Student Showcase 2025

Nearly 200 students from 14 Universities and colleges across the North of England gathered at Sheffield Hallam University on 17th June to compete in the Game Republic Student Showcase.

Final year teams competed in seven categories: Game Art and Animation, Game Technology, Game Narrative Design, Game Level Design, Game Design, Game Audio and Best Team. Projects were judged by leading games studios including Distinctive Games (Rugby League 24), Pitstop Productions (casting, voice and audio work for Baldur’s Gate 3), Red Kite Games (co-developer Hogwarts Legacy), Revolution Software (Broken Sword), Sumo Digital (Sackboy – A Big Adventure) andAtomhawk (creative and technical outsourcer for Age of Empires IV, Helldivers 2, and more). Distinctive Games sponsored the evening reception for the event which enabled students, academics and industry to network with free drinks and pizza.

Sheffield Hallam University student Anna Moore designed the “hopper” frog mascot for the event which was used on websites, posters, social media and on the limited-edition T-shirts produced for the event.

The GR Student Showcase forms part of the Game Republic events programme supported by Barclays Games and Creative, Xsolla and Red Kite Games.

Projects were presented by teams and individuals from Universities and colleges across the North including:

University Campus Doncaster, Grimsby Institute, University of Huddersfield, University of Hull, University of Leeds, University Centre Leeds, Leeds City College, University of Greater Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Salford, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Staffordshire, Wakefield College and York St John University

MD of Game Republic Jamie Sefton said “It was a fantastic day and we were all so impressed with the standard of games, tech, art and animation being presented. It was very difficult for all the judges to make their decisions on the winning individual and teams with such excellent work on display from playable games to new technologies, from fantastic character art, animations to brilliant audio and of course great teamwork. Every single participant should be proud of being chosen by their University or college to present at the Showcase.”

Nigel Little, Distinctive Games said that the quality of work was amazing and that the student teams had done a huge amount of work, with lots of great projects to judge between which made it really difficult”

Graeme Allarton from Sumo said that it was clear that there was “a whole lot of passion and heart in the projects”

Tom Leighton judge from Atomhawk said the team had been “blown away by the variety and quality of work shown at the Showcase.”

Chris Kolev and Callum Jones from Pitstop Productions described the work as “fantastic and already at industry standard.”

Simon Iwaniszak, Red Kite Games said that “the Game Technology Award always brought a wide range of entries, and that seeing teams build game engines was really important.”

Sam Hayes, Revolution praised the narrative design entries that meant “we were judging right up to the wire.”

Judges for best team congratulated all teams for “putting something of creative value into the world.”

The winners of the Game Republic Student Showcase

The Atomhawk Award for Game Art and Animation

1^st Prize

University of Greater Manchester

Alex Breary – The Fly By

2^nd Prize

University of Staffordshire

Arash Hadavi – Character Art Portfolio

3^rd Prize

University of Huddersfield

Fever Dream Tangerine – Parasol Protocol

Calum Short, Joshua Sykes-Ellis, Ricco Vergara, Mudaber Ahmed, Maisy Adams, Hannah McMullan

The Distinctive Games Award for Game Level Design

1^st Prize

University of Huddersfield

Fever Dream Tangerine – Parasol Protocol

Calum Short, Joshua Sykes-Ellis, Ricco Vergara, Mudaber Ahmed, Maisy Adams, Hannah McMullan

2^nd Prize

University of Huddersfield

Happy Hour – Pint Sized

Daniel Kerridge, Holly Buckley, Cameron Hunt, Alex Worswick, Eddie Robinson, Leo Woodley

3^rd Prize

University of Staffordshire

Mana Studios – Hex & Havoc
Emily Downey, Allyson Frazier, Josh Blackley, David Pare, Greg Alderton, Toby Brookes

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1^st Prize

Manchester Metropolitan University

Rancher Studio – Chess Rancher

Kian Borg-Jackson, Imogen Sibley, Sadie Simpson, Jamie Tiplady

2^nd Prize

University of Huddersfield

Fever Dream Tangerine – Parasol Protocol

Calum Short, Joshua Sykes-Ellis, Ricco Vergara, Mudaber Ahmed, Maisy Adams, Hannah McMullan

3^rd Prize

University of Huddersfield

Happy Hour – Pint Sized

Daniel Kerridge, Holly Buckley, Cameron Hunt, Alex Worswick, Eddie Robinson, Leo Woodley

The PitStop Productions Award for Game Audio

1^st Prize

University of Huddersfield

Fever Dream Tangerine – Parasol Protocol

Calum Short, Joshua Sykes-Ellis, Ricco Vergara, Mudaber Ahmed, Maisy Adams, Hannah McMullan

2^nd Prize

Manchester Metropolitan University

Rancher Studio – Chess Rancher

Kian Borg-Jackson, Imogen Sibley, Sadie Simpson, Jamie Tiplady

3^rd Prize

University of Huddersfield

Happy Hour – Pint Sized

Daniel Kerridge, Holly Buckley, Cameron Hunt, Alex Worswick, Eddie Robinson, Leo Woodley

The Red Kite Game Award for Game Technology

1^st Prize

University of Leeds

UBQR Team – Axiom Swerve

Sahil Puri, Tejaswa Rizyal, Abhigyan Gandhi, Alexander Claridge

2^nd Prize

University of Leeds

Wipeout – IDOL

Zachariah Lee, Thomas Chernaik, James Johnson, Ahmad Hussain

3^rd Prize

Sheffield Hallam University

Trajectile Interactive – Racecar Crashers

Luke Jason Hibbert, Aliyaan Zulfiqar Bhatti, Gergo Janos Kocsis, Charlie James Edwards

The Revolution Software Award for Game Narrative Design

1^st Prize

University of Greater Manchester

Seven Seats – Diesel Blood

Alex Brearey, Benjamin Cirulis, Harrison Biddick, Jak Hughes, Taylor McLennan, Kai Blair

2^nd Prize

University Centre Leeds

Hannah Shaw – XVIII

3^rd Prize

University of Staffordshire

Mana Studios – Hex & Havoc

Emily Downey, Allyson Frazier, Josh Blackley, David Pare, Greg Alderton, Toby Brookes

The Award for Best Team

1^st Prize

University of Staffordshire

No Signal – Xeno Farm

Thomas Banks, Andrew Quartley, Natasha Taylor, Orion Biddick, Jaydan Knevett, Uday Pramod Aklade

2^nd Prize

Manchester Metropolitan University

Rancher Studio – Chess Rancher

Kian Borg-Jackson, Imogen Sibley, Sadie Simpson, Jamie Tiplady

3^rd Prize

Sheffield Hallam University

Trajectile Interactive – Racecar Crashers

Luke Jason Hibbert, Aliyaan Zulfiqar Bhatti, Gergo Janos Kocsis, Charlie James Edwards

Roger Bateman, director of the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have hosted the Game Republic Student Showcase at Sheffield Hallam University this year. The UK is home to some of the most innovative and creative talent in game design and development, and this event is a brilliant opportunity to celebrate that.

“At Sheffield Hallam, we’re proud of our strong connections to the games industry, and we’re committed to nurturing the next generation of game creators through collaboration, creativity, and real-world engagement.”

In presenting the awards, Jamie Sefton added “I’d like to thank all of the students and course leaders from all the Educational Partners of Game Republic who have shown off some incredible work here today.

And a reminder that you can nominate your course leaders later this year for a Game Republic Award to be presented at GaMaYo in November.

I’d also like to thank the staff of Sheffield Hallam University – especially Paul Parry, Roger Bateman, Danielle Allen, Catie Varley, Emma & Joseph in PR, and the academic team including Luke Melville and Tom Garner to name a few – for putting on such a great Game Republic Student Showcase event today.

From our own Game Republic team I’d like to Michela for helping on the day and Dr Jackie Mulligan for coordinating everything and bringing the events together. “

Finally, thanks again to the Game Republic games company judges – Atomhawk, Red Kite Games, Rockstar Games, Distinctive Games, Revolution Software, PitStop Productions and Sumo Digital – and to our Official Partners Xsolla, Barclays Games & Creative and Red Kite Games.”

Student Showcase 2024

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2024 took place on Thursday 6th June at Staffordshire University, with 14 universities and colleges, 50 projects and 150 students – the biggest showcase yet, and the largest games industry Student Showcase in the UK. Participating universities and colleges including University of Hull, Sheffield Hallam University, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Bolton, University Campus Doncaster, University Centre Grimsby, University of Leeds, University Centre Leeds, University of Huddersfield, Staffordshire University, University of York, York St John University , Leeds City College and University of Sunderland.

“The Game Republic Student Showcase has been a highlight of the annual games education calendar for years. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage directly with the games industry and to have their talents recognised. This is a special year for games courses, and our award-winning department at Staffordshire University and so we were delighted to have been selected by Game Republic to host this prestigious event.”
Professor Chris Headleand – Head of Staffordshire University Games Institute

Game Republic games companies including Rebellion North, Red Kite Games, Revolution Software, Sumo Digital, Distinctive Games and PitStop Productions judged the student projects and presented 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in awards such as Game Design, Best Team and Game Technology. All the judges commented on the quality of the work presented and how difficult their job was in judging the awards – with 50 to judge, the games companies had an extremely busy afternoon of playing games and deliberation.

“This was our biggest Student Showcase yet and I’m so proud of the students, who showed off such fantastic projects to our games companies judging the awards. With this level of skill and passion, the future of the games industry in Yorkshire, the North of England and the UK is going to be very bright.”
Jamie Sefton – Game Republic

Huge thanks to our sponsor games company judges, the support staff and tutors at Staffordshire University for hosting such a fantastic event, to the university and college course leaders and students for taking part, the amazing students and teams that showcased their work and our Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays and Escape Technology. Gallery below, alongside video showing just some of the games and the winners!

The winners

Every student and team selected to be part of the Game Republic Student Showcase to represent their courses should be very proud. Here are the winners of the Game Republic Student Showcase 2024.

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize
University of Huddersfield – Redacted Games – Ultraren
Arran Rafot, Wilfred Clay, Tyler Hewitt, Jack Hoyosa-Taylor, Matthew Leatherbarrow, Ethan Weston

2nd Prize
University of Huddersfield – Logic Labyrinth The Eternal Exodus
Elise Barry, Alexander Braekevelt, Morgan Crossley, Aleksander Seroka, Lexxie Black, George Robson

3rd Prize
University of Huddersfield – Small Man Studios – Rebound Rivals
Jake Goodes, Sarah Hellawell, Thomas Lee, Yusuf Manjra, Bradley Curtis, Jack Dyson

The Rebellion North Award for Game Art & Animation

1st Prize
University of Huddersfield – Logic Labyrinth The Eternal Exodus
Elise Barry, Alexander Braekevelt, Morgan Crossley, Aleksander Seroka, Lexxie Black, George Robson

2nd Prize
University of Bolton – Blue Dino – Fruit Frenzy
Adam Preece, Brandon Lynch, Kristian McGuigan, James Leigh, Zakiyah Patel, Ben Higham

3rd Prize
Staffordshire University – Art Portfolio
Elliot Crompton

The Distinctive Games Award for Game Level Design

1st Prize
Manchester Metropolitan University – Team BOXY – Boxy
Chung Yiu Ting (Timothy, aka Snoala), Hashaam Bin Shahzad, Babatunde Taofik Raifu, Vineet Nihalani Lalwani, Chimdi Obinna Anumudu, Will Bowles

2nd Prize
Sheffield Hallam University – TombStone Interactive – Entombed
Joshua Briggs, Liam Hamit, Oliver Callaghan, Jay Burrows, Harvey Wright, Brandon Garrett

3rd Prize
University of Hull – Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor
Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa

The Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology

1st Prize
Staffordshire University Non-Euclidean Geometry in Vulkan using Ray-Tracing
Morgan Zoroch

2nd Prize
University of Hull -3D Procedural Cave Generation
Louie Waterfall

3rd Prize
Sheffield Hallam University – TombStone Interactive – Entombed
Joshua Briggs, Liam Hamit, Oliver Callaghan, Jay Burrows, Harvey Wright, Brandon Garrett

The PitStop Productions Award for Game Audio

1st Prize
University of Huddersfield – Axle Authority – Call to the Cinder Circus
Louis Jonas, Rhys Wadley, Jack Beddows, Benjamin Forrester, Wimula Kanchela, Jack Ryan

2nd Prize
York St John University – OiaOrb
Joseph Maltby

3rd Prize
University of Hull – Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor
Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa

The Revolution Software Award for Game Narrative Design

1st Prize
University of Hull – Hidden Arts – REDACTION
Kuba Krysztofiak, Khadijah “Jas” Samsudeen, Charlie Cottrell, Damien Fee

2nd Prize
University of Hull – Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor
Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa

3rd Prize
University of Huddersfield – Arcane Studios – Emlis
Harvey Russell, Thomas Hickling, Jordan Hargreaves, Kaitlyn Crimson Taylor, Lewis Russell, Megan Thompson

The Award for Best Team

1st Prize
Staffordshire University – Team Ffeast – Into The Abyss
Ethan Williams, Frazer Beckett, Tori Miller, Shannon Brabbin, Amy Wozny, Freyja Weller

2nd Prize
University of Hull – Hidden Arts – REDACTION
Kuba Krysztofiak, Khadijah “Jas” Samsudeen, Charlie Cottrell, Damien Fee

3rd Prize
University of Bolton – Blue Dino – Fruit Frenzy
Adam Preece, Brandon Lynch, Kristian McGuigan, James Leigh, Zakiyah Patel

Getting into the games industry

The prizegiving finished with a panel on “Getting into the games industry” with John Stopforth (Escape Technology), Sam Hayes (Revolution), Jason Yong (Rebellion) and Daryl Marples (Staffs Uni), hosted by Dr Jackie Mulligan (Game Republic), Jackie ended the panel with the words: “Everyone in this room should be proud of themselves that they were selected to be part of the Game Republic Student Showcase – here with leading global games studios that have assessed their work. That is a huge achievement – the next part of your journey in the games industry starts now.”

Promo video of the Student Showcase with examples of projects from each university/college below. We’ll have a full video of the Showcase with interviews from the day soon.

Gallery of the Game Republic Student Showcase

Game Republic Student Showcase 2023

The University of Bradford played host to the biggest Game Republic Student Showcase on 6^th June 2023. Displays, demos, designs and even cupcakes appeared in a fantastic array of 35 projects in the stands at the Atrium on the day. Final-year teams from Staffordshire University, University Centre Leeds, Leeds City College, University of Huddersfield, University of Hull, York St John University, Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Bradford and the University of Sunderland competed in seven categories: game art and animation; narrative design; game technology; level design; game design; game audio and best team.

Here are this year’s winners of the Game Republic Student Showcase:

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize SPLI/T by Morgan Piercy (University of Hull)
Morgan Piercy

2nd Prize
Book of Bhanu by Snowglobe Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Jacob Blanchard, Ewan Miller, Louis Mills, Bailey Pellegrina, Daniel Powell, Janet Rebecca

3rd Prize
My Lost Blue Jay by Olivia Cross (Staffordshire University)
Olivia Cross

Thanks to Graeme Allarton, Barry Soilleux and Oli Knight from Sumo Digital for judging and presenting the award.

The Rebellion North Award for Game Art & Animation

1^st Prize
Bite Club by Waterfront Bandits (University of Huddersfield)
Ethan Gangotra, Cameron Greenway, Joseph Hughes, James Pawson, Elijah Powell, Reinaldo Ramirez

2^nd Prize
Book of Bhanu by Snowglobe Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Jacob Blanchard, Ewan Miller, Louis Mills, Bailey Pellegrina, Daniel Powell, Janet Rebecca

3^rd Prize
Dragan’s Showreel by Dragan Mihai Adrian (Sheffield Hallam University)
Dragan Mihai Adrian

Thanks to Akshat Singh, Sujeet Kumar and Pablo Sedano from Rebellion North for judging and presenting the award.

The Distinctive Games Award for Game Level Design

1^st Prize
Auntie Gravity by James Kilduff (York St. John University)
James Kilduff

2^nd Prize
Book of Bhanu by Snowglobe Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Jacob Blanchard, Ewan Miller, Louis Mills, Bailey Pellegrina, Daniel Powell, Janet Rebecca

3^rd Prize
My Lost Blue Jay by Olivia Cross (Staffordshire University)
Olivia Cross

Thanks to Nigel Little and Tom Savage from Distinctive Games for judging and presenting the award.

The Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology

1^st Prize
GOVision: Real-Time Insights into Virtual Worlds by Szymon Mach (University of Hull)
Szymon Mach

2^nd Prize
Candy Kingdom Tower Defence by Mary Cookies (Sheffield Hallam University)
Javier Benito Abolafio, Jose Luis García-Morales Santamaría, Tyler Towers, Tom Hockenhull, Dragan Mihai Adrian, Laia Parcet Riu

3^rd Prize
Companion Plus by Tori Miller (Staffordshire University)
Tori Miller

Thanks to Simon Iwaniszak and the Red Kite Games team for judging and presenting.

The PitStop Productions Award for Game Audio

1^st Prize
Amber’s Tale by Thomas Lawrence (Sheffield Hallam University)
Thomas Lawrence

2^nd Prize
Bite Club by Waterfront Bandits (University of Huddersfield)
Ethan Gangotra, Cameron Greenway, Joseph Hughes, James Pawson, Elijah Powell, Reinaldo Ramirez

3^rd Prize
Love, Grandma by Quicksave Games (University of Huddersfield)
Connor Treherne, Andrew Jackson, Liam Hall, Henry Kirk-Pennington, Umar Ahmed, Reece Gillott

Thanks to Tim Beedall from PitStop Productions for judging and presenting.

The Revolution Software Award for Game Narrative Design

1^st Prize
Love, Grandma by Quicksave Games (University of Huddersfield)
Connor Treherne, Andrew Jackson, Liam Hall, Henry Kirk-Pennington, Umar Ahmed, Reece Gillott

2^nd Prize
Nighttime City by Mara Solomon (University of Bradford)
Mara Solomon

3^rd Prize
My Lost Blue Jay by Olivia Cross (Staffordshire University)
Olivia Cross

The Award for Best Team

1^st Prize
Book of Bhanu by Snowglobe Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Jacob Blanchard, Ewan Miller, Louis Mills, Bailey Pellegrina, Daniel Powell, Janet Rebecca

2^nd Prize
Cheftopus by Cool Tea (University of Huddersfield)
Konrad Marcjanowicz, Valentino Worstenholme, Jack Colton, Reece Fenton, Maria Koukoulitsa, Daniel Munteanu

3^rd Prize
Deaths Rebuke (Sheffield Hallam University)
Benjamin Kimberly, Jamie Daines, Aaron Smith

Game Republic Student Showcase 2022

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2022 returned as an in-person event on Tuesday 7th June 2022 at York St John University! 33 projects were entered by the Educational Partner universities and colleges for awards including Best Team, Game Design and Game Art and Animation. A big thanks to the Game Republic games company judges – Rebellion North, Red Kite Games, Distinctive Games, Rockstar Leeds and Sumo Digital – as well as our event sponsors Revolution Software and Barclays Games!

All the winners of the awards are listed below, as well as a video of some of the fantastic student projects from the day.

Distinctive Games Award for Game Audio

1st Prize (pictured)
Lethal Deal by Inline 9 (University of Huddersfield)
Rebecca Emmett, Aspen Thompson, Daniel Scott-Wilson, Wes Etherington, Liam Bradbury, Migle Ignotaite, Niall Crabtree

2nd Prize
Junkyard Pool by Team Junkyard Pool (Sheffield Hallam University)
Josh Busby, Adam Thomson, Damien Bruce

3rd Prize
Code Rain by Onsite (University of Huddersfield)
Radd Garratt-Owen, Adam Booth, Daniel Haynes, Daniel King Rowan, Jason Berry-Hemmer, Joshua Prasser

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize (pictured)
Dinky Dragons by Harrison Hogarth (York St John University)
Harrison Hogarth

2nd Prize
Shuttle Revolution by Team Four (University of Huddersfield)
Abigael Southam, Layla Grinney, May Thornborrow, Shaun Kennie

3rd Prize
Code Rain by Onsite (University of Huddersfield)
Radd Garratt-Owen, Adam Booth, Daniel Haynes, Daniel King Rowan, Jason Berry-Hemmer, Joshua Prasser

Red Kite Game Award for Game Technology

1st Prize (pictured)
Labyrinth by Team Labyrinth (Sheffield Hallam University)
Chae Taylor, Casey Kenny and Josh Long

2nd Prize
Zool Vulkan Port by Team Zool (Sheffield Hallam University)
Olaf Oude Reimer, Dom Mccollum, James Smith

3rd Prize
Pinecone Networking by Ben Nilsson (Staffordshire University)
Ben Nilsson

Rebellion North Award for Art and Animation

1st Prize (pictured)
Code Rain by Onsite (University of Huddersfield)
Radd Garratt-Owen, Adam Booth, Daniel Haynes, Daniel King Rowan, Jason Berry-Hemmer, Joshua Prasser

2nd Prize
Lethal Deal by Inline 9 (University of Huddersfield)
Aspen Thompson, Daniel Scott-Wilson, Wes Etherington, Liam Bradbury, Migle Ignotaite, Niall Crabtree

3rd Prize
Max Ouaddane – art portfolio (Staffordshire University)

Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize (pictured)
Labyrinth by Team Labyrinth (Sheffield Hallam University)
Chae Taylor, Casey Kenny and Josh Long

2nd Prize
Lethal Deal by Inline 9 (University of Huddersfield)
Aspen Thompson, Daniel Scott-Wilson, Wes Etherington, Liam Bradbury, Migle Ignotaite, Niall Crabtree

3rd Prize
Dimension Drifters by David’s Angels (University of Huddersfield)
Molly Price, Rachel Conroy, David Kershaw, Joshua Sabin, Keamuhetsi Sibanda, William Rose

Congratulations to all the winners!

More photos from the event – big thanks to York St John University for hosting such a fantastic Showcase too.

Game Republic Student Showcase 2021

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2021 Award Show was held online on Wednesday 26th May 2021 and had a record-breaking 47 projects entered by the Educational Partner universities and colleges for awards including Best Team, Game Design and Game Art and Animation. A big thanks to the Game Republic games company judges – Revolution Software (and PitStop Productions), Rebellion North, Red Kite Games, Rockstar Leeds and Sumo Digital – as well as our event sponsor Barclays.

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize (pictured)
Big Bad Bunnies From Another Dimension by Naughty Frog (University of Huddersfield)
Aaron Cant, Brad Cullen, Lauren Westcott, Lewis Banks, Oliver McGrath, David Shields

2nd Prize
A World’s End by Huw Warren-Roberts (York St. John University)
Huw Warren-Roberts

3rd Prize
Mira’s Tale by Canalside (University of Huddersfield)
Aaron Cant, Lauren Westcott, Lewis Banks, Oliver McGrath, Joshua Pritchard, Chris Rhodes

Red Kite Game Award for Game Technology

1st Prize (pictured)
Raven Engine by Raven (University of Leeds)
Ammar Herz Allah, Ben Hulse, Thomas Moreno Cooper, Sulagna Singha, Tian Zeng

2nd Prize
Real Time Vulkan Raytracing on RTX by Davide Contini (University of Hull)
Davide Contini

3rd Prize
Phantom scripting language by Ashley Barrell (Staffordshire University)
Ashley Barrell

Rebellion North Award for Art and Animation

1st Prize (Pictured)
Big Bad Bunnies From Another Dimension by Naughty Frog (University of Huddersfield)
Aaron Cant, Brad Cullen, Lauren Westcott, Lewis Banks, Oliver McGrath, David Shields

2nd Prize
Art Portfolio by Chris Rhodes (University of Huddersfield)
Chris Rhodes

3rd Prize
A World’s End by Huw Warren-Roberts (York St. John University)
Huw Warren-Roberts

Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize (pictured)
Bind & Banish by Indie-Shark Games (University of Huddersfield)
Adam Fautley, Dean Holland, Nathaniel Waterworth, Raimund Kod, Joshua Fisher, Natalia Miekina

2nd Prize
Warhouse by Warhouse (Sheffield Hallam University)
Joe Garlick, Matt Hunt, Conor Rogerson, Jackie Dong

3rd Prize
Jointly between:
Payloaders by The Tolerable 6 (University of Huddersfield)
Oliver Fayers, Daniel Lush, Melissa Hamer, Luke Dicken-Jones, Andy Radulescu, Chris Rhodes
and
Big Bad Bunnies From Another Dimension by Naughty Frog (University of Huddersfield)
Aaron Cant, Brad Cullen, Lauren Westcott, Lewis Banks, Oliver McGrath, David Shields

Congratulations to all the winners!

Game Republic Student Showcase 2020

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2020 Award Show was held online on Tuesday 26th May 2020 and had 35 projects entered by the Educational Partner universities and colleges for awards including Best Team and Game Art and Animation. A big thanks to the Game Republic games company sponsors – Revolution Software, Rebellion North, Red Kite Games, Rockstar Leeds and Sumo Digital – as well as our event sponsor Barclays.

Revolution Software Award for Game Audio

1st Prize (pictured)
Nebulux by Team Saucy (Leeds Beckett University)
Adam Georgeson, Aaron Rawlinson, Sam Bradley

2nd Prize
Regal Mortis by Team Chanco (University of Huddersfield)
Alex Chan, Bradley Pratt, Reece Kuby, Kial Oliver Gibson, Oliver Sheard, Jack Hurst

3rd Prize
Tenacious Odyssey: Chimera by Kane Challis (University Centre Leeds)

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize (pictured)
Wibble Wobble Wabble by Team Spaghetto (University of Huddersfield)
David Lambert, Joe Taylor, Lewis Scrivens, Sonny Blyth, Bradley Lagota, Jason Morley

2nd Prize
STÜF by James Moore (York St. John University)
James Moore

3rd Prize
Stealing Stuff by Patchwork Games (Sheffield Hallam University)
Alistair Keen, Jack Magnay, William Birchall, Jonathan Cunnew

Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology

1st Prize (pictured)
ECS Game Engine by William Taylor (University of Hull)
William Taylor

2nd Prize
Regal Mortis by Team Chanco (University of Huddersfield)
Alex Chan, Bradley Pratt, Reece Kuby, Kial Oliver Gibson, Oliver Sheard, Jack Hurst

3rd Prize
Red.exe by Jamie Tranter (Staffordshire University)
Jamie Tranter

Rebellion North Award for Game Art & Animation

1st Prize (pictured)
Character Art Portfolio by Kial Oliver-Gibson (University of Huddersfield)
Kial Oliver-Gibson

2nd Prize
Tenacious Odyssey: Chimera by Kane Challis (University Centre Leeds)

3rd Prize
Environmental Art Portfolio by Joe Taylor (University of Huddersfield)
Joe Taylor

Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize (pictured)
Wibble Wobble Wabble by Team Spaghetto (University of Huddersfield)
David Lambert, Joe Taylor, Lewis Scrivens, Sonny Blyth, Bradley Lagota, Jason Morley

2nd Prize
Regal Mortis by Team Chanco (University of Huddersfield)
Alex Chan, Bradley Pratt, Reece Kuby, Kial Oliver Gibson, Oliver Sheard, Jack Hurst

3rd Prize
Stealing Stuff by Patchwork Games (Sheffield Hallam University)
Alistair Keen, Jack Magnay, William Birchall, Jonathan Cunnew

Game Republic Student Showcase 2019

The 12th Game Republic Student Showcase took place at the University of Hull for the first time on Monday 3rd June 2019. This was our biggest Showcase yet, featuring 12 Educational Partners, 100 students, 33 projects and 5 Game Awards – kindly sponsored by games companies including Red Kite Games, Sumo Digital, Rebellion North and Revolution Software.

The judging started at 1.45 and went on all afternoon until 5.50pm in categories for Game Design, Game Art & Animation, Game Technology, Best Team and new award, Game Audio.

Participating universities and colleges included Staffordshire University, Leeds City College, Sheffield Hallam University and University of Huddersfield.

Judges included Simon Iwaniszak (Red Kite Games), Wes Arthur and Rhianne Murphy (Sumo Digital), David Vaughan-Jackson (Revolution Software) and Arden Aspinall and Bridie Wright (Rebellion North).

After the awards, the audience of 100+ students, course leaders and games companies were treated to an industry panel “So you want a job in games?” featuring Sumo Digital, Red Kite Games and Revolution.

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2019 Award Results!

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize (photo)
Tether by Sysiphian (University of Huddersfield)
Matthew Throup
Sam Sharpe
George Blackwell
Nathaniel Whitaker
Peter Sutherland
Ruben Chatha

2nd Prize
Boom Tag by Onloft Studios (Leeds Beckett University)
Bradley Rapson
Jack Gillies
Will Elliott

3rd Prize
Kami’s Descent (Sheffield Hallam University)
Ismail Movahedi
Aman Gill
Jas Kullar
Adrian Jones
Jo Osborne

The Revolution Software Award for Art & Animation

1st Prize (Photo above)
Environmental Art by Sam Sharpe (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize
Farmyard Frenzy by Threedom (Sheffield Hallam University)
Elliott Hill
Tom McKechnie
Joshua Edwards
Freya Jones

3rd Prize
Knightfall by Twoti Frutti (Sheffield Hallam University)
Adam Dann
Damian Korcz
Bradley Lam
Adam Wildman
Charlie Walker

The Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology

1st Prize (Photo above)
Hogs of War Reheated by Hogs (Sheffield Hallam University)
Luke Melville
Matt Stephenson
Daniel Hart
Louisa Diep
William Brookes-Clancy
Josh Nursall

2nd Prize
Kodebolds by Kodebolds Game Engine (University of Hull)
Dean Barnard
Jake Scrivener
Tony Beacock

3rd Prize
Fluid Dynamics Simulation in CUDA by Angelina Ouchakova (University of Hull)

The Rebellion North Award for Game Audio

1st Prize (photo above)
Tether by Sysiphian (University of Huddersfield)
Matthew Throup
Sam Sharpe
George Blackwell
Nathaniel Whitaker
Peter Sutherland
Ruben Chatha

2nd Prize
Coin-op Kingdom by Canalside Studios (University of Huddersfield)
Chloe McCann
Matthew Watling
Omar Qattan
Matthew Throup
George Blackwell
Nathaniel Whitaker

3rd Prize
Project ECO by XLR8ED Studios (University of Hull)
Ryan Connor (Game Design & Dev)
Natalie Gall (Music & SFX)

The Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize (photo above
Tether by Sysiphian (University of Huddersfield)
Matthew Throup
Sam Sharpe
George Blackwell
Nathaniel Whitaker
Peter Sutherland
Ruben Chatha

2nd Prize
Coin-op Kingdom by Canalside Studios (University of Huddersfield)
Chloe McCann
Matthew Watling
Omar Qattan
Matthew Throup
George Blackwell
Nathaniel Whitaker

3rd Prize
Boom Tag by Onloft Studios (Leeds Beckett University)
Bradley Rapson
Jack Gillies
Will Elliott

Thanks to all the brilliant Educational Partners for supporting the event, to the students for showing their excellent projects and to the University of Hull for hosting. We’ll be back again next year!

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Game Republic Student Showcase 2018

The 11th Game Republic Student Showcase was held at Leeds Beckett University on Thursday 7th June 2018.

The Game Republic Student Showcase is a yearly event that brings together all the Educational Partners of the network to show their students’ final-year projects to industry. The projects are judged by our region’s games companies in four categories – Game Art & Animation, Game Technology, Game Design and Best Team.

The Student Showcase has been running for 11 years in the region and has resulted in hundreds of games industry placements and full-time jobs for graduates. The awards are important, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity for students to meet and network with industry, get essential advice and useful feedback on their games.

The evening event include the award presentation and also a panel featuring Charles Cecil MBE (Revolution Software), Fee Laming (GaMaYo), David Dino (Sumo Digital) and Dave Roberts (Red Kite Games).

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2018 Awards results!

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize (photo above)

Flux 8 by 504 Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Harry Kay
Dayna Davison
Dimitae Dimitrov
Matthew Oldfield
Reuben Briggs
Jonathan Cotterill

2nd Prize
Code 10-52 by Vault Studios (University of Huddersfield)
Martin Kruger
Liam Hoe
Josh Gee
Jordan Emsley
Danny Newsom

3rd Prize
The Light by Team Awesome (Leeds Beckett University)
Jozsef Farkas
Marco A Valerio
Jason Holland
Joe Handley

Also a special mention to the eye-tracking game Tobias the Snake and his Aztec Adventure from Team Snake Eyes (Sheffield Hallam University)

The Revolution Software Award for Game Art & Animation

1st Prize (photo above)
Great Dionysia by CDTX (Leeds Beckett University)
Tristan Dawkins
Xavier Gibbons
Cadija Blyden
Declan Miller

2nd Prize
The Light by Team Awesome (Leeds Beckett University)
Jozsef Farkas
Marco A Valerio
Jason Holland
Joe Handley

3rd Prize
Observer Environment art portfolio by Tanraaj Cheema

The Red Kite Games for Game Technology

1st Prize (photo above)
Gatling Games Engine by Gatling Games (University of Leeds)
George Loines
Joshua Crinall
Michael Nisbet

2nd Prize
Flux 8 by 504 Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Harry Kay
Dayna Davison
Dimitae Dimitrov
Matthew Oldfield
Reuben Briggs
Jonathan Cotterill

3rd Prize
Code 10-52 by Vault Studios (University of Huddersfield)
Martin Kruger
Liam Hoe
Josh Gee
Jordan Emsley
Danny Newsom

Best Team Award

1st Prize (photo above)
Flux 8 by 504 Interactive (University of Huddersfield)
Harry Kay
Dayna Davison
Dimitae Dimitrov
Matthew Oldfield
Reuben Briggs
Jonathan Cotterill

2nd Prize
Code 10-52 by Vault Studios (University of Huddersfield)
Martin Kruger
Liam Hoe
Josh Gee
Jordan Emsley
Danny Newsom

3rd Prize
The Light by Team Awesome (Leeds Beckett University)
Jozsef Farkas
Marco A Valerio
Jason Holland
Joe Handley

Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to Leeds Beckett University for hosting the event, for the games companies for sponsoring and judging (Revolution Software, Sumo Digital and Red Kite Games), our Educational Partners for supporting the event and the students for taking part. See you next year!

Game Republic Student Showcase 2017

The tenth Game Republic, supported by Autodesk, Student Showcase took place for the first time at the University of Leeds on Thursday 8th June 2017.

Gaming Conference at Uni. of Leeds. 8th June 2017. © Victor De Jesus — © Victor De Jesus

The Student Showcase is a yearly opportunity for final-year and postgraduate students from GR’s Educational Partner universities and colleges to showcase their work to the region’s games industry.

The 23 projects were judged in four categories – the Sumo Digital Award for Game Design, the Revolution Software Award for Art & Animation, the Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology and a special Best Team Award. Previous Game Republic Student Showcase events have resulted in dozens of placements and full-time jobs for the winning teams and individuals at companies including Sumo Digital, Distinctive Games and Rockstar Leeds.

The evening event included the awards prizegiving (results below) and talks from Kathryn Penny, Festivals Director at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and Mike Taulty, Developer Evangelist at Microsoft.

The winners of this year’s Student Showcase are listed below:

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize
VR Partyware by Shutter Shade Heroes (University of Huddersfield)
Parampal Singh
Kiera Hayman
Joe Cooper
Marcus Nichols
Liam Ford
Chris Vickery

2nd Prize
Wavelength (University of York)
Carlos Gonzalez Diaz
Sam Hughes
Janet Gibbs
Tara Collingwoode-Williams
Daniel Berio
Rob Homewood

3rd Prize
This Dead Winter by Rob Potter (University of Huddersfield)

Red Kite Games Award for Game Technology

1st Prize
Voxelised Shadow Map Compression by George Loines

2nd Prize
VR Partyware by Shutter Shade Heroes (University of Huddersfield)
Parampal Singh
Kiera Hayman
Joe Cooper
Marcus Nichols
Liam Ford
Chris Vickery

3rd Prize
Global Illumination using Voxel Cone Tracing by Chris Haslehurst (Sheffield Hallam University)

Revolution Software Award for Art & Animation

1st Prize

This Dead Winter by Rob Potter (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize
Art portfolio by Andrew Weir (Sheffield Hallam University)

3rd Prize
Mala by Diversity Entertainment (Leeds Beckett University)
Bradley Boorer
Komal Khan
Bradley Reiblein
Sufyaan Akhtar
Timothy Duggan

Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize
VR Partyware by Shutter Shade Heroes (University of Huddersfield)
Parampal Singh
Kiera Hayman
Joe Cooper
Marcus Nichols
Liam Ford
Chris Vickery

2nd Prize
Mala by Diversity Entertainment (Leeds Beckett University)
Bradley Boorer
Komal Khan
Bradley Reiblein
Sufyaan Akhtar
Timothy Duggan

3rd Prize
Dungeon Master VR by Red Skyline Games (Sheffield Hallam University)
Brad Redfern
Paddy Loxley
Jamie Prosser
Jake Missing
Thomas Wells
Nicholas Sims

Thanks and see you again in 2018!

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Game Republic Student Showcase 2016

The ninth Game Republic Student Showcase took place on Thursday 2nd June at Sheffield Hallam University!

The evening event with more than 100 people was sponsored by Insight Studios Ltd, featured the prizegiving, a talk by the Head of Digital Entertainment & Games at BBC Worldwide, Bradley Crooks, and a panel “Careers in the Games Industry”, followed by networking and drinks. BBC Look North also featured the Student Showcase which was part of a report on the Sheffield and Yorkshire games industry.

Panel: Fee Stewart, Charles Cecil (Revolution), Brad Davey (Sumo) and Bradley Crooks (BBC Worldwide)

The winners of the Game Republic Student Showcase 2016 are listed below.

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize

Escalate by Tom Williams and Aniket Datta (University of York)

2nd Prize
Rink Riot by Steel Minions Console Team (Sheffield Hallam University)
3rd Prize
Pocket Galaxy by French Toast Mafia (University of Huddersfield)

Dubit Award for Game Technology

1st Prize

Relativity by Nathan Boxhall-Burnett (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize
Pocket Galaxy by French Toast Mafia (University of Huddersfield)
3rd Prize
Rink Riot by Steel Minions Console Team (Sheffield Hallam University)

Revolution Software Award for Game Art & Animation

1st Prize

Shivam Devani (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize
Pocket Galaxy by French Toast Mafia (University of Huddersfield)
3rd Prize
Rink Riot by Steel Minions Console Team (Sheffield Hallam University)

Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize

Pocket Galaxy by French Toast Mafia (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize
Seven Hells by Landmine Games (Leeds Beckett University)
3rd Prize
Rink Riot by Steel Minions Console Team (Sheffield Hallam University)

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Game Republic Student Showcase 2015

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2015 took place on Tuesday 2nd June at the University of York and featured six Educational Partners of Game Republic (a record!) showing 24 projects.

The projects were judged in four categories by games companies Rockstar Leeds, Sumo Digital, Team17 and Revolution, with the evening networking event sponsored by NatWest ESpark.

Jon Georgious from Sumo Digital judging an entry for the Game Design award.

Kevin Carthew from Team17 playing Acquisition by Team Unity (University of Huddersfield).

Lee Stott from Microsoft and Tony Warriner from Revolution Software check out the Florobots game from the University of Bradford.

So, the winners of the Game Republic Student Showcase 2015 are as follows:

Team17 Award for Game Technology

1st Prize

MCTS by Nick Sephton, Daniel Whitehouse – University of York (pictured)

2nd Prize
Acquisition by Team Unity (Christopher Fagan, Ben Watts, Shaun McNair, Richard O’Brien, Simon Wall, Rumen Petrov) – University of Huddersfield

3rd Prize: Piecefall by Steel Minions (Steve Hartin, Carl Jones) – Sheffield Hallam University

Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize
Detective Squad by Sam Read – University of Huddersfield (pictured)

2nd Prize
Sublevel Zero by Sigtrap (Gary Lloyd) – University of Huddersfield

3rd Prize
Florobots by Florobots (Olga Maksimenko, Carl Waddingham) -University of Bradford

Revolution Software Award for Game Art

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Game Republic Student Showcase 2014

The Game Republic Student Showcase 2014 was held on Tuesday 3rd June 2014 at the University of Huddersfield, and featured 26 projects, 85 students and four of the network’s games companies judging four awards.

The Showcase also featured Huddersfield-based developers Hypersloth Games showing their story-driven first-person adventure Dream running on the Oculus Rift.

Guest judges for the day included Lee Stott (Microsoft) and Callum Underwood (Oculus).

Fee Stewart from Huddersfield-based games developer FormerDroid checks out the Fairy Garden art portfolio by Bradford University student Emma Bates.

Here are the Game Republic Student Showcase 2014 winners – congratulations!

The Four Door Lemon Award for Game Technology

1st Prize – Elemental Assault by Steel Minions (Thomas Avison, Matthew Driver, Martyn Mees, Robert Whitley, Edward Willoughby, Anna Mellor-Meecham)
Sheffield Hallam University

2nd Prize – Arena Brawler by RJJ Productions (Rhys Thompson, Jake Sharp, Josh Bell)
Leeds Beckett University

3rd Prize – Skin Rendering Technology by David Ramsden
Sheffield Hallam University

The Sumo Digital Award for Game Design

1st Prize – Redneck Renovator by Stemsells (Jonathan Stewart, Jonathan Saunders, Lisa Tran, Mitchell Mellard, Shane Ecclestone)
Sheffield Hallam University

2nd Prize – Aspect by Team Aspect (Scott Simpson, Wesley Arthur, Mark Carrigan, Joe Allen, Luke Hobson, Deirdre McGrath)
Sheffield Hallam University

3rd Prize – RageGauge by Breakfast Time (Liam Boyer, Nathan Williams, Luke Avery, Marc Richmond, Reece Crawford, Gurjiv)
University of Huddersfield

The Just Add Water Award for Game Art (presented by Oculus VR)

1st Prize – James Chilton (University of Huddersfield)

2nd Prize – Sanctuary by Alex Bernal (Leeds College of Art)

3rd Prize – Josh Pears (Sheffield Hallam University)

The Rockstar Leeds Award for Best Team

1st Prize – Aspect by Team Aspect (Scott Simpson, Wesley Arthur, Mark Carrigan, Joe Allen, Luke Hobson, Deirdre McGrath)
Sheffield Hallam University

2nd Prize – Arena Brawler by RJJ Productions (Rhys Thompson, Jake Sharp, Josh Bell) Leeds Beckett University

3rd Prize – The Adventures of Steven Seagull by Team Seagull (Phil Allcock, Lawrence Youngs)
Leeds Beckett University

The Game Republic Student Showcase also featured a talk on the Skills Investment Fund by Gina Jackson, Skillset, plus a panel “The Future of the Games Industry” with (from left to right) Phil Scott (NVIDIA), Callum Underwood (Oculus VR), Lee Stott (Microsoft), Gina Jackson (Skillset) and Simon Barratt (Four Door Lemon).

Thanks to all our speakers, the universities and colleges (especially the University of Huddersfield for hosting the event), the students who took part and the generous games company sponsors – Four Door Lemon, Sumo Digital, Rockstar Leeds and Just Add Water.

See you next year!