bada student developer challenge 2011, BAFTA, London, UK
After months of development, touring and hard work, on the 23rd of January 2012, we reached the end of 2011's bada Student Developer Challenge. The challenge, open to students from nine of the UK's leading universities began in September 2011, with over £15,000 in prize money allocated for the winners.
Members of the UK bada team, visited each University in turn, bringing the student entrants online and introducing them to the challenge. Our team provided technical support throughout, the event, even attending a productive 24-hour codathon!
Twelve teams made it through the codathon and checkpoint stages, to the grand final at Bafta HQ in London. Some serious prizes were up for grabs for the winning teams, including test devices and of course promotion for the finalists that submit an app to Samsung Apps.
Keith O'Brien, Head of Content at Samsung Mobile introduced the event and praised the participants for their hard work, while dropping a major hint about next year's event. It was then over to the Student teams to pitch their ideas and concepts to the judges. The teams ranged in size from individuals to groups of five. Not only did the students conceptualise their idea, but they also had to write the code and create all the assets to make the app - while maintaining challenging degree courses at some of the U.K's top Universities.
Although some of the applications were built around a simple concept, most took full advantage of bada's ecosystem features - all of them revealing themselves to be novel, charismatic and refreshing.
When the dust had settled on the pitches, the judges adjourned for their final decision.....
Congratulations are in order for -
£5,000 1st Prize Winners (+ £1,500 Grand Final University Prize)
Team - Quartic Llama (University of Abertay, Dundee)
App - "Moeba"
An addictive organic scrolling shooter like no other, "Moeba" will bring a console gaming style experience to your smart phone.
£2,500 2nd Prize Winners
Team - The Time Is Now (University of York)
App - "Don't be lazy"
"Don't be lazy" is an original solution to the ensure you wake up when you need to! A must have for people who are tempted to hit the "snooze" button.
£1,000 3rd Prize Winners
Team - Razvan (King's College London)
App - "Doodle Fight"
With limitless customisation, "Doodle Fight" let's you create your own character and do battle with other customised creatures, including your friends.
Everyone that participated in the event showed a spark of creativity, and just how much can be achieved with some hard work, ingenuity and dedication. We look forward to seeing the finished apps on Samsung Apps soon.
