11 December 2012
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The team will now develop a game around genetic inheritance for Make Something Unreal Live 2013 competition |
A team of second year Bournemouth University students have made it to the finals of a European student game development competition.
The seven BU students - who are on the BSc (Hons) Game Technology and BSc (Hons) Music and Audio Technology degree courses - are in the final four teams for the Epic Games' Make Something Unreal Live 2013 competition.
The competition is supported by the Wellcome Trust, and this year students had to create an idea for a game around Mendelian inheritance - a scientific theory around how hereditary characteristics are passed from parents to their offspring.
The BU team - called Static Games - created a game called Mendel's Farm, and were chosen as one of the top four teams after a presentation at the Wellcome Trust headquarters on 3rd December.
All of the students are taught in the Creative Technology framework, in BU's School of Design, Engineering and Computing, and framework leader Dr Christos Gatzidis, said: "It's fantastic to have such a great result on a very well-known and high-profile competition from our students.
"I am personally very impressed with the professionalism they have displayed during this so far but also their grasp on the very specific scientific concept which Wellcome Trust picked, particularly remembering that all of the seven students involved come from a very different background to biology and genetics."
All of the finalists will now start working on their game, using an Epic Games Unreal Development Kit, and will be guided by mentors from four UK game development studios.
They will aim to finish their games during the Gadget Show Live event at the NEC in Birmingham, in April 2013.
The winning team will receive a full commercial Unreal Engine 4 license.
Jo Twist, CEO of The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, was part of the judging panel which decided the four finalists.
She said: "I was so impressed by the quality and diversity of the teams and their presentations. This is a perfect example of how our industry can work more closely with the education community to help nurture the very best talent.
"The support from industry mentors and real-world pitching experience is so vital for the next generation of developers which will feed and sustain our fantastic industry."
You can watch the BU students' presentation of their game in the video below:
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