Stephen beards the dragons to win competition

Computing and Media students from Lisburn, Downpatrick and Bangor campuses of SERC took part in the inter-campus competition which encourages entrepreneurial thinking.

Students studying Extended Diplomas in Media and IT are required to complete a unit on Computer Game Design and as part of their assessment they have to prepare a proposal for a new computer game. Last year SERC launched a Dragons Den competition allowing students to develop their entrepreneurial skills by getting them to pitch their computer game proposal to a panel of ‘Dragons’ made up of industry professionals including representatives from Microsoft.

During the competition Stephen was required to make a 10 minute ‘pitch’ on his game concept, the proposed target market and marketability of the game, and in true Dragons Den style he had to answer a series of gruelling questions from the panel.

Stephen came up with the idea of Chunky Monkey, a sports game with a difference. Available for the X-Box Kinect the gamer will work their way through different levels and while doing so they will be burning calories.

The event was organised by Media Studies lecturer Campbell Millar who said; “This was an excellent opportunity for students to present to business people. They had to prepare a proposal considering the target market for the game and how the game would be marketed, they also had to be prepared for some tough questioning by the ‘Dragons’, hopefully the experience of the competition will benefit students when they enter into the business world.”

On winning the competition Stephen shared with the judging panel that he has posted the game concept on YouTube and one person has liked the idea so much that they have offered to produce Chunky Monkey merchandise should the game go to market.