Games should be fun. I like things that are challenging but not unfairly difficult.
Every year we roll out the red carpet and open our doors to close to 400 students, teachers and parents for the Screen It awards gala.
The gala is the culmination of all the hard work put in by thousands of students from around Australia, and the competition's live-action, animation, and video game finalists and winners are all invited to this special event where they get to rub shoulders with celebrities and eat cupcakes.
We are very lucky to have had the support of some awesome ambassadors over the years. Last year Bajo and Hex from Good Game were joined by award-winning animator Adam Elliot and young star of Girl Asleep Bethany Whitmore. This year, who knows? But for now we can proudly announce that the Screen It awards will be hosted by Bajo and Rad from ABC’s Good Game.
Bajo is a long-time supporter of Screen It, but Rad is new to us. What we do know about Rad (otherwise known as Angharad Yeo) is that she has many strings to her bow: she's a presenter, gamer and a musician. We sat down with this talented Sydney-sider earlier this week.
ACMI: What started your love of games and gaming?
Rad: I've played games ever since I was a little kid! My dad used to install games on our home PC, and I'd play them with my sisters. I love that they can be so many things - silly, competitive, social, entertaining, fun. And I've always been interested in technology, so gaming fits right into that!
A: Do you have a favourite game or game genre and why?
R: My favourite kinds of games are ones where you're more or less doing the same thing but the situation keeps changing. So things like PolyBridge and FTL: Faster Than Light. It makes the fun feel endless, and they can be easy to learn but hard to master. I also rarely finish games, so things that are more about being fun to play than telling a story tend to be more enjoyable for me.
A: What are some things you look for in a good game?
R: Games should be fun. I like things that are challenging but not unfairly difficult, and I like feeling like things have a purpose. It's no fun if you feel like you're guessing the whole time you play a game! I also love characters that feel like my friends!
A: How do you prefer to play? Do you play with friends or go solo?
R: I really love social gaming, it's probably my favourite! But I do also enjoy getting stuck into a good story based single player game from time to time.
A: Can you suggest any films or games which play on this year’s theme, ‘Time’, and which might inspire ideas for Screen It entries?
R: Extreme Exorcism did a cool thing where your character from a previous play through becomes a ghost on that map that attacks you! Very cheeky. I also really love the pause function in FTL, because it makes your success more about thinking than just being really quick. That's really fun to me.
A: What are you most excited about in becoming an ambassador for Screen It?
R: I'm so excited to encourage young Australian games developers to work hard and make interesting games that are personal to them. There's so many clever, talented, hard-working young people out there who'd love to work in the games industry, and being able to meet them and see what they're working on is so awesome!