After the glitz and glamour of the BAFTA In Scotland awards and Lucky Frame’s success in the games category, there’s yet more good news for the up-and-coming game developers of the future.
A team of pupils from Larbert High School have made it into the nominations of the 2012 BAFTA Young Game Designer competition.
Lewis Winters, Dylan Forrest and Adam Robertson created the concept for a game called, Piping Thistles, which the team describes as:
You play as a piper who must run from hordes of crazed haggis, mythical beasts of the Scottish highlands. You have to survive by running for as long as possible with your only reliable tool being your bagpipes. When played they will leave a razor sharp trail of thistles behind the player, stopping the haggis in their tracks temporarily. Haggis will eat through the walls of thistles so soon you are haggis food. You can reinforce thistles walls by standing in the same place playing your bagpipes, making the time it takes for your line of defence to fill the stomachs of hungry haggis increase greatly.
You can read Lewis, Dylan and Adam’s game concept here.
The game concept award has been judged by a jury including Harvey Elliot, the MD/COO of Marmalade and Chair of the BAFTA Children’s & Games Committee and a jury which included actress Anna Shaffer.
The pupils worked on their entry during a Wider Achievement Opportunity, which runs for senior pupils two periods a week. The class is organised by their Computing Science teachers – Mrs MacAskill and Mr Baird – within the Technologies Faculty of Larbert High School and is inspired by the Computer Games Development award offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
Entries were also made by S2 pupils in the Game Making Award, which had them working with Microsoft Kodu.
The introduction of Curriculum for Excellence has allowed the school to think more imaginatively in what can be offered for its learners, while also seeing a refresh for Computing Science. Computer game design offering an area for combining the art and algorithms of creative computing.
The winners of the Young Game Designers competition will be announced at the British Academy’s Children’s Awards, which take place in London on 25th of November.
The winners will work on their game with experts from the University of Abertay in Dundee and will get to visit Sony Computer Entertainment Studios in London, where both the EyeToy and SingStar franchises were created.
Congratulations to Lewis, Dylan and Adam.  And to Mrs MacAskill and Mr Baird (who don’t get nearly enough credit).  Good work guys!
We’ll keep you posted on the team’s success in London.
In the meantime, you can find all of the nominees, games and teams here.
Well done that school: teachers and pupils. I helped validate that award and am glad it has taken root. Now: go study Computing, Art, Design and/or Games!