Philip’s top talent
Nov 21 2007
by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette
A FAIRYTALE idea inspired a Teesside student’s victory in a Dragon’s Den-style contest to find the region’s top videogame talent.
Philip Pardoe, 21, a final year 3D Games Design student at Teesside University, won a Game Academy contest to find the best up-and-coming developers in North-east.
Philip beat five other contestants to take first prize after impressing the judges with his action puzzle game Pop Fiction, where players battle through worlds inspired by famous fairytales such as Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.
The Game Academy competition, run by leading games industry business network Codeworks GameHorizon at Teesside University’s Centre for Enterprise, saw local companies and graduates practise pitching their videogame concepts in a live situation, before gaining valuable feedback from an expert industry panel.
Judge Mark Morris, who set up games developer Introversion with two university friends in 2002, said: “When we first started Introversion it took us two years to get Uplink – our first game – in front of any real publishers.
“I cannot attach enough value to the opportunity to expose a game idea to a real group of acquisition guys in such a safe environment.
“Pop Fiction covers the major bases required for successful development of their concept and it would be a real waste if this game doesn't find its way into the marketplace.”
Philip's idea was picked out by judges for being an original, strong and commercially viable proposition, winning him the first prize of a training and mentoring package worth more than £1,000, and free GameHorizon membership.
Codeworks GameHorizon, based in Sunderland, is an association of videogames development companies whose remit is to strengthen, support and promote the growing games sector.
Philip said: “Winning Game Academy is a huge step for me. It was extremely useful to get feedback on my ideas from such respected industry figures, but to win the competition is an even bigger boost.
“I plan to finish university and then start my own company. I have a small team already and would really want to move to the next level.”
The runner’s up prize was won by Chris McQuillan for his ‘Pen Cap Chew’ game idea. Chris is studying Animation and Design at Sunderland University.
This latest Game Academy was the third in a series that GameHorizon has run over the past 18 months. Previous winners include Jeremiah Alexander, who used his prize to set up his own educational games company Babel Digital, which is now generating interest as far afield as China; and Lo-Jen, which has been touted by the industry as ‘one to watch’.