Do you Dare to be Digital?

The competition is hosted by the University of Abertay, Dundee, where teams of five students come together for nine weeks to develop a prototype video game, receiving mentoring from games industry specialists.

At the end of the nine weeks the game prototypes are showcased at ‘Dare ProtoPlay’, an event where the general public and industry experts get to play and vote for their favourite games. The three highest scoring teams are then awarded a cash prize at the Dare awards, and invited to attend the prestigious BAFTA Video Games Awards to compete for the coveted ‘One to Watch Award’.

In the beginning

Dare to be Digital was established in 2000 by partners - Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Dundee City Council and the University of Abertay, Dundee - where the competition was piloted to the students of Abertay.

Dare to be Digital has grown from a local competition with local sponsorship to an international event with multinational sponsorship. Over the years a large number of international students have taken part in the competition, with teams from Malaysia, Japan, Canada, India, China, Norway, USA, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark.

In 2005 and 2006, 15 individual students from across South East Asia won scholarships to come to Scotland and join a UK or Irish team to work with them on their game concept.

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said:

"Scottish creativity and our great strengths in the computer games industry are internationally-renowned. Through our Creative Industries Strategy, we intend to build on that reputation and on the talent that already exists in Scotland in order to secure economic growth.

"The world-class educational provision available at the University of Abertay and the international scope of Dare to be Digital are making an important contribution to Scotland's global reputation and the success of our creative industries sector."

Digital media and creative industries in Scotland

The creative industries sector in Scotland, including digital media, supports over 60,000 jobs and contributes £5.2 billion to the Scottish economy.

Scotland is ranked third in Europe’s top 50 games developer locations, which is quite a feat for such a small country.

The success of Scotland’s gaming industry is down to the strong community of developers. Over 50 games studios are based in Scotland, mainly around Dundee. There's a strong and ever-growing cluster of creative talent in and around the area as well as emerging from Scotland’s universities annually.

Key facts

• University of Abertay, Dundee, was the first university in the world to offer Computer Games Development as a degree.
  
• Scotland has a mass of talented games developers with over 50 companies.
  
• One of the world’s most successful games ‘Grand Theft Auto’, is produced by Rockstar North in Edinburgh.
  
• Scotland is ranked third in Europe’s top 50 games development locations.
  
• Scotland has a selection of talent and expertise from several university departments dedicated to computer games.
  
• The creative industries make an important contribution to the Scottish economy employing 60,000 people across more than 8,000 businesses.
  
• Companies in these sectors contribute £2.4bn GVA with a turnover of £5.2bn.
  
• The creative industries are a significant contributor to Scottish international business, exporting £1.4bn in 2008 - a rise of 24% compared to 2007.