Twelve months ago, Inside Croydon reported how Andrew Ah-Weng, a 14-year-old Trinity School pupil, had won a BAFTA.Yesterday, Ah-Weng, now 15, won another one.
The Sanderstead teen was one of four winners of this year’s BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, with the results announced at a special digital ceremony hosted by actor, comedian and presenter Inel Tomlinson.
The BAFTA YGDs, now in their 12th year, represent a search for Britain’s top young gaming talent, and have been described as “a useful mechanism to allow young people to explore careers and games and have the work looked at by industry professionals”.
The categories in the competition are split into four with Games Concept (10-14 years old and 15-18 years old) and Game Making (10-14 years old and 15-18 years old).
Ah-Weng won the Game Making Category in his age group for “Space Boids”, a game set in space where the player controls a flock of boids to fight waves of enemies.
BAFTA’S Kevin Price said, “Once again we were blown away by the level of creativity and passion embodied in our four winning games this year.
Top of the form: Andrew Ah-Weng has won two BAFTAs by the age of 15
“BAFTA Young Game Designers will continue to support the next generation of game-creators, and we are delighted that this offers young people across the UK the chance to pursue their passion at such an early stage. Congratulations to all. Bring on next year’s entries.”
Tomlinson said, “We were so impressed by the skill and creativity displayed by our 54 finalists across the UK.
“BAFTA YGD is a great way for young people to explore the craft of game design and judging by the standard of entries, Britain has a bright future!”
The winning games will be featured in the Power UP exhibition at The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.
The winners and all the finalists will also have access to a range of masterclasses and mentorship from gaming industry professionals, as part of BAFTA’s ongoing commitment to accessible pathways into games.
The BAFTA YGD ceremony was streamed on BAFTA’s Kids & Teens YouTube channel.
Highlights and clips from the show are available to watch on Twitter (@BAFTAGames) and on LinkedIn.
Sanjana Idnani interviewed Andrew Ah-Weng last year about his first BAFTA success for our Under The Flyover podcast. Previously only available to Inside Croydon subscribers (details of how to sign up to support our independent journalism for just £4 per month can be found here), here’s a second chance to catch up with Sanderstead’s computer gaming genius…
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