York showcase for game developer talent

Posted on 29 May 2015

Student game developers from across Yorkshire will compete at the University of York next week, hoping to impress some of the industry’s biggest names.

The Game Republic Showcase at the Ron Cooke Hub on 2 June will feature 26 teams from six universities across the region.

There will be an opportunity for the public to sample some of the games ideas that the student teams have developed while four commercial games developers will also demonstrate some of their latest products.

In the evening, the winners will receive their awards from four major Yorkshire games companies (including Sumo Digital, Team17 and Revolution Software) and there will be a Games Republic Industry Panel (with representatives from BFI, Microsoft and Unity) to answer audience questions about the future for the £100 billion UK digital economy.

The University of York plays a key role in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence (IGGI) and the EPSRC/ Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) New Economic Models and Opportunities in digital Games (NEMOG) project.

Dr Sam Devlin, research associate on the NEMOG project, said: “It is an exciting time for games research at York, as the scale of work being done across the University continues to grow rapidly. This showcase is a fantastic opportunity to aid our students and researchers to work closer with the games industry.”

"I'm really excited about this year's event at the University of York as it's the biggest Game Republic Student Showcase yet," said Managing Director of Game Republic, Jamie Sefton. "The event is important as it brings together academia and industry, with the games companies themselves judging the final-year student projects. I'm proud of the fact that over the past eight years we have had dozens and dozens of placements and full-time jobs created in the region as a direct result of the Showcase.”

Joanne Maltby, manager of the IGGI Centre for Doctoral Training, said: "We are delighted to have IGGI students taking part in the Game Republic Student Showcase, showing off the work that they have done during their first year as PhD students. The chance to meet people from industry and see what other students are creating is invaluable and is sure to create interesting opportunities and collaborations."

Further information:

• For more information about IGGI, please visit iggi.org.uk
• For more information about NEMOG, please visit nemog.org
• For more information about Game Republic, please visit gamerepublic.net