Liverpool student scoops BAFTA award

A student from Liverpool has been awarded a coveted BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) prize, beating thousands of young hopefuls to the top spot.

Seventeen year old Jack Mills, from Wavertree, a year 12 student at The Studio school, was honoured at a ceremony in London for the creation of Utopia of Rhythm, an original platform game that incorporates pitfalls and obstacles with music and tempo.

Jack developed the BAFTA-winning game during Creative Media lessons at the school, a state-of-the-art environment specialising in gaming, digital technology and coding.

Along with recognition from his peers and the gaming community, Jack also walked away with a prize package that includes trips to Google HQ, Abertay University and Shepperton Studios, plus a gaming bundle from Warner Brothers. Jack has also been invited to pitch his game to PlayStation and enjoy a Q&A session with a chief designer at their London studio.

Following his win, Jack Mills says: “The idea for Utopia of Rhythm came to me months ago and gradually grew into a fully-playable game thanks to support from my teacher, Alex Brewster, and my mentor, Ivan from Catalyst Outsourcing in Elevator Studios.

“For our latest project we were given the guidelines for the BAFTA competition and were encouraged to design something totally unique, creative and interesting. I received a distinction for this game in school, but being shortlisted and then actually winning the award was so unexpected – I’m over the moon!

“I’ll definitely be adding this BAFTA YGD award to my portfolio when I apply to universities. After I graduate from The Studio I’d like to study Computer Games Development at Liverpool John Moores University, and hopefully I’ll be working for a big gaming company in the future!”

Alex Brewster, Curriculum Leader for Creativity at The Studio, adds: “We encouraged our students to think and work independently to produce a truly original game – one that wouldn’t have been played by a BAFTA judge before.

“Throughout the creative process, Jack’s project regularly evolved and questioned itself, resulting in a fantastic platform game with acclaimed, national recognition.

“Not only did Jack produce an outstanding, industry-level piece of work for his final project of the school year, he also provided workshops in coding for his fellow students – I couldn’t be prouder of his achievements.

“It’s not every day that you hear about a 17 year old picking up a BAFTA award, it’s safe to say that Jack has a bright future ahead of him!”

Having already received the accolade of ‘One to Watch’ by The Studio at an annual awards ceremony, Jack can now add another award to his collection following the BAFTA awards ceremony that took place on Saturday, July 25 in London.

You can play Jack’s game online, by following this link!