UK government awards £50,000 to Tranzfuser's winning students
Mochi Mode and Shuttershade Studios take home £25,000 each following UK Games Fund competition
The UK Games Fund has revealed the winners of this year's Tranzfuser competition, which gives students a chance to win government grants to further fund their game development dreams.
The winners were announced during a ceremony in London today, with £25,000 awarded to each of the triumphant teams.
Students have been competing throughout the summer, using a grant of £5,000 to take their concept to playable prototype in just ten weeks, and then showcasing them before judges and the public at EGX 2017.
The first winner is Mochi Mode, a team from the Cardiff-based University of South Wales, with their wacky title Moo Moo Move about herding cows through various difficult courses.
Team leader Laura Wells said: "After graduating, it's tough to know what steps will help you 'breakthrough' into the games industry. That was especially true for us with the aspiration to start up our own studio. Tranzfuser has given us guidance at a crucial point of our development."
Meanwhile, second winner Shuttershade Studios regularly drew a crowd at EGX with its virtual reality mini-game collection VR Party Ware, a WarioWare mash-up of different game types where players needed to complete as many challenges as possible within the time limit.
The team's Marcus Nichols said: "Winning Tranzfuser has had a life changing effect on the entire Shuttershade Studios team. We're now able to do our dream jobs which is to have very little sleep but to have a tonne of fun developing our own video games. It's the most varied job that we've all had and we wouldn't change it for the world."
For the first time this year, the 21 runner-up teams will receive consultancy packages will aid them apply for finance from the UK Games Fund in future.
"The UK games industry is a fantastic success story and we want to see it continue to grow from strength to strength," said Creative Industries Minister Matt Hancock. "The Tranzfuser programme is aimed at identifying and supporting the talented young games developers and the original and innovative games they are producing right here in the UK."
We spoke to some of the teams ahead of the EGX showcase earlier this year, while Tranzfuser founder Paul Durrant wrote for us on how to revamp the education system for future game developers.