Games developer runs remote work experience for students to raise awareness of ocean issues

The NextGen / Barnet and Southgate students were tasked with responding to a brief from Creative Assembly to develop a game to raise awareness of a vital environmental issue outlined by environmental charity Ocean Generation, the importance of ocean sustainability and combating ocean threats.

This week-long work experience challenge is part of a collaborative project called Ocean Hack, which demonstrates how gaming can be used as a tool for education and to motivate players to engage in topics they may not be so familiar with. 

15 students from Barnet and Southgate College took on the Ocean Hack challenge across three teams. Each team worked collaboratively as a micro-games studio to follow the whole production process to create a game in just five days.

To further support the students Creative Assembly Ambassador Craig Kirby joined online calls with all groups halfway through the week. Craig brought real industry engagement directly to students to offer feedback, advice, and inspiration as they refined their projects.

The quality of finished work was incredibly accomplished, with team ‘Crystallium’ being invited to present their work to an industry panel with Creative Assembly and Ocean Generation on the final day.

Craig Kirby, Senior Designer at Creative Assembly, said of the challenge:

“Meeting the students was great. They were clearly passionate about what they were doing and definitely seemed invested in the projects they were working on. There wasn’t that much difference between what they’re doing and what I’d expect from an associate developer internally, especially after only a day on the project! I’ve done similar presentations and it can be very nerve wracking, especially as they’re presenting to an industry expert, but they all kept their cool and managed to present well.

“Given they’d only had two days on the project I wasn’t expecting much more work than a few scribbles in notepad. I was pleasantly surprised to see all groups made slides for presentations with research, concept art, design intent, and some character art/3D modelling work. There was a lot of budding talent that could be honed with experience and guidance!”

Creative Assembly is one of the most well-established games developers in Europe. Beyond their extensive collection of award-winning games, they harness the power of gaming to leave a legacy through education and charity.

Ocean Generation is one of the charities they support, as chosen by their employees. Ocean Generation is a UK based charity that is leading an inclusive global movement that exists to restore a healthy relationship between humanity and the Ocean.

Click here to find out more about games, animation, media and VFX at Barnet and Southgate College.