Tech-savvy teenagers have put their computer skills to good use – to create a game which combats bullying.
The coding club pupils from St Aidan’s CE Technology College, Preesall, have created a game to enter into the BAFTA Young Games Designer competition, to encourage pupils to stand up for themselves. The game sees the player get involved in a “food fight”, using all their skills to outwit the “bully” and protect their fellow players.
There are levels for each year group and the game gets harder the higher up the school you move.
Elizabeth Tomlinson, who is part of the graphic design team at the school, said: “The message of the game is to stand up for yourself and not let bullies get to you.”
She is working with schoolmates Kienan Southern, Jordan Williams, Dominic Price and Jon Brocklehurst on designing the characters and the general look and feel of the game.
Teen trio Matthew Warren, Josh Sackfield and Michael Catlin are working on coding the game using Scratch, a program developed for use by young people to help them to think creatively.
ICT teacher Paul Tyson said: “The students are working hard designing a prototype for the competition.
“They have worked on a number of Scratch projects and this one is proving to be the most difficult.
“It is a pleasure to work with such gifted students and to see how they work as a team is very impressive.”
The team of Year 8 and Year 9 pupils is now submitting its game to the BAFTA competition, which is open to 11 to 16-year-olds, with the winning prototype to be turned into a fully working game.
l For more information on the competition, go to http://ygd.bafta.org.