Game designer Maddie is off to the BAFTAs

A STUDENT from Warrington’s Priestley College has been nominated for a BAFTA after displaying a talent for computer game design.
Maddie Riley, 17, will attend the ceremony on Saturday to find out if she has won in the Game Concept category.
Her game is called Blokwork and was inspired by the first project she completed as part of her Computer Game Design course at Priestley.
She said: “When I got the confirmation, I honestly couldn’t believe I’d made it through.
“To go to London and meet all the other entrants and to experience that environment will be unreal, I’m so excited to attend!”
Maddie’s 3D game features a series of worlds made up of cubes. The player has to rotate them and solve puzzles in lands of different terrains and challenges.
When she first devised the idea she didn’t have the skill to fulfil its potential but as the BTEC course progressed so did her understanding and talent.
She is pleased to have been nominated as a girl in what is traditionally seen as a man’s industry.
“The community has become a lot more gender balanced and equal, but there are still people who hold doubts and see it as a male career so I’m happy that around a third of the nominees in the competition are female,” she said.
“It’s a huge achievement for me either way, but I am glad that we can make a point about it not just being for guys.”
BAFTA’s Young Game Designers (YGD) competition aims to inspire the UK’s game designers and game-makers of the future by giving them the chance to design and make their own game.
Winners will have their games developed further with industry professionals and receive a host of other prizes.
It is the second consecutive year a Priestley College student has been nominated for a BAFTA. Last year Declan Metcalfe and Joni Ashton were invited to the ceremony although neither took home a trophy.
Numbers on Priestley’s Computer Design Course are set to double in September as students realise there are opportunities and careers to be made in this multi-billion pound industry.
Priestley tutor Matt Wilson said: “We were amazed last year to have two students go to the BAFTA awards and for Maddie to achieve it this year is just incredible.
“We have some really talented students and this just shows we are helping them to achieve their full potential.”
Priestley College recently had its STEM assured status – the UK’s gold standard for science, technology,
engineering and maths – renewed, showing it continues to improve levels of education these areas.
The New Engineering Foundation’s honour, which places Priestley in the top 10% of providers in the country, confirms the college is preparing students for careers.