Dundee-based games designers sweep BAFTAs
24 October 2007
Scottish computer games designers have picked up three BAFTAs at a prestigious awards ceremony in London.
A team of students from the University of Abertay Dundee has won the very first BAFTA "Ones to Watch" Award.
Team 'Voodoo Boogy', comprising five students on Abertay's computer games technology and computer arts degree courses, picked up their award at the British Academy Video Games Awards in London last night (23 October).
And in a remarkable night for Scottish success, Dundee-based computer games firm Realtime Worlds also picked up the BAFTA awards for Best Use of Audio and Best Action and Adventure for their Xbox 360 title 'Crackdown'.
Voodoo Boogy are one of the three winning teams from Abertay's Dare to be Digital competition this year. The three teams were the sole nominees for the BAFTA 'Ones to Watch' award, instituted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in association with Dare to be Digital.
The team members of Voodoo Boogy are: Malcolm Brown and Robert Clarke, graduates in computer games technology; Peter Carr and Finlay Sutton, graduates in computer arts; and Lynne Robertson, currently in her fourth year of computer arts.
Voodoo Boogy were competing for last night's prize against a team from Edinburgh University and another composed of Chinese students.
Realtime Worlds was founded in 2002 by David Jones, who is a graduate of Abertay and now a Visiting Professor of Games Design and Technology. The company employs about 170 people in Dundee, plus a further 30 in Korea and Colorado. David Jones and other team members have created some of the world's best selling video games, including the global hit franchises 'Lemmings' and 'Grand Theft Auto'.
The international computer games industry is predicted to be worth around $42-44 billion annually by 2010.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
About Dare to be Digital
Dare to be Digital, developed and organised by the University of Abertay Dundee, is the UK's premier computer games design competition for students. This year, teams of students from across Britain and Ireland as well as teams from India and China, comprising a total of around 60 students, competed in the 10-week contest (June-August).
The teams spent the first nine weeks based at one of three host centres in Guildford, Dundee and Belfast, designing and building a fully functioning prototype of their video game idea to be judged by a panel of games industry experts.
Participants received financial support and weekly training sessions from industry specialists during the competition. In the 10th week, the teams showcased their work to the general public and industry experts at Dare ProtoPlay as part of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, before convening at Abertay University for the final Dare to be Digital awards ceremony on 16 August.
More information: www.daretobedigital.com
About BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is the UK's leading organisation dedicated to the recognition and promotion of excellence in the fields of the moving image. Renowned for its high profile Film, Television and Video Games Awards ceremonies, the prestigious BAFTA mask has long been seen as a symbol of excellence
The BAFTA Video Games Awards are now in their second year, and are regarded as the UK's premier awards for video games excellence.
More information: http://www.bafta.org/site/page1.html
About Realtime Worlds
More information: http://www.realtimeworlds.com/index.php?id=1&pid=1
Media enquiries: Kevin Coe
T: 01382 308452 M: 07850 904110
E: k.coe@abertay.ac.uk W: www.abertay.ac.uk