Congratulations to Third Year students Sam and Seb who have been selected as one of 10 finalists in the 10–14-year-old category of the BAFTA Young Game Designer (YGD) of the Year Awards 2025 for the second year in a row.
Their game For the Gold follows the same art style of their previous shortlisted project RoboRogue, but has very different mechanics. Developed during Coding Club at school and at home, they have taken a novel approach to their gameplay, where the player takes charge of an army and their goal is to vanquish opposing armies. What makes the game stand out is how you can engulf enemies and convert them to your side.
Army management is also a key feature of this game, where upgrading equipment and ensuring morale is high ensures success. As well as this, they have coded procedural generation of the map, which means no two play throughs will be the same. There are different types of soldiers, melee and archers, on both sides and so good strategy is key to success.
Sam says, “Submitting our game to BAFTA was a real challenge because of the time crunch. Our previous game, RoboRogue, took two years to develop, but we didn’t have that luxury this time. The idea for our new game – where you command a growing army in a dungeon – came while we were still working on RoboRogue, inspired by the indie game Right Click to Necromance. I built a prototype in Scratch, the only engine I knew, which made complex development tricky.
“I paused the project to finish RoboRogue, then didn’t touch it for months. Suddenly it was January, and I had two months until the BAFTA deadline. That realisation jolted me back into action. I faced tough decisions: abandon the project or go all in. I chose the latter, mapped out a plan, and got to work.
“Just a week in, I fell seriously ill, which lasted through the spring term. Despite that, I stuck to the schedule – with Seb helping on boss design and music – and we finished the game, pushing ourselves to the limit.
“When the email came from BAFTA confirming we’d made the finals with For the Gold, it was a massive relief. Many people thought this game surpassed RoboRogue, and it was great to see BAFTA agreed. The final competition looks strong, and I’m looking forward to seeing who wins on June 16th.”
Mr Page, Head of Computing, says, “Sam and Sebastian has done a brilliant job, and even made sure to market their entry to the BAFTA YGD judges, creating a video of the game, highlighting its features to ensure the qualities of their project are appreciated. We are really proud of the independence and hard work the students have invested both in coding club and at home, and the resilience to keep pushing themselves for the second year running. Our fingers are crossed for them to win the BAFTA award.”
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You can view all the finalists, and download Seb and Sam’s game to player here.
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