Glyndwr University showcased their work at a major video games industry event

Aspiring video game creators at Wrexham Glyndwr University have showcased their work at a major industry event. 

Seven teams exhibited their games at EGX London as part of the annual Games Talent Wales programme – five of which were from WGU – which aims to help final year students start their own companies. 

Rich Hebblewhite, Programme Leader for Game Development, Game Design & Enterprise and Game Art, said the event had been a great success. 

He added: “It was a great showcase for the students’ work as there were more than 100,0000 people at the exhibition, including many games industry representatives. 

Games Talent Wales, which was founded in 2018, is a Welsh Government-funded initiate run in partnership with WGU, the University of South Wales and Tranzfuser. 

The grassroots development programme provides a blend of mentoring and development grant funding to give students a platform to succeed in what has become a hugely competitive field. 

Glyndwr student Ryan Davies, a member of Far Away from Failure Games, said the event had been “life-changing”. 

“It was great gaining insight into the industry we’d be a part of one day. Just to be given the opportunity by Game Talent Wales to be part of a huge event and work alongside industry leading professionals and begin to network with these developers/publishers was amazing,” he added.

“As a second-year game development student the experience was a great motivator for me personally for the remainder of my studies. Forming a company and demonstrating our game in such a public way, gathering key feedback has been a crucial step forward for our company and has definitely benefited us.”

Rich added that the programme is set to expand to 12-15 teams from next year, and will also accept applications from anyone with an independent games company. 

“Our idea from the outset has been to create a support programme that brings together student start-ups from across the country to create a sustainable and thriving community of game developers where the focus is on developing business skills, sharing best practise and promoting a code of ethical game design.

“The mission has always been to provide opportunities for graduating students across Wales and to support them in establishing creative, dynamic and sustainable games companies.

“Expanding our intake to what is already an extensive programme will mean that more creators can benefit from the opportunities we offer, which can only be a good thing for the industry in Wales.”

To learn more about taking the first steps to a successful career in the video games industry, visit: https://glyndwr.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate-courses/computer-game-design-and-enterprise-with-industrial-placement/