Proto-game gurus anxiously await their fate
Event: Showing of film and awards ceremony
Date/time: Friday 18 August, 3.30pm - 5.00pm
Venue: Main Lecture Theatre, Abertay University, Bell Street, Dundee
Event: Talent Showcase and drinks reception
Date/time: 5pm - 6pm
Venue: 1st floor, Abertay Student Centre, Bell Street, Dundee
Forty-two would-be computer games gurus will learn this Friday which of them have triumphed in the UK's premier computer games design competition.
Seven teams of six students each have spent the past 10 weeks working night and day to develop prototype video games as part of Dare to be Digital 2006, run by the University of Abertay Dundee.
The teams have been receiving daily support and weekly training sessions from industry specialists, with accommodation and a weekly allowance of £170 thrown in.
This week, a panel of experts will judge the prototypes and deliver their verdict at the Dare 2006 Awards on Friday afternoon.
Prizes awarded at the Awards Ceremony are:
Best International Scholar (£500), awarded by Scottish Executive Best Team Leader (£500), awarded by Dundee City Council Best Artist, sponsored and awarded by Rare Best Programmer, sponsored and awarded by Real Time Worlds The Virtuoso Prize, sponsored and awarded by Denki Best Team Player (£500), awarded by Electronic Arts Most Commercial Potential (£2000) , awarded by Scottish Enterprise Tayside Greatest Innovation and Creativity (£2000), awarded by BBC Scotland Best Use of Technology (£2000), awarded by NCR Best use of Screenwriting (£1000), sponsored and awarded by Mark Grindle Associates(Ends)
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Dare to be Digital 2006 is funded by Abertay University, Scottish Enterprise Tayside and Dundee City Council, and sponsored by NCR, BBC Scotland, Belfast City Council, The Digital Hub, NESTA and the Scottish Executive.
The teams for Dare 2006 comprise four from Scotland, one from Northern Ireland, one from Ireland, and one from Canada. In addition, the Scottish Executive's Fresh Talent initiative has funded seven places for Chinese and Indian students, each of whom has joined one of the teams.
Dare to be Digital has established an enviable reputation for producing high-grade talent. Of the four Scottish teams that entered last year, for example, one became a start-up games company in Glasgow, and another is currently negotiating with a major publisher. A third team became a start-up company based at Abertay with funding from NESTA and is developing its concept into a commercial product, while the fourth - whose members are completing their studies - is negotiating the sale of its game to a developer. Team members from previous years have gone on to work for major names such as Lionhead, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft while local talent is also retained in Dundee by Real Time Worlds, Denki and other companies.
Media enquiries: Kevin Coe
T: 01382 308452 M: 07850 904110
E: k.coe@abertay.ac.uk W: www.abertay.ac.uk