SIX Scottish teenagers are in the running for the coveted Bafta Young Game Designers Award.
They are among 50 finalists shortlisted for their computer game designs as a individual or team entries, a third of whom are women – including Vaida Plankyte, 16, from Edinburgh, who was selected for her multi-player cuddling game Ow.
The goal of the game is to match the cuddling positions being shown by a moving character’s limbs with four keys, faster than an opponent. Plankyte said: “Making games is something that I really enjoy, but I am even more excited about the social impact which games that create empathy in the players can have on the world.
“As a finalist, I hope that I can encourage people to make small creations, even people who might have never thought about making games.”
“Designing games is really not an obscure, complicated art, and we should encourage each other to try it out and expand what we define as being a ‘game’.”
Another finalist, 18-year-old Calum McCarten from Ardrishaig, Argyll, came up with Space Drifter, an adventure game where players can pilot a spaceship through an asteroid field with the aim of defeating waves of enemies as they attack.
He said: “I am very happy to have been chosen as a finalist. I hope to encourage other people who enjoy games to get involved and design their own.”
Jordan Power, 17, Joseph Reynolds, 16, and Karl McRae, 17, all from Kilwinning, Ayrshire, have designed an adventure game called Abandoned Mine in which players must defeat enemies to win.
McCrae said: “I can honestly say that being in the top 10 in all of the UK still sounds absolutely crazy and the fact that it was us three guys from North Ayrshire is amazing in itself."
Power added: “It’s nice knowing that I have at least a slight chance of being a successful games programmer in the future.
“The fact that I’ve programmed a game which others find fun makes me feel valued.”
And Jordan Han, 16, from Dundee, has been shortlisted for his game design The Ashes Call My Name, a 2D game where the player solves puzzles in either constructive or destructive ways.
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