18th June 2009

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Aaron Ward, Andreas Antoniades, Dr Shane Wilson, Gavin McLaughlin, Dr Michael Callaghan, Philip Lawson and Jim Murray

A team of local students are set to represent Northern Ireland in the finals of an international video game development competition.  

Jim Murray, Gavin McLaughlin, Aaron Ward and Philip Lawson, from the School of Computing and Intelligent Systems at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus, will compete in the Dare to be Digital finals in Edinburgh this summer. They will be joined by a fifth team member, Andreas Antoniades, from Dublin. 

Dare to be Digital, which is held annually alongside the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, is the premier competition for students who want to design their own video games.  

The budding entrepreneurs are being supported in their bid for global recognition by Belfast City Council, Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund, through the Northern Ireland Sustainable Competitiveness Programme. 

The team, who have called themselves, Cottonball Physics, will join other finalists from around the world at the University of Abertay, Dundee, to take part in a ten-week summer school, where they will develop their video game prototype and receive training from leading computer games company experts.  

The team will then showcase their work at a special event in Edinburgh entitled Dare ProtoPlay, where industry experts and the general public can play and vote for their favourite games.  

Cottonball Physics team captain, Jim Murray,from Lifford, Co Donegal, said: “It’s going to be pretty intense.  Like our game, it is going to be a race against time to take it from concept to a playable demo in just ten weeks, and we are up against the best of our contemporaries from around the world. However, we hope it’s going to be a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to beating the clock and hopefully coming out on top.” 

Michael Callaghan, School of Computing and Intelligent Systems, University of Ulster, is one of the team’s academic mentors. He said: “Qualifying for the Dare to be Digital finals is a great honour for the team and is recognition of the quality of our students and their ability to compete on an international stage. Their achievement highlights the creative talent and technical skills available in the region.” 

Councillor Humphrey, Chairman of Belfast City Council’s Development Committee, added:  “This is an exciting opportunity to showcase local talent in the creative sector at an international level. 

“Belfast City Council recognises that the creative industries are a major growth sector and contributor to wealth in the economy and initiatives such as this will provide a unique platform to harness individual talent, develop business ideas and further enhance the development of this exciting sector.” 

For further details visit the Dare to be Digital website at:  http://www.daretobedigital.com/

 

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter