I’m in awe of people who manage to turn their free time to productive ends. While I’m Netflix binging or chain Doting, I know others are writing novels or screenplays, filming videos or channelling their artistic talents in any number of ways. That’s why I’m especially in awe of Emily Mitchell and Daniel Smith, who both won the Young Game Designers competition when they were 18. Dan picked up the award in 2016 with Spectrum, a Portal-esque first-person puzzler about escaping from a creepy hotel. Emily won last year with Fractured Minds, a series of vignettes exploring mental health issues.
Neither game betrays the age of its creator, and both could be on their way to becoming big names. I got a chance to speak to them at Rezzed, where I asked about how they got into making games so early – and just how helpful BAFTA’s involvement has been.