Dare to be Digital, the UK’s premier computer games design competition for students, has launched its eighth season with a call for entries from Scottish and Irish university students.
The contest, hosted by Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland, is back for 2007. The organizers are planning for 60 to 80 or more talented young game developers from across the UK and Ireland to take part this year - almost twice as many as in 2006.
This year, for the first time, Dare to be Digital will be hosted in more than one location across the British Isles. Four teams from Scotland will be selected to spend the first nine weeks of the 10-week competition based at Abertay University designing and building a fully functioning prototype of their video game idea.
In addition, Queen’s University in Belfast will host a similar nine-week programme for students from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. More than 100 students came to a launch event at The Digital Hub, Dublin on February 8, 2007 to get more information on how to compete for one of 10 places on offer.
Meanwhile, Dare to be Digital organisers are currently working to establish a host location in England, or to host English teams in Dundee for the competition.
In the 10th week of the competition, in August, all the teams will gather in Dundee to have their talents and achievements recognized in the Dare to be Digital Awards Ceremony, which has become a highlight of the computer games industry calendar.
Dare to be Digital 2007 will also feature a completely new element in the competition: Dare ProtoPlay, a three-day showcase of all the teams’ work scheduled to take place just before the Awards Ceremony. Dare ProtoPlay will be held on August 12-14, 2007 in Edinburgh alongside Edinburgh Interactive, a cultural festival for the game and interactive entertainment business. Dare ProtoPlay will enable the general public and industry experts to not only play the games, but also vote for them as well.
Contestants from last year’s competition are now working for Codemasters, BBC Scotland, Rockstar North, Electronic Arts UK and Electronic Arts Shanghai. Applications for Dare to be Digital 2007 should be made via the
website.
