Game Stars Live to host school competition winners

A somewhat unusual new exhibit has been confirmed for the Game Stars Live consumer show in London this September - with the event playing host to the finalists in a schools Design A Game Character competition which was held earlier this year.

The competition, which ran in 1500 schools throughout the country and was open to 11 to 16 year old children, challenged children to create illustrations and descriptions of characters they would like to see in a videogame.

The winning entries in two age groups both receive Nintendo game hardware and software, along with a free trip for their entire school year to the Game Stars Live show - and a professional illustration of their character by a videogame graphic designer.

"The response to the competition was overwhelming," according to Game Stars Live event director Kirsty Adams, "and picking winners was incredibly difficult. As well as proving to be an entertaining project for the 11 to 16 year olds, the promotion offers a fascinating insight into what kids would design for themselves."

"It's clear that they favour particularly colourful and imaginative characters - so if the industry is looking to appeal to this age group, it should pay particular attention to our special art exhibition," she concluded.

The winner in the 11 to 13 age category was Renata Abdullah from the Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Aylesbury, who created an "amazingly flexible" sprite-like character called Dipuc, while in the 14 to 16 age category, Gemma Cross from Dr Challoners High School in Buckinghamshire won for her character Lacerta, who boasts "lizard-like" powers.

Game Stars Live runs in London's ExCeL conference centre from September 1st to 5th.