Students launch fundraising video game project
Project Pixel is made up of 25 students, none of whom have any previous experience in video game production
- Published
A group of students have developed two mobile phone games to raise money for charity, despite having no prior experience in the industry.
Dubbed Project Pixel, the 25-strong team based at The University of Sheffield have picked up skills in programming and sound production along the way.
Their first game, Color Dash, is available via Apple's App Store and Google Play, while a second, Flight Frenzy, will be released later, with all profits going to charity.
Friends Aamir Ali and Najaaz Nabhan, who came up with the idea, said the project was proof that "you have a chance if you have the passion and willingness to learn".
To help get Project Pixel off the ground, the students sought advice from Sheffield-based video game developer Sumo Digital, who have worked on games including Forza Horizon 4, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Crackdown 3.
Both their games to date are endless runner-style games, in which the player has to avoid obstacles and collect objects.
Two more games called Turtle Odyssey and Chef's Last Stand are currently in development.
Jake Habgood, from Sumo, said: "The games industry will need diverse skill sets and ideas to successfully engage new audiences and create innovative new products.
"This is a great initiative, and we wish the students every success.”
Flight Frenzy is an endless runner game developed by students at the University of Sheffield
Mr Nabhan, an international student from Sri Lanka, said: "We know that gaming is a part of so many people’s lives, whether that be people who play casually on their phone or people who play more competitively, so we wanted to try to tap into this to raise funds for charity.
“There are lots of students who make video games, it’s a common field, but we haven’t seen a team of this size at any university who are making games for charity.”
Which charities the money will go to will be decided later this year.
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