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The winners of this year’s Dare to be Digital competition and BAFTA Ones to Watch award were named at last year’s British Academy Games Awards.
Student team Overly Kinetic – comprised of Esteban Fajardo, Alec Faulkner, Catherine Fox, Thomas Hoffmann and Kevin Wong – picked up the prize for Ones to Watch, an award only available to the best projects from Abertay University’s Dare to be Digital competition.
Overly Kinetic was one of three teams shortlisted for the award, following their success in last year’s Dare to be Digital competition with Chambara, a colourful ninja multiplayer game that sees players blend into the background to get the jump on their opponents.
"We’re still processing how we feel," said Wong. "For me, I’m totally baffled that this game got as far as it did. A little over a year ago that began as this silly little dream that we thought would be cool to pursue, but we did not think that it would take us to the BAFTAs this year.
"It’s absolutely incredible and we’re really grateful to everyone who helped us out on the way here by offering advice or support. It’s amazing. It feels really good."
Abertay University’s Professor Louis Natanson adds: "Chambara is a very worthy winner of the BAFTA Ones to Watch Award. The team behind it worked incredibly hard and can proudly stand alongside the other winners at this year’s BAFTA Awards.
“Dare to be Digital is a huge opportunity for any student looking to break into the games industry. Getting to build a new game and showcase it to thousands of members of the public at Dare ProtoPlay is a life-changing experience, making professional contacts that have launched many careers."
Abertay University is now taking applications for Dare to be Digital 2015, with much wider criteria. The contest is now open to teams of up to eight members and can be based on games developed as part of university courses or game jams, rather than built from scratch.
Participants will not only get to showcase their game at August’s Dare ProtoPlay festival in Dundee, they also get the chance to compete for next year’s BAFTA Ones to Watch award.
