Scottish creative talent has shone through in this year’s BAFTA Young Game Designers Competition.
BAFTA announced their list of finalists ahead of the winners ceremony this Thursday, and a wealth of young Scots are in the running for prizes.
Nearly 40 per cent of finalists for the Game Concept 10-14 hail from Scotland, with two separate teams from Dunoon among the youngsters up for the win.
The first team was selected for the game Supermarket Mayhem, where players are tasked with rushing around a supermarket with a shopping list in an attempt to retrieve certain items within a limited amount of time. Once the list is completed, players can check out and retrieve money to buy new trolleys and maps.
The second team selected for the 10-14 category includes 13-year-old Eleanor Brooker and 14-year-old Rebecca Jones, both also from Dunoon.
They devised a game titled Don't Touch The Robot, where players are asked to dodge robots in order to survive out in space, with the ultimate goal of dodging 200 robots across more than 50 levels.
The young pair from Dunoon have been hailed for their ability to tap into gaming trends with their creation being built for mobile devices and tablets.
A report published this year by Activision Blizzard showed that 86% of those who game, do so on mobile at least once per week.
Elsewhere in the Game Concept 10-14 category is 14-year-old Orson Hayward from Dundee who was inspired by the popular Dav Pilkey book series Captain Underpants, for his entry.
His concept, titled Collateral Damage, asks players to star as ‘George the Caretaker’ as he attempts to clean up in the midst of a battle raging overhead. Rather than playing as the superhero or villain of the story, Orson describes George as just ‘a regular guy doing his job, fighting to reach his elusive dream of retiring on a beach in Hawaii’.
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Higher up the age categories, is 17-year-old Charlotte Bigham from North Ayrshire has been nominated for Game Concept 15-18 for her game Midieval.
Having been a finalist in previous years, Charlotte’s concept is a fantasy-adventure-rhythm game, taking place within the city of ‘Panmusica’, which has three regions each based on different categories and eras of music.
The player is tasked with tracking down a mineral that converts music into energy, and serves as the lifeblood of this bustling city.
Charlotte said: “I’m delighted and honoured to be a YGD finalist again, and had a lot of fun trying something new and experimenting with genres in my game concept this year. I’m excited to see the games that the other finalists have come up with, too."
Rounding up the selection Scottish talent is Glasgow’s 14-year-old Fionnlagh Carter who is the only finalist from Scotland in the Game Making 10-14 category.
His game ShetLANDER is a rocket simulator, set in a world where Shetland houses the UK’s first spaceport. The player, an astronaut, carefully controls a space rocket on a test flight and attempts to fly as high as possible without running out of fuel.
He said: "I was surprised and delighted when I found out that I was a finalist. My favourite detail of my game was the animated animals I put in the background of the launch site; I think they contribute to the overall feel of the game and make it feel less empty. I'm really excited to meet other people who enjoy game development as well, and to learn from everyone I meet."
This year’s final will be hosted by actor and comedian Inel Tomlinson, and streamed digitally on BAFTA’s Youtube channel.
The voting jury who selected this year’s finalists out of hundreds of entries represent major British-based gaming companies, including Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham Asylum) and TT Games (LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga). Jurors also work at major international corporations such as PlayStation and Meta.
2024 winners will be featured in the prestigious Power Up experience, which features some of the very best video games and consoles from the past five decades, including some from previous winners. Power Up will be showcasing this year’s winners at the Science Museum in London and at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.
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