West Suffolk College students celebrate BAFTA nominations

Isabelle Johnson, 18 and from Bury St Edmunds, and George White, 18 and from Thetford, are both students on a level three games design course at the college and were tasked with creating a new game concept as part of their studies. 

Course tutors encouraged the pair to put their work forward in this year's student Young Games Designer BAFTA awards, and they have both been nominated in the Game Making Award - 15-18 category. 

Isabelle Johnson, who has been nominated for a BAFTA (Image: West Suffolk College)

Isabelle, who entered her game called Gul-p, said: "I really got into playing games during lockdown and then took a games design course after initially studying childcare.

She said of the game: "It’s a comedic game. You have a food stall and you are being attacked by seagulls and you squirt sauce at them.

"It would be insane to win a BAFTA. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. It would put my name out there."

George White, another West Suffolk College student who has been nominated (Image: West Suffolk College)

Isabelle said she will watch the show on Thursday via livestream and will also get a chance to go to a networking event in London later in the year, no matter the outcome. 

George was nominated for his game Intergalactic Contests of the Speaker, and said: "It was a confidence boost when I heard about the nomination.

"The concept is a sports game that takes place on a randomised planet.

"I’ll be watching the awards. If I was to win it would be a massive thing and it would help with my career." 

Chris Thompson, the pair's lecturer, said: “We are so proud of Isabelle and George. Their creativity for games design is outstanding. Winning a BAFTA could be life changing for them.”