Dare to be Digital 2010

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.

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For more information or further images of games contact:

Stephanie Robertson / Jennifer Butler

Weber Shandwick

T: 07809 665 773 / 0131 556 6649

E: srobertson@webershandwick.com / jbutler@webershandwick.com

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.