DigitalNoob

Scotland’s University of Abertay Dundee is, again, hosting its Dare to be Digital video game development competition which opens for entries today. The competition is in its thirteenth year of operation and boasts entrants of extremely talented teams of students from Universities and Colleges of Art from all over the world. Entrants will compete to become one of fifteen teams to build a working game prototype in a short nine weeks with guidance from industry professionals. Once the games are complete, they are put on show during Dare ProtoPlay in Dundee during August. The games are played and are voted on by the general public and industry experts. Three teams are chosen, out of the fifteen original entries, to compete for the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) ‘Ones to Watch’ award.

The 2012 BAFTA award winner was Swallowtail Games for Tick Tock Toys, a family-friendly puzzle game for iPad and iPhone. Since the win, the team has set up a company to finish the game and commercially release it before the next BAFTA Video Games Awards in March.

“Dare to be Digital has dramatically changed our lives – we never thought we’d win a BAFTA when we entered, and the competition pushed us to become games industry professionals in just a few weeks,” said Sophia George, Director of Swallowtail Games. “The nine weeks is a whirlwind experience of hard work and mentoring from industry professionals, all building to the huge Dare ProtoPlay festival in Dundee in August where thousands of people get to play your game. I’d strongly urge anyone wanting to work in the games industry to apply for Dare to be Digital. If you’re lucky enough to get in, it will change your life.”

Competitors from Dare to be Digital 2012 will compete in March for the next ‘Ones to Watch’ award, with Starcrossed, Pixel Story, and Project Thanatos up for a prize.

Entries for this year’s competition should be made online at http://www.daretobedigital.com/.