TIGA Games Contest winners announced
The winners of the TIGA Games Contest, funded
by the University of Abertay Dundee’s Prototype Fund, have been announced. Over fifty delegates gathered in London to watch the shortlist
applicants battle it out to win up to £25k each for the development of
prototype games, free TIGA membership, support and mentoring.
The competition, open to computer games
developers, offered four prizes across three categories: games on-the move,
games in-the-home and social web gaming. The event to announce the winners,
organised with IC tomorrow as part of CIKTN's 'Partnering for
Innovation' programme, saw the following innovators triumph:
Games on the Move, supported by Antix Labs
Fangs Out! by Guerilla Tea – Control model themed helicopters and engage in aerial combat
using assorted weaponry – a multiplayer mobile game
Social Web Gaming, supported by Turbulenz
Burrow by Remode – A sci-fi strategy
in a post-apocalyptic galaxy. Command robots, mine resources, defend your
burrow and uncover the mystery of mankind's demise
Squaddies by PLA Studios – Steam punk mercenary hire 'n’ fire
'em-up. Pick your team, fight the good fight, swap and trade squad members for
profit
Games in the Home, supported by Antix Labs
Clockwork Racers by Opposable Games – Wind up your toys and compete in
multiplayer racing mayhem! Be fastest on your handset to win power-ups and
don't lose track of the action!
Nick
Appleyard, Head of Digital at the Technology Strategy Board, said: “As well as
receiving £25,000, working with the likes of Abertay University, TIGA,
Turbulenz and Antix is a fantastic opportunity for any company. We wanted to
find real innovators that could showcase the talent that already lies here in
the UK. Now is the time for gaming, lets show what it can do”.
The winning games were chosen by a panel of judges including
representatives from TIGA, Abertay University and the Technology Strategy
Board, as well as an investor and journalist.
Paul
Durrant, Director of Business Development at Abertay University, said: “We had
some really innovative entries in response to the challenges, but these four
companies really shone. The Abertay Prototype Fund is delighted to be able to
support companies like these who can often struggle to find the funding to
showcase their talents”.
Francis Charig, Chief
Executive, Antix Labs said: “It’s important to meet the changing expectations
of consumers. Playing games socially should include playing games when in
immediate proximity with friends and family whether that be sharing,
challenging and playing with your friends when on the move or around the TV
with your family interacting with phones and tablets. Guerilla Tea and
Opposable Games impressed with the way they addressed these crucial use cases.”
Gavin
Shields, Chief Operating Officer at Turbulenz, said “We were looking for
game concepts that would embrace the emergence of high quality HTML5 web
gaming, while also bringing a new dimension of social connectivity to those
games. Games are becoming more and more social and gamers expect to be able to
play with friends, compete, collaborate and share. Remode and PLA Studios
really hit the nail on the head and we are eager to get working with
them.”
Dr Richard
Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: “TIGA is a trade association of developers for
developers and so we instinctively understand the challenges that new studios
face. TIGA is focused on enabling small and start-up studios to achieve their
potential. The TIGA Games Contest is an innovative way of helping us to achieve
this objective. By working with Abertay, Antix Labs, IC Tomorrow and Turbulenz
we are helping to make a real difference to some exciting new development
studios.”
Ends
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About Antix Labs, Ltd
The Antix Game Player (“AGP”) is an
on-device software client for native games services licensed to multiple tier
one device makers. Third party casual, advanced casual and premium games are
distributed in a device-independent format similar in concept to MP3 or PDF.
This format lets consumers access and share games from any of their connected
AGP-powered 'screens', which include mobile phones, TVs, STBs, PMPs, and PCs.
In much the same way as they do already with music, photos and videos,
consumers can distribute trial games virally across networks and off-line to
their friends and family while still protecting the rights and revenues of
operators and publishers. In addition to AGP itself, Antix provides the
corresponding tools, certification mechanism, optional white-label store, and
optional game warehousing necessary to deploy a complete service offering.
Antix Labs Ltd., headquartered in Reading, England was founded by Francis Charig, a
World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
For more
information, please visit: http://antixlabs.com/ or contact Neil
Curtis, Marketing Director, Antix Labs Ltd, neil.curtis@antixlabs.com, +44 7747 474234.
About TIGA
TIGA is the trade
association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members
are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers.
We also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and
universities amongst our membership. In 2010 TIGA won two business awards
including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum.
In
2011, TIGA won six business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’
from the Trade Association Forum and ‘Outstanding Organisation’ from the
Chartered Management Institute. Richard Wilson won the ‘Leadership Award’
from the Trade Association Forum and the ‘Outstanding Leader’ award from the
Chartered Management Institute. TIGA is an Investors in People organisation.
For
further information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on: 07875 939
643, or email richard.wilson@tiga.org.
About Turbulenz
Turbulenz is a new HTML5 gaming platform designed for the web and mobile
devices. Leveraging modern HTML5 web technologies, Turbulenz enables
everything from simple 2D games to console quality games in the browser without
the need for a plug-in. Turbulenz currently has two fully playable games,
both from external developers, on its beta game site at turbulenz.com.
For more information, visit Turbulenz
at www.turbulenz.com or contact Gavin Shields on 01483 338 720 or email gavinshields@turbulenz.com.
About Abertay University
Abertay
University launched the world’s first ever computer games degree in 1997. This
postgraduate Master’s course was followed by a complementary undergraduate
course, and later by specialist courses in production management and game
applications development. Abertay has the highest number of Skillset
accreditations for computer games courses (four out of ten across the UK) as
well as holding full Skillset Media Academy status, recognition of the
important industry skills that are developed on our courses.
For
more information visit: www.abertay.ac.uk.
About the Abertay Prototype Fund
Abertay
University’s Prototype Fund is specially designed for start-up and small,
established developers requiring additional working capital up to £25,000 to
cover the staff costs to produce a prototype for a new intellectual property.
The grant funding does not dilute equity ownership or create a balance sheet
liability. The development team for the prototype can also be supplemented with
graduates from any UK university and funded within the grant budget. Students
and graduates can register now for work experience as part of the Talent Pool
at the Prototype Fund
website.
About IC tomorrow
IC tomorrow is a Technology
Strategy Board
programme designed to stimulate innovation and economic growth in the digital
sector. Its online network, events and other strategic matchmaking
opportunities connect entrepreneurs with leading rights holders, content
providers and investors across the UK. Through a series of funded contests, IC
tomorrow invests in technology enabled innovation across a variety of sectors,
including music, publishing, games, film and TV, and culture. It also offers a
free-to-use trial management platform for UK-based digital innovators and
rights holders to connect and test new business models.
Notes to Editors
The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led government body
which works to create economic growth by ensuring that the UK is a global
leader in innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business,
research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the
development of innovative products and services to meet market needs,
tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.
For
more information please visit: Technology
Strategy Board website.
Media enquiries about IC tomorrow should
be directed to: Richard Botley, Sarah James or Charlie Hamilton at Liberty
Communications – Tel: 0207 751 4444, email: ictomorrow@libertycomms.com