Video game festival expands to Magna

AMBITIOUS school pupils are being encouraged to flex their science and maths muscles... and go for a career in computer games.

Rotherham schools have been invited to take part in Games Britannia, an interactive expo to be held at Magna this summer.

Its organisers hope that the event will help to draw enterprising pupils—including maths and science students—into a booming entertainment industry.

Budding programmers from Aston Academy, Brinsworth Comprehensive and other schools got a taste of building virtual worlds at a launch event in Sheffield Hallam University last week.

The first Games Britannia was held at Brinsworth last year but its organisers hope that moving to Magna will allow it to be bigger and better.

Mark Hardisty, sixth form ICT teacher at Brinsworth Comprehensive, suggested the seven-day event about video games as a learning tool and a career option.

He said: “Making computer games teaches maths, physics and there’s an artistic side to it—you need someone creative to come up with the level designs and if the story isn’t believable you don’t buy into the characters.

“We can get the whole curriculum involved in creating games and use them as a catalyst in the classroom. It benefits every single learning area.”

Festival organisers have enlisted games studio Sumo Digital and veterans of defunct Gremlin Graphics—both based in Sheffield—to help promote one of Britain’s top industries to youngsters.

The week-long expo will feature workshops for up to 750 aspiring programmers, artists and musicians with designs on working in the games industry.

Games Britannia will run from July 2 to July 8. For more information visit www.gamesbritannia.com.

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