Games students' success at Game Republic Student Showcase

Computing students from the University of Hull were successful in five categories at the prestigious Game Republic Student Showcase.

The contest invites graduating students from universities across the Yorkshire region and beyond to submit work to be judged by game industry professionals and companies. Students from the University of Hull entered four teams and won six awards.

Game Design student Kuba Krysztofiak said that the highlight of the Game Republic showcase was the large audience that students could present their games to: “You could see proficient 'gamers' and non-tech-savvy people alike try to play your game and find where your game confuses players. You could get equally valid critique from industry professionals and peers who are all passionate about games.”

For Kuba, who was in the winning team, Hidden Arts, in the Game Narrative Design category for their game REDACTION, the feedback will help the team to keep developing and improving their game. They said: “But, aside from all the comments, praise, critique, and notes that you will have to improve your game in the future, I don't think I'll forget seeing people react; seeing people smile in excitement, laugh in amusement, gasp in shock. Seeing REDACTION be enjoyed after so many hours of hard work was the greatest reward I could've asked for.”

Stuart Lilford, lecturer in game design, said “As lecturers, our goal is to ensure our courses effectively prepare students for careers in the industry. Events like Game Republic validate our efforts, as our final-year students excel in competitions judged by industry professionals.

“Seeing their success is incredibly rewarding, and we wish them the best in their future endeavours. Our alumni have gone on to work on major titles like Hogwarts Legacy and Horizon: Call of the Mountain, and we look forward to seeing our current students achieve similar milestones in their careers.”

In addition to the brilliant success of the Games Design students, Computer Science also came second in the Game Technology category.

Computer Science student Louie Waterfall, who was runner up for his 3D Procedural Cave Generation, said: "I really enjoyed talking with industry professionals, and am sure it will help me to get into the games industry.

“Looking for a career in games development is tough, but my course really helped me get prepared for it. The course teaches many applicable skills that are sought after by employers, the extra curricular activities are also great to put on your CV and for employers to see.”

Simon Grey, lecturer in computer science, said: “The University of Hull has an impressive track record with the Game Republic Student Showcase, having won more awards in the technical category than any other member institution since we joined the network in 2018.

“At the University of Hull, we’ve been providing the games industry with high quality graduate programmers for 30 years. In that time our graduates have worked on over 700 published games, which collectively have shipped well over a billion copies.

“We use these industry links to ensure that our content remains relevant in a fast-moving industry, and host several industry talks as part of seminars series which is designed to ensure that students know what skills they need to develop to be successful in the games industry.

“I am passionate about the technical aspects of games development, and building a strong community of students who can work well together – having strong collaboration and communication skills on top of a foundation of technical problem solving is a recipe that I believe ensures the next generation of games programmers are set up for long and successful careers in the games industry.”

The University of Hull offers a range of computing-related degrees, from Computer Science to Software Engineering, Games programming, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and AI, and Game Design.

This year’s showcase featured work from 14 universities and colleges, including 50 projects and 150 students – the biggest showcase yet, and the largest games industry student showcase in the UK.

Game Republic games companies including Rebellion North, Red Kite Games, Revolution Software, Sumo Digital, Distinctive Games and PitStop Productions judged the student projects and presented first, second and third prizes in awards such as Game Design, Best Team and Game Technology.

The University of Hull students achieved these wins in the following categories:

• 1^st – Game Narrative Design (Revolution Software Award) Hidden Arts – REDACTION – Kuba Krysztofiak, Khadijah “Jas” Samsudeen, Charlie Cottrell, Damien Fee.
• 2nd – Game Narrative Design (Revolution Software Award) Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor – Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa.
• 2^nd – Best Team Hidden Arts – REDACTION – Kuba Krysztofiak, Khadijah “Jas” Samsudeen, Charlie Cottrell, Damien Fee.
• 2^nd – Game Technology (Red Kite Games Award) 3D Procedural Cave Generation – Louie Waterfall.
• 3^rd – Game Audio (PitStop Productions Award) – Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor – Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa.
• 3^rd – Game Level Design (Distinctive Games Award) – Spirit Studios – Moksha Manor – Travis Cook, Nathan Cooper, Abiel La Malfa.

All the judges commented on the quality of the work presented and how difficult their job was in judging the awards – with 50 to judge, the games companies had their work cut out – playing games and coming to an agreement on the best entries.

Jamie Sefton from games industry network Game Republic, said: “This was our biggest Student Showcase yet and I’m so proud of the students, who showed off such fantastic projects to our games companies judging the awards. With this level of skill and passion, the future of the games industry in Yorkshire, the North of England and the UK is going to be very bright.”

Participating universities and colleges included the University of Hull, University of Leeds, University of York.

All the University of Hull students who took part in the Game Republic Student Showcase have now graduated. Read more about their time as students here.

Kuba Krysztofiak (BA Game Design): What I've enjoyed about my course

Louie Waterfall (BSc Computer Science): What I've enjoyed about my course