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Applications are now open for the 2019 Young Game Designers (YGD) awards.
Now in its ninth year, the BAFTA YGD competition is designed to "inspire the UK’s game-makers of the future" as part of BAFTA’s year-round programme of activity that "gives young people and educators unique insights into the games industry and access to the creative minds behind some of the world’s leading games".
BAFTA confirms there are three award categories for this year. Two are open to 10-18 year olds – the YGD Game Concept Award for those creating an original concept for a new game and the YGD Game Making Award, for those making a game using freely available software – whilst the YGD Mentor Award is open to public votes to reward "an inspirational individual who is involved in the education of young game creators in the UK, particularly those that reach out to young people who might not typically try game design".
Entrants are encouraged to either apply on their own, as part of a lesson in school, within a coding club, or "as an additional homework challenge set by their teacher".
The winners will be announced in June 2019 at BAFTA’s headquarters, and all finalists will also have the opportunity to showcase their game concepts and prototypes at a special event attended by leading figures in the industry prior to the award show.
“The BAFTA YGD competition is a great way for young people to explore the craft of game design and get direct feedback from leading figures in the games world," said Tim Hunter, director of learning and New Talent at BAFTA. "Games are one of the most exciting, engaging and pervasive art forms, and increasingly, the kinds of ideas we see submitted to YGD demonstrate that young people see games medium through which they can tell the stories which are important to them. Each year we’re blown away by the creativity and skills of the applicants and we can’t wait to see this year’s entries.”
Entries are now open at ygd.bafta.org until March 13th, 2019.
