DigiLocal clubs run throughout the year, with loads of cool projects for young people to build. We also encourage people to enter external challenges. This is a great way of stretching your coding & problem solving skills!
One great example of an external challenge is the BAFTA Young Games Designer competition. This runs every year with two categories of Game Concept, and Game Maker, each for young designers between 10-14 years old and 15-18 years old. In the past we’ve had success with our young people in both categories, and we’ve also had Nominated Mentors recognised for the support our volunteers give.
This year it was the turn of Alex to succeed with his game ‘SerialBus’ in the Game Maker 10-14 years category. We caught up with Alex between his many media appearances as the latest star games developer to ask how he began with DigiLocal and what he enjoyed about the sessions.
I heard about DigiDocal from a friend in primary school so I signed up to my local club and from there I just found making games really fun…
(I really enjoyed) meeting new people and challenging myself.
Alex attended our club at Yate Library for nearly 2 years before COVID-19 lockdown. During COVID he attended our online club sessions.
DigiLocal projects start with very simple introduction activities on Scratch and extend through to very complex projects in Python. We wanted to ask what he found challenging about the club sessions and the projects?
I was a bit confused in the beginning about how things worked, but I definitely grew from my experiences
Coming up with a great idea is often challenging for folks. How did you arrive at yours, and can you tell us a little more about the game?
“Use the idea generation cards that they provide – they’re really helpful! Explore the YGD website as there’s loads of information there”
The game is called serialbus and its about being stuck inside of a computer …the only way out is through the usb (universal *serial bus*) port on the computer …
your character must explore the circuitry of the machine to find their way out.
Although only 13, we want to know if Alex had any plans once he leaves school?
I want to go to uni and start a business
We’re sure lots of businesses will be watching out for his next release!
Finally we asked if he had any tips as a BAFTA YGD Winner for other young people considering the competition. He shared these tips for entering YGD:
Get started early! It will often take longer than you think!
make sure the game will be enjoyable to play!’
You can view the recorded stream from BAFTA announcing Alex’s win below.
