A group of games designers got to showcase their creative talents during an event called The Big Arcade Weekend in Ipswich.
The learners are all studying at Suffolk New College and were tasked with creating an arcade game in three weeks.
Working in partnership with Pinfall Games and Game Anglia, five of their student creations were then chosen to be part of a two-day event held at St Stephen’s Church.
Cody Harris, 19, from Leiston is on a level three games design course. He said: “We were tasked with making an arcade-style game for this project. I really like the puzzle aspects of games, so I tried to make a basic graphic focus game. It felt good that my work was being noticed and seen by the industry.”
Lorna, 20, from Saxmundham is on the same course as Cody. She said: “It was really cool (to be involved) as I saw people playing and testing out my game. This is my second time that my game has been showcased alongside local indie developers.”
In terms of her course and time at the college Lorna added: “I am really enjoying college, I have liked making different styles of games like a platformer, a boomer shooter and now a mobile game. I feel really comfortable in the space and with class as we all get on. The teaching staff are still in the industry and are open about their experiences with their games to help me improve my own in every way possible.”
Mark Backler, Co-Founder of Game Anglia said: “It was impressive to see all the great games the students had managed to create in the space of just three weeks.”
Teacher of games design at the college is Dan Wiltshire. He said: “Over three weeks each learner in the class was tasked with creating an arcade game with simple controls and making the game feel like a small commercial game that could release on an arcade machine. All the learners turned in amazing projects ranging from an endless golf game to an addictive box stacking game. I’m very proud of their efforts. This gives student their next step into industry having official showcased and got public feedback on their projects.”