A WIRRAL schoolboy has made it to the final of the 2023 BAFTA Young Game Designers Competition.

Alexei Trafford-Horan from Hoylake is one of four students from the North West who is competing for experiences with top game makers and industry professionals.

The 10-year-old has been shortlisted in the prestigious Game Concept Award category for his game ‘The Black Knight’s Jelly World’, a unique fantasy game for Nintendo Switch, featuring a range of imaginative and visually exciting worlds.

Alexei Trafford-Horan said: “It's very exciting to be a YGD finalist, my brother was a finalist last year, and my idea is a lot wackier.

“I'm really surprised as it's my first entry to the competition, I was three days too young to enter last year. Being a finalist makes me feel relevant.”

Across the UK, young people have been hard at work conceptualising and creating brand new video games for this year’s competition. From hundreds of entries, from both teams and individuals, a virtual jury of industry professionals has whittled the list down to just 40 games, which were selected for the creativity of their vision, and the technicality of their execution.

With shortlisted entries encompassing intergalactic adventures, obstacle courses, word puzzles and much more, this year’s finalists shine a light on the originality and artistry that goes into game design, and provide an exciting insight into the next generation of the UK Games industry.

BAFTA YGD is a year-round initiative of public events, workshops and a competition for 10-18 year-olds, culminating in the annual YGD award ceremony to celebrate finalists and winners, which will be streamed digitally on BAFTA Kids & Teens YouTube. This year’s ceremony is taking place on Thursday, June 22 and will be hosted by multi-award nominated actor and comedian Inel Tomlinson.

Actor, Comedian and BAFTA YGD host Inel Tomlinson said: “I’m thrilled to be hosting the official BAFTA YGD ceremony again this year. There are so many fantastically imaginative concepts and designs among this year’s finalists, and I know the jury will have their work cut out selecting just four winners from this extremely impressive group.

“I can’t wait to be a part of the celebrations of their hard work, creativity, and drive, and I am so excited to see all the great things these talented youngsters go on to achieve. This is just the start of their journey.”

Winners will be revealed at a digital ceremony on Thursday 22 June at 5pm.