What an exciting day we had at the BAFTA Young Game Designers (YGD) awards this year! We were thrilled to be there, not only running our engaging workshops on game design but also celebrating a significant achievement for one of our own mentees.
Our talented mentee, Oscar, was a finalist for his innovative game concept, “Blossom.” This charming 2D side-scrolling game is designed to teach Japanese in an accessible and fun way. Players explore beautifully rendered Japanese towns and bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka. As you interact with objects, Japanese words—like すし (sushi)—appear, making language acquisition intuitive. The core objective is to help “Mr. Sushimii,” the friendly sushi shop owner, fill his word book by mastering Japanese vocabulary. Each level introduces increasingly challenging words and rewards players with new sushi to discover. The adventure culminates in a unique and humorous boss fight against The Landlord, where players must utilize their newfound Japanese skills to convince him not to sell the sushi shop. With its distinctive, almost hand-drawn art style and memorable characters, “Blossom” genuinely makes language learning enjoyable for all ages.
Adding to the excitement, Oscar received valuable support from his MindJam mentor, Rhianna. Notably, Rhianna is a BAFTA YGD alumni herself, with her game having won an award in 2014! It was inspiring to see her not only supporting Oscar but also showcasing her own award-winning entry from a decade ago. This truly highlighted the long-term impact and success that the BAFTA YGD awards can foster, embodying the full-circle journey of our mentors guiding the next generation.
While the impressive games of all the young finalists were on display, our game design workshops were bustling with activity. It was fantastic to witness so many aspiring young designers engaging hands-on with the creative process of game development. The event was a testament to the incredible talent emerging in the games industry and an inspiring occasion for all involved.
To find out more about the Young Game Design Awards and watch more from the event, you can check out the BAFTA Page here: https://www.bafta.org/programmes/young-game-designer/
