The 51 finalists have been announced for this year’s BAFTA Young Game Designers competition. Chosen from hundreds of entrants aged between 10 and 18, they were selected by judging panels that include representatives from developers like IO Interactive (007 First Light) and TT Games (LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight).

This finalists cover two categories: the Game Concept Award, which rewards the most original and best thought-out game idea, and the Game Making Award, which recognises the use of coding skills in a freely available software to create a prototype game. Each category is split into two age groups: 10-14 years and 15-18 years.

Testimony to the benefits of collaboration in game design, over a third of this year’s finalists applied as part of a team, leading BAFTA to highlight video games as a space for connection among young people (If you’re inspired, see our guides to the best game art tools and the best laptops for game development).

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(Image credit: Rafe Lepherd / Alex Huynh Anh Le-Hoang / Josh Robinson)

18-year-old co-developers Rafe Lepherd from Essex, alongside Alex Huynh Anh Le-Hoang and Josh Robinson from Greater London, have been shortlisted as a trio in the Game Making 15-18 category for their game In Your Head (above).

They describe it as a “Bullet-Hell style boss-fighter where you figuratively and literally battle depression with coping mechanisms, and strengthen your mental health through bonds in the real world.”

(Image credit: D’Arcy Danda)

D’Arcy Danda’s Maya is the story of a sweatshop worker in India, following the life which lead to her current situation of poverty. Its mechanics imitate real life working conditions, giving the players a glimpse of Maya’s reality.

(Image credit: Nissi Mazvidza)

14-year-old Nissi Mazvidza from Leeds was shortlisted in the Game Concept 10-14 category for her game Olividado Estrella (above). She also explores the mind in her game concept, describing it as a “scenic adventure game” that “will remind you of the beauty of the past” as you “[wake] up with no memories and no grasp of your surroundings”, just “a small name tag attached to your shawl identifying you.”

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(Image credit: Dhyani Patel)

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Dhyani Patel, a finalist from Hertfordshire in the older Game Concept 15-18 category, explores recursive memory in her game. Fans of Blade Runner 2049, Memento or Outer Wilds will enjoy her concept, titled The Last Thing the World Forgot (above).

The concept is set in a “futuristic, data-overloaded world where memories are ranked and erased” and would see you play as Echo, “a being who hears forgotten things” and has to “choose what deserves to be remembered”.

(Image credit: Grace Mccullagh Stacey)

NobodyNose is a concept from Grace Mccullagh Stacey for a quirky 2D comedy adventure game that is full of surprises. Nobody knows you in your village, so you set out on a daring quest to acquire pieces of a broken ‘broken nose’ statue that’s pieces have been scattered across Noseland.

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Winning entries will be judged on their design and suitability for their chosen platform. The winners’ ceremony will be hosted by broadcaster Jules Hardy and streamed on BAFTA’s YouTube channel, on Thursday, 18 June at 5.00pm BST.

See the full list of Game Making finalists and Game Concept finalists on the BAFTA website.

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