The internationally-acclaimed Dundee computer games competition Dare to be Digital has attracted a record number of entries.
Dare to be Digital 2012, which is hosted by Abertay University, has received 108 entries from 70 universities across 13 countries.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop revealed Scottish Government support of £85,700 will enable teams from as far away as China, India and Finland to take part.
The annual contest for talented computer science and art students takes place over nine weeks each summer and involves teams building prototype games for assessment by industry judges and a public vote at the Dare ProtoPlay games festival in Dundee in August.
Ms Hyslop said: ”Scotland is known the world over as a creative and innovative nation, with our computer games industry undoubtedly one of our global success stories, supporting around 1,500 jobs and contributing £30 million to our economy.
”Dare to be Digital is a fantastic showcase of the talent, infrastructure and cutting-edge skills that Scotland, and Dundee in particular, has to offer in this fast-growing and competitive market.”
Her support was welcomed by Professor Louis Natanson, who leads computer games education at Abertay.
”We are delighted that the Scottish Government continues to support Dare to be Digital, helping these overseas teams from India, China and Nordic countries come to Abertay University and build a brand new game in just nine weeks,” he said.
”The talent that Dare attracts is really quite phenomenal and our industry contacts like Rockstar North and Sony regularly hire competitors straight from the contest.
”It is a genuinely life-changing experience for the students who beat the very tough competition to get in and the students get so much from putting their games on show to the public at Scotland’s biggest computer games festival, Dare ProtoPlay, in Dundee in August. It’s an incredible experience for them, seeing their games being played by thousands of people of all ages.”
Former Bafta winner Marcus Heder moved to Dundee to develop his career after his Swedish team’s success in the 2010 contest.
He said he found Dare to be Digital a ”fantastic experience”.
Dare to be Digital runs from June 11, with Dare ProtoPlay open to the public from Friday August 10 to Sunday August 12 in the Caird Hall.
At Dare ProtoPlay three winning teams will be announced and immediately become the sole nominees for the Bafta Ones to Watch Award a category created specifically for the project.