Judges & Awards

Chris Filip is the co-founder of Game Anglia, a not-for-profit that helps grow the games industry in the East of England. 

Over the years, Chris has worked as a games designer and producer, and for the past few years has been helping games companies grow by working with companies providing business support and funding for the screen industries. 

He is passionate about the role that the regions outside of London can play in the growth of the UK's games industry and the impact that independent companies can make in a burgeoning ecosystem.

A musician for decades, Paul studied Music composition and technology at Uni, where he learned a lot about experimental music and sound manipulation. 

After writing Music for several video games, such as BAFTA nominated 'Thomas Was Alone', 'Volume', and more recently 'Lost Words' and Rare’s remake of the cult classic 'Battletoads', this path lead him into audio design when he started working with Dlala in 2021 on Disney's 'Illusion Island'.

Managing a successful freelance career, Lucy's art has helped bring a number of games to life, from small indie games to more recently BAFTA nominated Disney's Illusion Island, where she got to reimagine her fashion idol, Minnie Mouse. While she has found a new adventure in art direction, character design is her first and forever love and is very proud of her 2020 Game Dev Heroes award in the Art & Animation category.

With over a decade experience in the games industry, Lucy is an advocate for its improvement and is often found talking about diversity in the industry itself as well as the characters in the games we create.

With 5 years of lecturing experience, Heather has pursued a career in Academia to support her research in game design and Indie Projects. She completed her MSc in Games Development in 2021.

As Co-Director for Game Anglia C.I.C. Heather has collaborated with multiple companies to facilitate industry events and to present her experiences in a non-traditional role in the industry.

Supporting young people began with Game Anglia but has ended with an emphasis on student centred curriculums to educate students to prepare them for a fast-paced and competitive industry, and to support them to achieve their aspirations.

In her work as a game designer/ developer Heather has worked on a plethora of Game Jams and smaller projects surrounding experimental games. Currently focusing her research and production on developing a game from the second person perspective.

Demitrius Gilhooley is a Game Development and Education Professional with over a decade of experience working in games education and development. Residing in East Anglia, he has transitioned from a games design and development lecturer to being a dedicated games developer, both professionally and in his free time. 

With a firm belief in elevating the standard of games-related education, Demitrius advocates for giving students at all levels the chance to create games. He is exceptionally passionate about events such as this one, believing that this hands-on experience is one of the best ways to prepare aspiring games professionals for success in the industry. 

Outside of his professional pursuits, Demitrius dedicates his time to working with others to better Games Industry visibility in East Anglia, composing music, and working on his own game projects.

Emily Hobbs:

A games programmer at SKC Games, Emily has a Masters degree in games development and has previously lectured at ARU for the games development course. Emily is an avid gamer for multiple genres of games with particular interest in strategy, roleplaying, and adventure games.

With over 10 years of experience developing games, Emily has also participated in numerous Game Jams, including Brains Eden.

Jason Wilson:

Jason has a wealth of video-game design experience, having worked extensively in creative lead positions for Sony Playstation. Jason is perhaps best known for co-creating the BAFTA winning video-game series ‘MediEvil’.

Jason now works at SKC Games Studio as Art Director.

Jens Burrows

Jens' love for open world games such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and No Man's Sky, inspired him to join the Gaming Industry as a Lead QA Tester.

Jens now works at SKC Games Studio as Lead Game Designer on an upcoming science fiction open world RPG.