Teens' success at BAFTA game awards 'amazing'

Luke Rayfield, Isabelle Taylor and Emily Sun were selected from a pool of 52 finalists

A teenage winner at the 15th BAFTA Young Game Designers awards said it was "amazing to be able to see other people playing your game".

Isabelle Taylor and Emily Sun, both 17 and both from Oxford, and Luke Rayfield, 18, from Oxfordshire, were selected from a pool of 52 finalists, winning three out of the event's five awards.

The judging panel was made up of industry experts representing major British-based games companies.

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, Isabelle and Emily said they had now started working on their own studio.

Mr Rayfield also said after their wins, Oxfordshire could turn into a new gaming hub in the future.

The winners, aged between 10 and 18, were announced in a digital ceremony hosted by actor, comedian and presenter Inel Tomlinson.

Dan Ayoub, member of the judging panel, said he had been "genuinely humbled by the level of talent, creativity, and ambition these young creators brought".

Isabelle Taylor and Emily Sun' said their game, Mikka Bouzu, had been made for players who struggle "with the difficult transition from child to adult"

The competition is part of a year-round programme of public events and classroom workshops encouraging young people to understand how to create games.

Isabelle and Emily won the The Game Concept Award for Mikka Bouzu, whose game designer protagonist has to journey through three of her unfinished games to rediscover her lost creativity.

They described it as being "made for players who struggle with the difficult transition from child to adult, and the burnout that it often brings".

Isabelle said it was "just amazing to be able to see other people playing your game".

"Normally, when you're testing your game, you get feedback through forms, through written things, but there's no feedback quite as real as seeing somebody's actual reactions as they play," she said.

Emily added they had already tried making a logo and plans for their planned studio, so "hopefully it will be able to go somewhere".

In Luke Rayfield's game Furniture Fu players can beat demons while mastering tasteful home design

Mr Rayfield's won The Game Making Award with Furniture Fu, which unites the skills of martial arts and interior decorating.

He said it was "easy to learn and hard to master", with players beating demons while also tackling tasteful home design.

"There's such a wealth of good ideas out there and the weirder ones are often the best, I find," he added.

The winning games will be showcased at the Science Museum in London, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.