Sculpty

Sculpty, which was developed for Apple’s iPad last summer by five Abertay students, is the first Dare game to be available worldwide on the Apple App Store.

The game is also the first iPad title ever to get a PEGI rating, the official age ratings system for all games released in Europe.

As one of the three winning games from Dare to be Digital 2010, Sculpty is nominated for the BAFTA ‘Ones to Watch’ award which will be announced at a glittering ceremony in London on Wednesday 16 March, hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. The ceremony will be shown live on the BAFTA website.

Druhin Mukherjee, Team Tickle leader and Abertay University graduate, said: “Sculpty is something really close to my heart and seeing our game available worldwide on the Apple App Store is so very special.

“Dare to be Digital is the biggest platform for budding game developers to show their talent. Dare allows you to talk to developers from around the globe and by the end of the competition, no matter what the outcome is, you become a better developer.”

Game artist Fraser Littlejohn added: “Producing and releasing Sculpty on the App Store is one of the greatest achievements of my life. It’s amazing to think that this time last year Sculpty was a couple of drawings in a sketchbook, if that!

“Dare to be Digital was a fantastic experience. Having the opportunity to work on something creative like this for a solid nine weeks made me realise how much I want a life in the creative industries, and it’s made me even more driven to make it happen.

“I never thought at this stage that I would get to create a fully functioning game and see it being played by thousands of people. Dare definitely has given me opportunities that I never thought I would have had during my university career.”

Applications to Dare to be Digital 2011 are open until 3 April. Full details are available at http://www.daretobedigital.com/applications/how.php

Dare to be Digital project manager Elaine Russell said: “Having a Dare to be Digital student game available on the Apple App Store for the first time is another great milestone for us, and the team deserve huge congratulations for their achievement.

“We’re very excited about the quality of applications for 2011, as well as the upcoming BAFTA awards where Sculpty will compete with two other games – Mush and Twang! – for the title. They’re all superb, so we’re expecting a very close race!”

Team Tickle has five members: James Long, Fraser Littlejohn, Druhin Mukherjee, Fabien Roussot and Ronan Suess. All five studied Computer Games Technology or Computer Arts at Abertay University.

Sculpty can be downloaded for free from the App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sculpty-lite/id414421863?mt=8

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For media enquiries, please contact Chris Wilson (Communications Officer) – T: 01382 308935 M: 07837 250284 E: chris.wilson@abertay.ac.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Dare to be Digital:

Dare to be Digital is a video game development competition for undergraduates at universities and colleges of art, organised and run by the University of Abertay Dundee.

Teams of student programmers and artists compete in an 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 in August.

The three winning teams from Dare to be Digital each year become the sole nominees for the BAFTA ‘Ones to Watch’ Award.

See http://www.daretobedigital.com for more information and to apply.

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Chris Wilson | Communications Officer (MC)

Communications Centre | University of Abertay Dundee | DD1 1HG

T: 01382 308 935 | M: 07837 250 284 | F: 01382 308 298

chris.wilson@abertay.ac.uk | http://www.abertay.ac.uk  | http://twitter.com/AbertayUni