Image source, University of Sheffield
- author, Victoria Share
- role, BBC News
A group of students have developed two mobile phone games to raise funds for charity, despite having no industry experience.
Called “Project Pixel”, the 25-person team based at the University of Sheffield have been gaining programming and sound production skills along the way.
The first game, “Color Dash,” is available on Apple's App Store and Google Play, while the second, “Flight Frenzy,” will be released at a later date, with all proceeds going to charity.
Aamir Ali and Najaz Nabhan, the friends who came up with the idea, said the project was proof that “if you have the will and passion to learn, there are opportunities”.
To get Project Pixel off the ground, the students sought advice from Sumo Digital, the Sheffield-based video game developer behind games such as Forza Horizon 4, Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Crackdown 3.
Both games so far are endless runner-style games in which players must avoid obstacles and collect objects.
Two additional games are currently in development: “Turtle Odyssey” and “Chef's Last Stand.”
Jake Habgood of Sumo said: “The games industry requires a diverse range of skills and ideas to successfully engage new audiences and create innovative new products.”
“This is a fantastic initiative and I wish the students every success.”
Image source, University of Sheffield
“We know that gaming is a part of many people's lives, from casual games on their mobile phones to more competitive games, so we wanted to use this to raise funds for charity,” said Nabhan, an international student from Sri Lanka.
“There are lots of students making video games, it's a common field, but I've never seen a team of this size at any university making a game for charity.”
The charity to which the money will be donated will be decided later this year.
