Talented Portsmouth teenager who designed video game where players shoot alien eggs at enemies becomes finalist BAFTA Young Game Designers competition

Alfie Wilkinson, 14, is among 54 other nominees for the 12th annual British Academy of Television and Films (BAFTA) Young Game Designers (YGD) competition.

His action-platformer shooter ‘Egllien’, where players use alien eggs to defeat their foes, has allowed him to be shortlisted for the YGD Game Making Award.

Alfie is desperate to turn his passion into a career.

He said: ‘For me being a finalist is awesome because it makes me feel like I’m on my way to being in the games industry.

‘The best bit of my game I’m most excited about is the high speed gameplay of explosions happening left to right while destroying those pesky aliens.

‘The part I’m most looking forward to being a finalist is meeting like minded developers around my age that I can learn and be inspired from.’

BAFTA YGD is a year-round initiative of public events, workshops and a competition for those aged 10-18.

Children have used free software and their coding skills to design the games over the past five months.

Prominent themes include gender identity, mental health and climate change.

Finalists have also been selected for the YGD Game Concept Award.

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Actor, comedian and BAFTA YGD host, Inel Tomlinson, said: ‘All the finalists have brought their A-game with exciting, original and compelling modern interactive experiences that challenge the perception of this medium.

‘I am excited to see what these exceptional young designers do next with the support of BAFTA in their future game-making endeavours.’

The online ceremony will be streamed on YouTube at 5pm on June 30.