Animex Academy 2023

Welcome everyone to this year’s challenge. Animex is the International Games and Animation Festival organised by Teesside University every year. This page contains all of the info you need to have a really successful day. Remember, there is no ‘right’ way to do it, you develop your thoughts however you think best to fit the challenge.

PLEASE SEND EXAMPLES OF WORK AND WORKING THROUGH THE DAY

Challenge Video Below

And some Top Tips from people whose job it is to make games.

Click on the image to hear from people with different roles in making games.

Teamwork is the key to success, organising roles in each team and making sure everyone knows what must be done and who is doing it. The time planner below is your guide to working effectively. It should be used maybe once an hour to check that everyone is on target. If they aren’t then adjustments can be made to ensure that realistic tasks can be achieved in the timeframe.

What can you do?

There is no limit to what you can try but part of today’s learning is to work effectively to a timescale in a team, supporting each other to stick to the plan. The suggestions on the right are purely there to give you ideas. You can’t do all of them (unless you have a BIG group with lots of roles like a real Games studio).

  • Screen plans
  • Drawn character designs
  • Backgrounds painted/drawn/digitally created
  • Logo design
  • Short Insta style video advert
  • Poster
  • VR character design
  • Mock up game play (Scratch recommended – ideas below)

Resources that may help

Team planning sheet

Team planning sheet guide

Pages planner version to use on iPad

Time management planner

Character design planner

Character planner guide

Simplified game planner

Simplified character planner

Simple logo planner

Want to actually make a game?

To be honest, you can use what you like but the video below shows you how Scratch can help you….and it is free!


Or let’s not forget Scratch Jnr! Often dismissed as designed for younger children, the ability to trigger multiple events with multiple characters works brilliantly to create game walk throughs. Click on the image to access the help guide and videos.