Two students shortlisted for BAFTA gaming awards

Two students from the East of England have been shortlisted for a prestigious BAFTA gaming award.

Daniel Tachauer, from Essex, and Ruby, from Suffolk, were among 52 young people - aged between 10 to 18 - chosen by industry experts to take part.

The Young Game Designers (YGD) competition celebrates and encourages budding gamers to create, develop and present their ideas for games.

The winner's ceremony will be live-streamed on BAFTA's YouTube channel on Wednesday 18 June.

Daniel, 14, was selected as a finalist in the Game Making category for 10 to 14 year olds for his astronomy game Planet Drop.

The puzzle video game asks players to merge planets as they fall, much like retro game Tetris.

He started playing video games two years ago and has managed to teach himself how to make games using tutorials on YouTube.

He said Planet Drop took him about a month, adding: "It's easier to make games now than it ever has been before, with all the tools and everything.

"Say you were trying to make a game in 1990, you haven't got any tutorials, whereas now there's just so much out there and so many people making content."

Daniel would like a career in coding and said it would be amazing to be surrounded by games every day.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Ruby has been shortlisted in the Game Making by 15 to 18 year olds category for her game Through The Darkness.

She explained players must follow the sound of music in darkness in order to complete a maze.

Ruby hoped her game would raise awareness of how people with no sight experienced gaming.

"If I was to win it would really mean a lot to me, because game making is one of my passions and it's one of the things I want to have a career in," she added.

The awards are split into two categories: the Game Concept Award, for a written idea for a new game, and the Game Making Award, for a game made using computer software.

There are two awards available for each category, for young people aged 10 to14 and another for those aged between 15 to 18.

The winners are chosen by a jury of industry professionals who are looking for well thought-out game ideas and impressive use of coding.

Luke Hebblethwaite, the head of games at BAFTA, said he had been "blown away" by the entries.

He explained the UK had a "world-leading games industry" worth £7bn to the economy.

"There are brilliant companies up and down the country producing games that will sit on your consoles that people will be playing on a daily basis around the world."

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