Students to develop video games for Nintendo Switch

Madi says gaming helped her connect with people when she found it hard to find friends at school

Students at a sixth form college have described the opportunity to develop video games for a major games console as "absolute madness".

The teenagers at Cambridge Regional College will be some of the youngest people in the UK to be allowed to do so for the Nintendo Switch.

The partnership will see students learn how to programme and design a game, as well as create audio and artwork for it.

The projects will not necessarily be available to buy but course leaders said it was a possibility.

The Switch has proved popular since its launch in 2017

Students the college have previously developed video games for the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox as part of their Level 3 diplomas.

Some have even been nominated for a national Bafta Young Game Designer award as a result.

More than 140 million people around the world own a Switch - a console that became popular partly down to its portability.

"Getting the chance to make games for Nintendo is just absolute madness," said Konrad Szubel, 20, from St Ives.

The Switch development resources are used by lots of universities but the college said it was unusual for the software to be made available to younger students.

There is no guarantee that games designed by the students will be sold but the college said it was a possibility

Madi, 17, from Letchworth, decided to study video game development at college after playing them online helped her find friends.

"I found it hard to fit in with people my age at my [previous] school," she said.

"But online there is such a good community and I found people who were like me.

"I am thinking about doing a mental health game because so many people struggle, and so many people struggle alone."

Course leader Michael Farrow-Killick said parents should do their research if they were worried about children playing video games too much

Latest figures indicate the UK video games industry is worth £7.82bn.

The trade body that represents the sector, UKIE, said it showed "consumers' unrelenting appetite for games and games culture".

The college's course leader Michael Farrow-Killick said parents should not worry about their child playing video games if they aspired to turn it into a career.

"The games industry is worth more than Hollywood and music," he said.

"If this is [your child's] passion, it is really important that students have that exposure to various different platforms, games, stories and genres."