Student wins BAFTA Young Game Designer of the Year Award 2024

Tallulah Martinez, a Year 1 UAL Level 3 Games Art & Animation student at East Sussex College's Hastings campus, has been named the winner of the BAFTA Young Game Designer of the Year Award 2024 for their entry in the Game Concept category.

As part of their Unit 3 studies, all Year 1 students take part in the competition, which challenges them to come up with an original idea for a PEGI 12 (or younger) rated game. Tallulah’s winning concept, The Whispering Wilds, took the Game Concept Award for the 15-18 age group.

In the competition, students must outline the theme, goals, and mechanics of their game, as well as provide concept art. Tallulah’s game, The Whispering Wilds, puts players in the role of a kind-hearted witch on a mission to find other witches who have gone into hiding. Players work to restore harmony to the world by saving corrupted animals and returning them to their original forms.

Tallulah spoke to the College about how it felt to win such a prestigious award and mentioned the impact of her tutors throughout the process. “Winning the YGD Bafta for Game Concepts felt unreal, it's been an amazing experience and taught me a lot about the games industry.

“I have to thank my tutors Simon and Richard without whom I would never have discovered the YGD Bafta awards. They both helped me so much in sculpting my idea and bringing it to the bafta stage. I don't think I could have won without the tutelage of Richard, who helped me immensely in structuring and realising my ideas.”

Describing the game, Tallulah said it’s "intended to feel like a playable art piece." She explained the unique mechanics of her game, like "tracing magical symbols on the screen to cast spells" and the ability to "gain Familiars and see through their eyes to explore areas of the map that the player can't reach alone."

On winning the award, Tallulah shared, "It was really brilliant to have won and was amazing to get the recognition. It was something I knew that I would enjoy playing, and I hoped that other people would too."

The 2024 BAFTA Young Game Designer winners will be featured in the prestigious Power Up experience, showcasing at the Science Museum in London and the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.