The Windows Phone 7 game Mush has won the game design competition Dare to be Digital, and is now up for a BAFTA Ones to Watch award. Developers Angry Mango Games created the game at the University of Abertay Dundee, and picked up a £2,500 cash cash prize, as well as the prestige of being the first ever mobile game nominated for a BAFTA.
Nicely done to Angry Mango! Congrats on getting nominated for a major award for what promises to be an absolutely killer WP7 game. When the OS launches later this year, you can bet this will be the game to have.
[via WMPU, full press release follows]
Who Dares Wins as BAFTA Nominees Revealed
Monday, 16 August 2010: The winners of the world’s leading computer games design competition, Dare to be Digital, have been announced at Dare ProtoPlay.
The three winning teams Angry Mango, Team Tickle, and That Game Studio are also the sole nominees for the BAFTA Ones to Watch award, chosen by a panel of gaming industry experts during the three day event.
Angry Mango – Mush
This atmospheric 2D platform puzzler takes full advantage of the Windows Phone 7 tactile inputs, including touch-screen and accelerometer technology. Players can stretch Mush’s facial features with their fingertips to alter his emotions, shake him into a blind destructive rage and tilt the phone to move him around the world.
Team Tickle – Sculpty
Sculpty is a unique physics based platform game for the iPad. It is the only game where users can use their hands to mould Sculpty through the lush jungle environment.
That Game Studio – Twang!
Twang! Is a multiplayer platform racing game, developed for Xbox 360, supporting up to four local players. Offering a cute and colourful visual style and a mixture of fun and simple gameplay mechanics, it is aimed at all ages.
Each team will receive a £2,500 cash prize as well as becoming the finalists for the BAFTA Ones to Watch award.
Dare to be Digital is organised and run by the University of Abertay Dundee. The international competition attracts students from across the globe to take part in the challenge in an attempt to come up with the next big game. 75 students had 10 weeks to complete their prototypes at Abertay’s Dare hothouse, before the ProtoPlay showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
This year’s collaboration between Dare and Turner Broadcasting’s comedy brand, Adult Swim, has resulted in a new Adult Swim award for creativity and unique game play, which was presented to Bears with Jetpacks by the title sponsor.
The Teams Choice prize, which went to the best team as chosen by the Dare students, was given to Bazooka Duck with its game, Epoch Defence.
The industry judging panel was made up of some of the top names in computer gaming and included industry heavyweights Charles Cecil, Managing Director of Revolution Software and Gareth Edmonson from Ubisoft, as well as representation from BBC, Blitz Games Studios, Codemasters, Denki, Develop, Rare, Realtime Worlds, Rockstar North and Sony.
Charles Cecil said: “The quality of this year’s entries is exceptionally high. It was our opinion that the winning projects, as well as some that came close, could have considerable commercial potential – an amazing achievement given that the students only had ten weeks in which to write the project. These teams enter into the industry at a time of unparalleled opportunity for individuals who have the talent and the vision to truly innovate. Beyond the constraints of mainstream publishing, Digital Distribution has created an ‘Indy scene’ in which smaller projects can creatively flourish through social communications rather than having to rely on traditional marketing.
“The University of Abertay should be congratulated on Dare to be Digital, which has deservedly built a global reputation, with teams from around the world aspiring to compete. Dare is very highly regarded by the video games industry and celebrated by BAFTA in its ‘Ones to Watch’ category.
“We offer all the teams, and the winners in particular, our warmest congratulations on their excellent projects.”
Bazooka Duck with their game, Epoch Defence, was awarded the Intel Visual Adrenaline prize while Twang! by That Game Studio was given the Audience award, after being voted the most popular game by members of the public.
Dare to be Digital, considered by the industry as the perfect vehicle for young talent in the games sector, is now in its eleventh year.
Entries to this year’s Dare to be Digital came from more than 80 universities worldwide.
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