LSBU's Game Design and Development course recognised for excellence by TIGA
LSBU’s innovative game design and development course has been shortlisted twice as a finalist at the annual TIGA Games Industry AwardsLondon South Bank University (LSBU)’s School of Arts and Creative Industries is celebrating the fact that its BA (Hons) Game Design and Development course has been shortlisted twice for the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2015.
TIGA is the non-profit trade association representing the UK's games industry. Its annual awards focus on the best games and companies in the industry over the last 12 months, highlighting best practice in gaming, and rewarding contribution to long-term innovation.
LSBU was shortlisted firstly in the category of best educational institution and secondly in the category of best education initiative & talent development. The latter nomination is for LSBU’s collaboration with specialist-technology charity Lifelites, which provides games and game hardware designed by LSBU students to terminally-ill children in hospices.
In considering the finalists for the awards, judges praised LSBU’s strong track record in research and innovation, its links with industry and other partners, and the high proportion of students entering graduate level jobs in gaming on completion of their studies.
The BA (Hons) Game Design and Development degree at LSBU was one of the UK’s first undergraduate courses to offer creative and critical skills in video game design, development and analysis, rooted in a cultural and media studies perspective. Students are taught by professionals working in the games industry, which enables them to gain skills right at the cutting edge of industry trends.
Siobhan Thomas, BA (Hons) Game Design and Development Course Director, commented: “I’m so pleased that the hard work of our staff, students and industry partners has been reflected with two nominations at the TIGA awards this year. The ethos of our course is all about providing highly applied teaching with plenty of input from the games industry. Students also benefit from the fact that our course also sits within a broader School of Arts and Creative Industries, right at the forefront of creative thinking and multimedia practice. This means our students leave us exceptionally well-prepared for a career in the games industry, and I have no doubt that our graduates will be stars of the future.”
Several games projects to which LSBU's teaching staff and graduates have contributed over the past year have also been shortlisted for TIGA game awards.
Andy Lemon, Lecturer in Games Design, was responsible for the sound design for Confused Pelican Games’ shortlisted Iron Fisticle game. Graduates Roberta Saliani (CEO, Just a Pixel), Charles Ali (Programmer, Bossa Studios) and Anton Korubov (3D Artist, Payload Studios) were also shortlisted as finalists respectively for their work on the following games: Light, Sneak, Hack, Steal, I am Bread and Terratech.
The award winners will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday 12 November.