30 students in competition aimed to stimulate digital gaming industry

Thirty students in nine teams from various schools recently participated in the ‘Gamezing 2010’ competition, an initiative aimed at stimulating the growth of the digital gaming production industry.

The initiative falls under a strategy devised by a multi-disciplinary team from the University, Malta Enterprise and the Malta Council of Science and Technology.

The Gamezing initiative was launched in March last year and targeted educational institutions across the country, including state, Church and independent secondary and post-secondary schools, as well as tertiary educational institutions.

Students had to design an educational game which was then judged by a panel which included Jason Della Rocca, who has played a key role in the industry’s growth.

The judges’ comments on the entries were extremely positive, evidence of the potential that the digital gaming industry has in Malta thanks to the skills and abilities of the students.

‘Bucket Ball’, developed by Leon Cassar, Blair Avellino, Andrew Brincat and Jonathan Aquilina under the guidance of Neville Attard from St Martin’s Institute of IT was chosen as the winner in XNA category.

Junior College students Justine Scicluna and Mark Buhagiar, under the guidance of Roberta Abela, were the winners in the Kodu category with their game ‘Adventures in Fundora’.

Winners and runners-up were also given material and consoles in order to help build the research capacity in game design at the education institutions.

The lecturers coordinating the winning teams will also be participating in the fifth Digital Games Research Association conference which will be held in the Netherlands later this year.