Dare To Be Digital (applications open) in Off Topic

ID:208504
 
Jan 27 2012, 1:16 pm
Applications are now open for Dare to Be Digital. They close on April 10th 2012 at 17.00pm BST (GMT+1). The event itself will take place between the 11th of June and 12th August at the University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland.

Dare to be Digital is a video games development competition for extremely talented students at Universities and Colleges of Art. Teams of 5 students, usually a mix of artists, programmers and audio, assemble at Abertay University for 9 weeks during June to August to develop a prototype video game, receiving mentoring from industry. The students also receive a weekly stipend of £150 per student, free accommodation at the University's halls of residence and a team budget of £200.

At the end of the competition, the prototypes are displayed at talent showcasing event Dare ProtoPlay. The general public and industry experts get to play and vote for the games. At the Dare awards ceremony, three prizes of £2500 will be awarded to the three highest scoring teams based on the criteria of innovation and creativity, market potential and use of technology (none of the three will be specifically attributed to any particular criterion). Seven months later the winning teams attend the BAFTA Video Games Awards to compete for the coveted "Ones to Watch Award".
#1 Jan 27 2012, 1:31 pm
Unfortunately there is no US application? :(
#2 Jan 27 2012, 6:15 pm
Just to be clear, was this thread moved from Contests & Events due to the particular event or are events which lack a BYOND-only focus not welcome there in general? Should I continue to post external events as I did in my columns or not? =)
#3 Jan 27 2012, 6:47 pm
The Contests and Events forum is for BYOND-specific contests. Feel free to post external contests and whatnot here in the Community forum.
#4 Jan 27 2012, 7:42 pm
In response to Nadrew (#3)
So the Contests & Events forum is:
  • Rare contests from random people who generally offer no more than a membership.
  • Even rarer contests offering acknowledgement from locally-reputable people who then decide not to bother.
  • Possible playtesting sessions which could make the bulk of the forum useful if they're regularly allowed. (?)
  • A proven consistent supply of industry-credible, educational, network-building, BYOND-spreading events with more prizes and promotion to entice participants than has ever been available here.

Honestly, this feels like a policy that needs to be revisited. =)
#5 Jan 27 2012, 11:33 pm
The whole "Developer Resources" section is devoted to BYOND-related developer resources. I double-checked with Tom before I moved it because I wasn't sure either, but it does make sense.
#6 Jan 28 2012, 12:59 am
In response to Nadrew (#5)
External sound and graphical resources can be sticky posts, but opportunities to learn, build networks, and earn money with BYOND games are irrelevant? They're all as BYOND-related as the developer makes use of them.

I can see where a console development event should be ignored, but I'm having trouble disregarding the benefits of PC events which allow developers to choose their own software. The fact that these events push BYOND to outside audiences makes it even more confusing. Downloading graphics and audio isn't going to do that.

Frankly, it doesn't make any sense and I'm disappointed that a year of the "beyond" in BYOND and Within didn't help point out the errors in that line of thinking. =(
#7 Jan 28 2012, 4:33 am
As D4RK3 pointed out, there is no US application. The majority of us are in the United States, so the five people living in UK are the only people going to benefit. I doubt people are flying to Scotland just to participate in this event. I'm sure more people are finding Kumorii's post useful as opposed to this which is why it was stickied.
#8 Jan 28 2012, 2:01 pm
In response to EmpirezTeam (#7)
I'm not arguing about one measly event and I don't mind Nadrew acting on policy at all. =)

I'm stating that the policy of ignoring external events is flat out wrong in general. I'd have expressed this view in the moderator forum, but it felt tacky as I have a thread involved and I rarely touch the day-to-day moderation.