Games Hub developers celebrate award win

Developers at our Games Hub are celebrating after winning the UK Game of the Show Award at a major international industry event.

The Games Hub is a free 40-week development programme for aspiring game and app developers at Parkside Office Village at our Colchester Campus.

Mark Backler, founder of Sketchbook Games, joined the Hub in 2015 to work on his company’s debut title Lost Words. He recently travelled to Cologne to exhibit at Gamescom, the world’s second largest gaming fair.

Mark said: “The team and I are delighted to have received the award for UK Game of the Show. There were loads of great games there so we feel very lucky to have been chosen. We're currently looking for a publisher so to be awarded this in front of so many different publishers was really great!

“The Games Hub is an awesome space to work in and the talks from various industry experts and mentorship from Steve Huckle has been brilliant. It’s made a huge difference to the development of Lost Words.”

Lost Words is a platform game telling the story of aspiring young writer, Izzy. It’s set between the pages of Izzy’s diary and her imaginary fantasy land of Estoria, and is written by Rhianna Pratchett, who has previously worked on games including Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia.

The UK Game of the Show Award is presented to the best UK developed, but as yet unreleased game on show at Gamescom. Judges from the association for UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) browse the games on display, secretly judging those that are eligible.

Steve Huckle, Games Hub Founder, said: “Another fantastic and incredibly deserved award for Mark and Lost Words. It shows how exciting the future is for not only The Games Hub but for all the people and teams taking part!”

Applications for the next Games Hub programme are open until the end of September.