A TALENTED teenager from Herriard has been announced by BAFTA as one of the four talented winners of this year’s Young Game Designers competition.
Arlo Freer, 15, was the winner of the Game Making Award between 15-18-year-olds, for his game Bird in the Woods. It is an archery-themed game in which players must manoeuvre their way through a range of puzzles, using as few shots as possible from their magic bow.
Arlo used YouTube to teach himself coding and drew inspiration from his home in the Basingstoke countryside for the woodland setting of his game.
Impressively, Arlo was able to design and create his game in less than a month.
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The winners were announced via a special digital ceremony hosted by actor, comedian and presenter Inel Tomlinson for the second year running.
Insel said: "A massive congratulations to the winners of BAFTA’s 2023 Young Game Designers competition. The quality of entries this year has been so strong, with 45 brilliant finalists from across the UK exploring the craft of game design across four unique categories.
"Two of this year’s winners are prior finalists who have continued to hone their gaming skills in their spare time, and we hope that will give confidence to anyone thinking of applying in the future.”
The four winners were selected from a pool of 45 exceptionally skilled finalists, by a jury of industry experts from some of the most well-known gaming companies in the UK.
The jury was chaired by The Games Angels founder, Nick Button-Brown, Studio Head at PlayStation London Studio, Tara Saunders, Altered Gene founder Des Gayle and senior designer at Media Molecule, Catherine Woolley.
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BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip said: “I am so impressed by the sheer talent of emerging game-creators, some of whom have never displayed their work in public. Our four winning games draw inspiration from the world around us, from the beauty of the British countryside and wildlife to computer circuitry and science.
"BAFTA Young Game Designers is committed to supporting the next generation of gaming talent, and it is a real privilege to offer them the chance to learn from leading industry experts. I look forward to seeing what’s to come from this year’s brilliant finalists and BAFTA recipients.”
This year's 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 competition winners.
Power Up opens at the Science Museum in London on July 27 and is currently open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.
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