AMD to sponsor Dare ProtoPlay

NEWS RELEASE

18 July 2007

AMD, one of the world's leading computing technology companies, will be lead sponsor of Dare to be Digital's new showcase event "Dare ProtoPlay" at the Edinburgh Festival, it was announced today.

Dare ProtoPlay will be a video games extravaganza running from 12th to 14th August, with 60 talented artists and programmers in this year's Dare to be Digital games design competition showcasing their fully functioning prototypes to industry experts and the general public.

AMD's state-of the art technology will enable Dare ProtoPlay to be a fully a hands-on experience and one of the most interactive events in both this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh Interactive Festival.

Apart from showcasing the brand new games developed by the contestants, Dare ProtoPlay will include interactive workshops demonstrating the life cycle of creating a game. Visitors will be able to explore music and sound effects from previous Dare to be Digital games, and create storyboards for a game concept written by renowned scriptwriter and concept developer Mark Grindle.

They will also have a chance to get their hands on a mouse and generate their own game character, as well as test an innovative and educational dance-mat based game, developed by Ramba Studio, a business that grew out of a team which took part in Dare to be Digital in 2005. Furthermore, visitors can also get into the interactive world of Disney games and look at behind-the-scenes features of "Crackdown", the chart-topping game launched by RealTime Worlds earlier this year.

Central to ProtoPlay will be a unique chance for members of the public to rub shoulders with games experts in play-testing new games created by the top young designers of the future - and vote for their favourites. The winners of the public vote award will win professional pen tablets sponsored by Wacom.

The votes will count towards the final Dare to be Digital awards, which will be judged by an industry panel on 15 August and unveiled at a ceremony in the competition's home base at Abertay University in Dundee on 16 August.

And following the recent announcement that the winners of Dare to be Digital will be the sole nominees for the new BAFTA "Ones to Watch" award, there's more at stake than ever before for the Dare contestants.

Dave Everitt, European product and platforms manager at AMD, said: "We are proud to be lead sponsors of Dare ProtoPlay because it is the ideal showcase of innovative video games, made by the next generation of designers. We have long supported the enthusiast market and are fully behind a competition that will help to advance video game design, and allow enthusiasts to have the chance to develop their skills in an exciting environment."

Paul Durrant, Dare to be Digital project director, commented: "We are delighted to welcome AMD on board as the lead sponsor of Dare ProtoPlay. It's a unique event in the games industry, designed to let adults and children enjoy playing and learning more about video games at the same time. Serious students can also use it to find out more about what's involved in preparing for a career in games development.

"With AMD's support, we intend to celebrate the newest ideas and the freshest young talent, and demonstrate the games creation process to the gaming public in an interactive way. AMD's well-known commitment to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions makes them the ideal lead sponsor for Dare ProtoPlay."

Dare to be Digital 2007 is the largest Dare ever since the competition was launched in 1999. 60 students divided into 12 teams and drawn from 15 universities across Britain, Ireland, India and China are taking part in the 10-week competition.

Working in three host centres - Dundee, Belfast and Guildford - the teams have just 9 weeks to design and build a fully functioning prototype of their video game idea to be judged by a panel of games industry experts. Participants receive financial support and weekly training sessions from industry specialists during the competition.

Dare to be Digital 2007 has assembled an impressive list of sponsors, including Electronic Arts, AMD, NCR, Realtime Worlds, Microsoft, Disney Interactive Studio, TIGA, the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Dundee City Council, London Development Agency, NESTA, the Digital Hub in Dublin and Belfast City Council with the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme and Intertrade Ireland.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit www.amd.com.

About Dare to be Digital

Dare to be Digital was first piloted among computer games students at Abertay in 1999. Since 2000, the competition has been run by a partnership of the University of Abertay Dundee, Scottish Enterprise Tayside and Dundee City. Until this year, Dare to be Digital took place entirely in Dundee, but often including teams from the rest of the UK and overseas. Abertay University's decision to almost double the number of contestants for 2007 lead to the setting up of the regional host centres.

Dare to be Digital has established an enviable reputation for producing high-grade talent. Contestants from last year's competition are now working for RealTime Worlds, Codemasters, BBC Scotland, Denki, Rockstar North, Electronic Arts UK and Electronic Arts Shanghai.

Abertay University has attracted an impressive list of sponsors for Dare to be Digital 2007, including Electronic Arts, AMD, NCR, Tiga, the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Dundee City Council, the Digital Hub in Dublin and Belfast City Council with the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment's Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme

Dare ProtoPlay is also sponsored by AMD, Realtime Worlds and Scottish Enterprise.

More information: www.daretobedigital.com

www.abertay.ac.uk

Media enquiries: Elaine Russell, Dare Project Manager

T: 01382 308770

Julia Clark

PR Manager, UK, South Africa and Nordics

T: +441276 803247

e-mail: Julia.Clark@amd.com