The prestigious international games companies that will mentor students on Dare to be Digital 2013 have been announced, weeks before the contest kicks off.
Dare to be Digital’s Developer Accord is a collection of world-leading games companies that give freely of their time to help guide the 15 teams of five students through designing and building their own game.
Dare to be Digital is the world’s leading computer game design competition for students, organised and hosted by the University of Abertay Dundee.
Just 75 students out of the hundreds who apply each year are accepted to travel to Dundee, build a brand new game, put it on show to the public at the Dare ProtoPlay festival in August, then compete for the unique BAFTA Ones to Watch Award.
The Developer Accord members this year are Cobra Mobile, Codemasters, Denki, Jagex, Lift London (Microsoft), Ninja Kiwi, Outplay Entertainment, Reflections (a Ubisoft studio), Ruffian Games, Sega Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Tag Games. They also helped score the online applications and chair the interview sessions across the UK.
Elaine Russell, project manager of Dare to be Digital, said: “We’re delighted that so many incredible games companies are supporting Dare to be Digital again this year, giving their time and their expertise to the students battling to build a game in just nine weeks.
“With the support of our Developer Accord, Dare to be Digital offers something completely unique – the chance for students to learn directly from the very best game developers in the world.
“Having the input of experts with decades and decades of experience is a huge help for our 15 teams as they prepare their games for the Dare ProtoPlay festival in Dundee in August, and for the all-important judging for the BAFTA Ones to Watch Award shortlist.”
Dare to be Digital 2013 runs from Monday 10 June, with the teams having just nine weeks to prepare their game to show it to the public – and to be judged by industry experts.
All of the games will be showcased at Dare ProtoPlay, Scotland’s biggest video games festival. It will run from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 August in Dundee’s city centre.
This year Dare to be Digital has also been kindly supported by a wider group of international games companies, acting as judges for teams applying from outside the UK.
They are:
– Camel Games, China
– CCP Games, Iceland
– Digital Skills Academy @ The Digital Hub, Ireland
– EA DICE, Sweden
– EA Shanghai, China
– Funcom, Norway
– Gala Networks Europe Ltd, Ireland
– Gameloft, China
– IO Interactive, Denmark
– Remedy Entertainment, Finland
– SixMinute, Ireland
So what do you think about this years mentors? Will you Dare to be Digital? Let us know your impressions in the comments below and check out more information on the event at the Dare to be Digital website.