BAFTA has unveiled the finalists running for this year's BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) competition, with two hailing from Hastings and Eastbourne.

Seven of this year’s finalists for the Game Concept 15-18 category hail from the South East of England, including Tallulah Martinez (17) from Hastings and Maxston Perry (17) from Eastbourne.

Tallulah’s game, The Whispering Wilds, is set in a world of ancient magic. The game’s protagonist is a witch disguised as an apothecary,  working to bridge the gap between local citizens and witches that have been forced into hiding. Tallulah describes the game as “[combining] the peaceful feeling of a farming sim with all the fun and adventure of an open world RPG. You choose how you play and how you affect the world, and after you complete the game's main story you can continue playing and see the world you helped shape and heal.

The competition, which has been running since 2010, is a year-round initiative of public events and workshops for 10-18 year-olds, culminating in an annual ceremony to celebrate the finalists and winners, which will be streamed digitally on BAFTA's YouTube channel.

This year’s ceremony is taking place on Thursday, June 27, and will be hosted by multi-award nominated actor and comedian Inel Tomlinson. 

BAFTA Young Game Designers works with UK educators to support children who are interested in games, providing them with hands-on experience in the field and creating accessible pathways into games careers, raising awareness of the games industry as a viable career pathway as well as a creative hobby. Over three-quarters (83.45%) of YGD competition entrants this year heard about the scheme through school. 

This year’s finalists have entered for one of two awards up for grabs: the YGD Game Concept Award, which rewards the most original and best thought-out game idea, and the  YGD Game Making Award, which goes to the most impressive use of coding skills on a freely available software, to create a prototype game. Each award is split into two age groups: 10-14 years and 15-18 years.

Finalists were selected on the basis of the creativity of their vision and the technicality of their execution. Winning entries will be judged on their design and suitability for their chosen platform, with the aim of encouraging participants into games careers, and making the industry more accessible to young talent.

The voting jury who selected this year’s finalists out of hundreds of entries represent major British-based gaming companies, including Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham Asylum) and TT Games (LEGO® Star Wars™: The Skywalker Saga). Jurors also work at major international corporations such as PlayStation and Meta.

2024 winners will be featured in the prestigious Power Up experience, alongside some of the very best video games and consoles from the past five decades, including an array of previous YGD winners. 

Power Up will be showcasing this year’s winners at the Science Museum in London and at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester from June 28.

UPDATE:

The Game Concept Award (15-18) was won by Tallulah Martinez (17) from Hastings. Their winning game concept, ‘The Whispering Wilds’, is set in a world of ancient magic, exploring the open world and discovering the four covens - dusk, dawn, day and night, who have been forced into hiding and learning about the world’s magical plants and their medicinal uses.

Tallulah made the game for all audiences to educate them about history but particularly art-loving audiences and hopes playing ‘The Whispering Wilds’ “feels like you’re playing through an art piece or painting with your environment.”

Juror Shavonne Yu, Product Designer at META Reality Labs, Metaverse Equity in Horizon Worlds said: 

“I was honoured to serve as a juror for BAFTA's Young Game Designers competition. The level of craft, attention to detail, and creativity I saw has reinvigorated me to put more love into my own games! The future of gaming shines brightly.”

Juror Emily Brown, 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough and Lead Designer at UsTwo Games said: 

“It was incredible to see the level of creativity and imagination showcased in the Bafta Young Game Designers entries. The finalists for the concept category communicated the essence of their idea and backed it up with details. They placed us in the world they wanted to create. It was a pleasure to participate in the jury for the concept category and get a chance to see such a broad range of  creative ideas . I am excited about the new perspectives and ideas of the next generation of game makers.”

Tim Hunter, BAFTA executive director, Learning, Inclusion, Policy & Membership, said: 

“Congratulations to our winning game creators, and to our finalists, who have all displayed a tremendous amount of talent and creativity. It was great to see the finalists be inspired by such a wide variety of games and themes, as evidenced by the diversity of concepts and game mechanics. As BAFTA Young Game Designers continues to support the next generation of game-makers, it’s incredible to see so many young people across the UK being given the chance to pursue their passion at such an early stage, and to hear from leading industry experts at our BAFTA Young Game Designers Open Weekend. I look forward to seeing what our brilliant winners and finalists will do next.”