Two students from the East of England have been named finalists in the prestigious BAFTA gaming awards. Daniel Tachauer from Essex and Ruby from Suffolk were selected among 52 young people aged 10 to 18 by industry experts.
The Young Game Designers (YGD) competition aims to support young gamers who create and share their own game ideas. The awards celebrate talent and encourage creativity in game design and development.
Daniel, 14, is a finalist in the Game Making category for ages 10 to 14. His game, Planet Drop, is an astronomy-themed puzzle game where players merge falling planets. It is inspired by the classic game Tetris.
Daniel began playing video games two years ago. He taught himself how to make games by watching YouTube tutorials. He said it took about a month to build Planet Drop.
He explained, “It is easier to make games now than before. In 1990, there were no tutorials. Now there is a lot of help and many people making content.”
Daniel hopes to have a career in coding and dreams of working with games every day.
Ruby, 18, is a finalist in the Game Making category for ages 15 to 18. Her game, Through The Darkness, challenges players to find their way through a maze by following music sounds in the dark.
Ruby designed her game to raise awareness of how people who are blind experience gaming. She said, “If I win, it would mean a lot to me. Game making is my passion and a career goal.”
The BAFTA awards have two main categories. The Game Concept Award recognizes written game ideas. The Game Making Award honors games made using computer software. Each category has two age groups: 10 to 14 and 15 to 18.
Industry professionals form a jury to select the winners. They look for well-planned ideas and strong coding skills.
Luke Hebblethwaite, head of games at BAFTA, said he was impressed by the quality of entries. He noted the UK’s games industry is world-leading and contributes £7 billion to the economy.
“There are excellent companies across the country creating games that people play daily worldwide,” he said.
The winner announcement will be live-streamed on BAFTA’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, June 18.
