[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]
Monday, 16 August 2010: The winners of the
world’s leading computer games design competition, Dare to be
Digital, have been announced at Dare ProtoPlay.
The three winning teams Angry Mango, Team Tickle, and That Game
Studio are also the sole nominees for the BAFTA Ones to Watch
award, chosen by a panel of gaming industry experts during the
three day event.
Angry Mango - Mush
This atmospheric 2D platform puzzler takes full advantage of the
Windows Phone 7 tactile inputs, including touch-screen and
accelerometer technology. Players can stretch Mush’s facial
features with their fingertips to alter his emotions, shake him
into a blind destructive rage and tilt the phone to move him around
the world.
Team Tickle - Sculpty
Sculpty is a unique physics based platform game for the iPad. It
is the only game where users can use their hands to mould Sculpty
through the lush jungle environment.
That Game Studio – Twang!
Twang! Is a multiplayer platform racing game, developed for Xbox
360, supporting up to four local players. Offering a cute and
colourful visual style and a mixture of fun and simple gameplay
mechanics, it is aimed at all ages.
Each team will receive a £2,500 cash prize as well as
becoming the finalists for the BAFTA Ones to Watch award.
Dare to be Digital is organised and run by the University of
Abertay Dundee. The international competition attracts students
from across the globe to take part in the challenge in an attempt
to come up with the next big game. 75 students had 10 weeks to
complete their prototypes at Abertay’s Dare hothouse, before
the ProtoPlay showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
This year’s collaboration between Dare and Turner
Broadcasting’s comedy brand, Adult Swim, has resulted in a
new Adult Swim award for creativity and unique game play, which was
presented to Bears with Jetpacks by the title sponsor.
The Teams Choice prize, which went to the best team as chosen by
the Dare students, was given to Bazooka Duck with its game, Epoch
Defence.
The industry judging panel was made up of some of the top names
in computer gaming and included industry heavyweights Charles
Cecil, Managing Director of Revolution Software and Gareth Edmonson
from Ubisoft, as well as representation from BBC, Blitz Games
Studios, Codemasters, Denki, Develop, Rare, Realtime Worlds,
Rockstar North and Sony.
Charles Cecil said: “The quality of this year’s
entries is exceptionally high. It was our opinion that the winning
projects, as well as some that came close, could have considerable
commercial potential – an amazing achievement given that the
students only had ten weeks in which to write the project. These
teams enter into the industry at a time of unparalleled opportunity
for individuals who have the talent and the vision to truly
innovate. Beyond the constraints of mainstream publishing, Digital
Distribution has created an ‘Indy scene’ in which
smaller projects can creatively flourish through social
communications rather than having to rely on traditional
marketing.
“The University of Abertay should be congratulated on Dare
to be Digital, which has deservedly built a global reputation, with
teams from around the world aspiring to compete. Dare is very
highly regarded by the video games industry and celebrated by BAFTA
in its ‘Ones to Watch’ category.
“We offer all the teams, and the winners in particular,
our warmest congratulations on their excellent projects.”
Bazooka Duck with their game, Epoch Defence, was awarded the
Intel Visual Adrenaline prize while Twang! by That Game Studio was
given the Audience award, after being voted the most popular game
by members of the public.
Dare to be Digital, considered by the industry as the perfect
vehicle for young talent in the games sector, is now in its
eleventh year.
Entries to this year’s Dare to be Digital came from more
than 80 universities worldwide.
- Ends -
For more information or further images of games
contact:
Stephanie Robertson / Jennifer Butler
Weber Shandwick
T: 07809 665 773 / 0131 556 6649
E:
[email protected] /
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
The Dare ProtoPlay (13-15 August 2010)
15 new Dare games: were created by young talent from across
Europe, Asia & America. Creativity, market potential and use of
technology are the primary objectives for the young developers,
which the audience will see reflected in games produced for iPad,
PSP Go, Android Phone, Windows 7 phone, Wii, Xbox and PCs. Visitors
could play and vote for their favourite games at Dare
ProtoPlay.
About Dare to be Digital
Dare to be Digital is organised and run by the University of
Abertay Dundee, with sponsorship from Turner Broadcasting, Intel,
Wacom, NCR, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Dundee
City Council. The teams are mentored by prominent video games
studios including BBC, Blitz Games Studios, Cohort, Rare, Realtime
Worlds, Rockstar North, SEGA, Sony and Ubisoft. Technology support
is provided by Adobe, Autodesk, Codesion, Crytek, Emergent, Hansoft
and Sony. Teams of student programmers and artists compete in a
10-week intensive 'hot-house' development environment over the
summer vacation, building fully-functioning prototypes for
assessment by industry judges and a public vote at Dare ProtoPlay,
which took place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
The three winning teams from Dare to be Digital each year become
the sole nominees for the BAFTA “Ones to Watch” Award,
and the 2009 Dare and BAFTA winning team was also nominated for a
BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award.
About Adult Swim
Operated by media giant Turner Broadcasting, Adult Swim is a
cutting-edge comedy brand aimed at adults 18-34. The hub of Adult
Swim content in the UK is online portal
www.adultswim.co.uk, which features both long and
short form content, games and social networking extensions. A TV
deal was struck in June 2010 to showcase some of the best Adult
Swim shows on FX, as part of the channel’s Saturday night
comedy line-up. Adult Swim programming is non-conformist and
irreverent, with a comedy soul. Shows such as Robot Chicken and
Aqua Teen Hunger Force have earned the brand a discerning and loyal
following in the UK.
Adult Swim is available in the UK on
www.youtube.comadultswimuk, Playstation Home and
iTunes, via mobile on Mobix, Sky mobile and Orange Mobile, and on
VoD services BT Vision and LoveFilm. It can also be found on social
networking sites
www.facebook.com/adultswimuk,
www.fxuk.com/shows/adult-swim/ and
www.twitter.com/AdultSwimUK. Additionally there
is a DVD distribution deal in place with Revolver.
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an
independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art
forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence,
inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to
its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events
programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s
most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures
and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and
backgrounds across the UK. BAFTA relies on income from membership
subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and
corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For
further information, visit
www.bafta.org.
|