Sumo Newcastle inspire students at annual games design competition in Dundee

Aspiring game devs
at a Dundee-based university have gained vital industry knowledge from members
of our Sumo Newcastle studio to help inspire their latest
competition projects.

Sumo Newcastle’s Nathan Chandler-Gibson and Erich Cooper visited Abertay University recently to support students
taking part in the Dare Academy, an annual video games design competition where
teams of undergraduate students develop a game prototype over an intensive
summer of industry-supported hot-housing.

“Abertay
University’s Dare Academy is a brilliant showcase of up-and-coming talent and
student projects to appear at this year’s EGX event,” said Nathan, Senior Technical Game
Designer at Sumo Newcastle. “We visited the teams for a day and the
invigorating energy of the students, the welcoming staff, and the support from
various industry veterans has us already looking forward to the next
opportunity to take part.

“We can’t wait
to see their games out on the public showcase!”

The Dare Academy is
open to teams of up to eight people – with six teams selected to take part each
year. The event takes place over the summer recess at the university and offers
industry mentoring, support, and advice to teams to help them create an
industry-standard game prototype.

In October, the six
finalist teams will travel to London for the EGX Games Expo to demonstrate
their finished games to industry insiders and attendees, before the winner of DARE
2023 is announced – scooping the top prize of £5,000.

“We are so
grateful to Sumo Newcastle for supporting Dare Academy 2023,” said Kayleigh MacLeod of Abertay University’s School
of Design and Informatics. “The mentorship, guidance, and industry knowledge
Erich and Nathan were able to pass on to this year’s teams was hugely valuable
and the students learned so much from their experience.

“Engaging with
industry has always been at the core of Dare and giving our students the chance
to learn from companies like Sumo Newcastle helps prepare them for the world of
work and gain a better understanding of what it takes to produce a great game.

“As a university,
we are really proud to have alumni and partner connections right across the
global games sector, and it’s really wonderful that so many studios are willing
to give up their time to help the next generation of games developers get
started on their journey.”

To find out more
about the Dare Academy visit https://www.abertay.ac.uk/schools/school-of-design-and-informatics/dare-academy/