Search For A Star 2016 winners announced

Recruitment specialist Aardvark Swift has announced the winners of this year’s Search For A Star competition, the firm’s annual hunt for promising new games development talent.

There were over 400 entrants this year and, for the first time, the contest was split into coding and art programmes.

Yan Knoop, a graduate of NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, was named the winner of the main coding competition. He previously won the Rising Star award last year, and is only the second person to win both contests.

Meanwhile, University of Bath student Rachel Cabot won the Rising Star code competition. Like Knoop before her, she wins an internship at one of the UK’s leading developers with possibilities including Sumo Digital and Playground Games.

Finalists for coding included: Aaron Smith, Jack Spink, Nick Pearson, Robin van Nunen, Andreea-Tamara Tanasescu, Jean-Pascal Evette, Lewis Nicholson and Sam Cipolat.

On the art side of things, the big winner was Sam Bang from the University of Hertfordshire. Aardvark Swift reports than several studios have already shown interest in hiring Bang.

Another NHTV student, Anthea van Leeuwen, triumphed in the Rising Star art competition and, as with Cabot, will receive an internship at a top UK studio.

The art category also had several more specific awards. The winners are as follows:

• Search for a Star Environment – Joel Phelps, De Montfort University
• Search for a Star Character – Sam Bang, University of Hertfordshire
• Search for a Star Animation – Amelie Talarmain, University of Hertfordshire
• Rising Star Environment – Anthea van Leeuwen, NHTV Breda, University of Applied Sciences
• Rising Star Character – Daniel Gutierrez Anaya, NHTV Breda, University of Applied Sciences

As the big winners, Yan Knoop and Sam Bang will receive their prize during this year’s Develop Awards in Brighton. The event takes place on Wednesday, July 13th – you can find out more and buy tickets via www.developawards.com.