A new video game project, co-founded by an Indian student studying at a university in northern England, is donating 100 percent of its revenues to UK charities as part of its mission to create gaming for the good of society.
Aamir Ali, a computer science student from the University of Sheffield, is the co-founder of Project Pixel. The project makes 2D mobile games that will soon be offered on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
After beginning as a mere idea between two friends less than a year ago, the project has developed into one of the largest student-led video gaming initiatives at any university in the United Kingdom.
What is the game project?
The team has created two endless runner-style games: Colour Dash and Flight Frenzy, in which players must avoid obstacles while always moving forward. Colour Dash can be downloaded right now, and Flight Frenzy—which will be launched later this year—was funded from Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering, which allowed the team to buy a publishing licence for the Google app store.
Aamir Ali, an international student from India and co-founder of Project Pixel, highlighted the project’s impact on the student community: “As the project started to develop we quickly found that lots of students from all over the University of Sheffield, who are studying on all kinds of degree programmes, are passionate about gaming and want to work in the industry, but they are not sure how or where to start."
"Project Pixel has given us all the opportunity to learn about game development together and take our first steps in the industry, whilst also doing something good for society. We would love to inspire students at other universities and turn this into a global movement. Everyone at Project Pixel has shown that it doesn’t matter what degree you’re studying or whether you know anything about game development - you have a chance if you have the passion and willingness to learn,” he added.
Sumo Digital, a video game developer based in Sheffield, supports the initiative. Jake Habgood, Director of Education Partnerships at Sumo and a visiting professor at the University of Sheffield, offered the students advice on forming a society and game development strategies. He remarked, “It’s fantastic to see a diverse range of students engaging with game development at the University of Sheffield. The games industry will need diverse skill sets and ideas to successfully engage new audiences and create innovative new products. This is a great initiative, and we wish the students every success.”
Developers are working on two more games: Chef's Last Stand and Turtle Odyssey. All this is managed alongside the students’ academic commitments. None of the team members had any prior production experience with video games. They are driven by a shared passion for gaming and a desire to impact through their work.
