Develop

Oh yeah, I saw this in the magazine and it filled me with rage then too ...

First of all, "Childhood friends" ??? Well, duh.

But mostly, this report should be "14 and 16 year old make mockery of Prince's Trust". Did they come up with a business plan? Do they have any skills or knowledge to bring it to fruition? Do they have the time to work outside of school? Do they know that no company worth their salt is going to go for just IP because of copyright reasons (and time wasters)?

Or have they just got an exercise book with notes like "He should have big muscles and a gun" and think it's amazingly new because they're too young to remember Duke Nukem?

They do have a business plan, yeah - because you need one to get a grant from the Prince's Trust, of course.

I understand how you can be incredibly cynical about it, but they're young, are developing a prototype in their spare time, and have been speaking to people in the industry for advice, etc.

Once upon a time stories like this would make mainstream papers (as happened to the Olivers, the Darlings, etc.) given their age, the 'story' etc.

And, BC, it's pretty ironic that I mention the Olivers, eh? ;)

(BTW, I said 'childhood friends' as they don't actually go to the same school, and aren't brothers, blah blah.)

BC - stop being such an idiot or should I assume you are just flaming ?

These guys should be applauded for getting off their backsides and trying to achieve something. Given the increased focus on younger gamers I'm sure they have something of value to offer.

Maybe they won't succeed but going through the process will make them much stronger.

Good luck guys

I'm going with anon next time :D

To be fair, the articles comes across like they are chancers selling an idea, coming up with some base 18+ shooter, meeting heroes and swapping business cards like pokemon. What little they go into about making the prototype ...what nerdy kid hasn't had a crack at doing the same?

If I thought for a minute that this was achievable (it's not the 80s any more and a bit ambitious even for today), or knew how much work they had already put in from the article I wouldn't be so mean.

I'm still fairly mean on this subject :P

Disclaimer: The last paragraph in the article says they don't mind horrible people like me

I don't understand why they're getting so much attention - we all know that thousands of young wannabes hold aspirations of designing a game. The only difference as far as I can tell, is that these two kids clearly have pushy mothers.

What Matthew said. Yeah, there are a lot of wannabees that want to get into games development as Jams says. But at worst, though, this will be a note on their CV. And probably better than what you might find on some prospective employees' resumes.

I suspect it's getting more press because of the Princes Trust association; obviously they (PT) would like to be seen as fostering 'links' with game development and get as much press out of this as *they* can themselves.

Good luck to the lads, they've already passed the first test... squeeze VC/funding for every penny you can get ;o)

Actually, the boys have been doing PR (or what amounts to it - they were just introducing themselves to everyone at the Edinburgh games festival) themselves, the Princes Trust isn't involved.

In fact, the Princes Trust wouldn't give the two the full amount they usually grant other young entrepreneurial peeps - so I don' think they 'get' games that much.

Good luck to them, the smart thing would be to spend that money on research, Buy a 360/PS3 and a ton of games :)

Unless they can code something its not going to go well, Nobody wants to buy an IP from experienced delveopers

Anyone who is remotely link with the game industry know this:
game ideas: 12 for a penny
actually doing the games: millions....

I know these guys personally- some corrections for the comments above:
1. 'Jams84' - "The only difference as far as I can tell, is that these two kids clearly have pushy mothers." COMPLETELY WRONG! They both have the most laid back mothers I know- If they want to do it, they can.
2. 'BC' - "Or have they just got an exercise book with notes like "He should have big muscles and a gun""
Why wouldn't they? They are also making the game at the same time. Bear in mind though that they have had the engine for less than a month so are still working out how to use it properly.
I hope this clarifies this for most people, if not, reply.

I read this article with interest. It's great to see two young lads being proactive. True that millions of kids talk about getting into the games business but few do anything about it and that's what sets these kids apart. Those in the industry know how hard it is to sell an original idea even when you are on the inside and with experience you learn you don't go head to head in the most competitive genre out there - i.e. 1st person shooters! But they are young and will learn. I personally wish them the very best of luck. Wouldn't it be cool if they did go on to great careers in the games business.

BTW - we had a lot of people tell us at that age that we were wasting our time making games! ;-)

Philip Oliver - CEO Blitz Games Studios.

I think Philip Oliver's comment about millions of kids talking about getting into the industry but few of them doing anything about it is nonsense. There are probably hundreds of kids across the country doing everything they can to enhance their prospects of entering the industry (by actually developing coding/graphics skills) - it's just that none of them have had the brass neck to ask for (an inexplicably get) a Prince's Trust grant like these chancers, and what for? Most publishers would put an unsolicited game design document in the recycle bin as soon as they read the words 'First Person Shooter'. I think this is the sort of news you'd expect to read in a small local newspaper, not on an industry website.

And I hardly think you can compare this to what was accomplished by the Oliver Twins over 20 years ago. As talented as they were, they wouldn't have been nearly as successful if they were starting out in 2008.

For christ sakes it's only a £500 grant.
It will be interesting to see if the chaps amount to anything in the future or just dissapear with large chips on their shoulders like the many computer game grads working in data entry jobs or Asda. Anyway good luck to them.