Dare Blogs – And the winners are…

After nine long, arduous weeks, Dare to be Digital has finally finished. But who were the teams offered the chance to take their game to BAFTA to win the Ones to Watch accolade and who would receive £25,000 from Channel 4 to commission their game?

As a large crowd gathered around the centre stage where the winners would be announced, there was also the matter of who had won the Team Choice award and the visitor nominated Intel prize.

A hilarious and insightful video streamed through the four screens above the centre stage to the on-looking audience, all eagerly anticipating the impending announcement of the winners. Students revealed what the event meant to them and what they had learned, whilst also humouring the crowd by not being able to describe their games in three words when prompted on the spot.

Here is a rundown of the impressive winners, who you may just hear more about over the next year.

Dare to be Digital winners and BAFTA Ones to Watch nominees:

Raptor Games (Project Thanatos)

Loan Wolf Games (Pixel Story)

Kind of a Big Deal (Starcrossed)

Channel 4 Award winner – And recipients of £25,000 to commission their game:

Loan Wolf Games (Pixel Story

Intel Visual Computing Tools audience award:

Raptor Games (Project Thanatos)

The Team Choice Award:

Team Iso (IsoChronous)

Each winning team was deservedly greeted by a wave of applause, looking stunned as they approached the stage, lost for words after receiving recognition from industry veterans, peers and visitors for all their hard work over the past two months.

But this should not take away anything from all the other talented developers on show at Dare ProtoPlay, who impressed me with what they were able to achieve in short a short timespan, whilst also being able to successfully convey why they made their games, how to play them, and where they would succeed.

The experience each of these young developers have gained, not to mention the industry contacts they have made, will mean a bright future ahead for those serious about entering into a career in games development

So really, everyone is a winner.