game development education through our PlayStation First academic program, putting PlayStation into the hands of young, up-and-coming developers. We’re delighted to partner with BAFTA once again and help usher in a new wave of talent.”

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.”

Unity “YGD encourages young designers to think about the processes involved in making the commercial games they play. Using that knowledge and their imagination they can come up with something new and personal. The design of YGD to include both coding and design means the less technical can still contribute. Studios need people with different skills – not everyone is a killer coder.”

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

Script Fin Carew

Director of Learning & New Talent Tim Hunter

Set Design Tom Denning

Director of Production Clare Brown

Graphics Johnny Luu

YGD Campaign Producer Melissa Phillips

Set Install Crew 4

Production Team Ryan Doherty Ciara Teggart Brogan Wallace

Prompting Facilities Portaprompt Photography Jordan Anderson Jamie Simonds Danny Cozens Printing Taylor Bloxham YGD branded merchandise learay.co.uk Publicity Pedroza Communications

Official Partners Creative Assembly Criterion Games Jagex King Sony Interactive Entertainment Ubisoft Unity WB Games

Juries With thanks to all readers, jury members, chairs and BAFTA 195 Piccadilly p6 King Studios image BAFTA/James Cannon

Projection Team Tim Higham Angus Martin Editing Daniel Dalton John Maloney Press Niyi Akeju Lisa Richards Communications Chris Allnutt Jess Lenten Liz Tresidder Partnerships Charlie Perkin Georgi Taroni Graphic Design Joe Lawrence Additional Support Alexa Tamsett Daniel Scales Lydia Heathcote

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 Nick Button-Brown

The Academy chooses Garda, supporting excellence in print. Printed on Garda Satin. Supplied by Taylor Bloxham.

The carbon impact of this paper has been measured and balanced through the World Land Trust, an ecological charity. www.taylorbloxham.co.uk

Chair Dame Pippa Harris Chief Executive Amanda Berry OBE Chief Operating Officer Kevin Price

ŠBAFTA 2018

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