Francisco Nicolau, student of Computer Science and Engineering at Técnico and member of IST Game Lab, was one of the winners of Grads in Games‘ Search for a Star challenge. The student presented an experimental game that invokes a somber and bleak atmosphere through cinematic gameplay sections and naturalistic dialog, titled “A Bug In The System”. When he applied for the competition, he never thought he would be one of the winners. “Many other students participated in this competition and the quality of the projects submitted was quite high, so I didn’t expect to be selected as a finalist, much less a winner”.

“Search for a Star aims to help university finalists to make the leap from student to professional games developer”, the Técnico student explains. The challenge format is similar to a Game Jam – where a single person or a team develop a game within a predefined set of time. In this particular competition, participants had two months to develop a prototype, starting from a project with a common base. “The intention is that participants preserve the existing code, incorporating it into their games, in order to create something unique that allows them to stand out as developers”, the Técnico student highlights. In addition, participants take a technical test to validate their C++ programming skills.

At the end, participants have the opportunity to receive feedback and qualitative assessment of the games developed, by industry professionals. “This assessment is made taking into account creativity, code quality, game mechanics, implementation, and user experience”, says Francisco Nicolau. Subsequently, the 5 finalists are invited to participate “in an individual interview with various representatives – tech leads, studio leads or senior engineers – from various UK studios. This interview is very similar to a typical job interview. The winner’s choice is based on the performance of each participant, final interview and project evaluation”, he adds.

A childhood passion that influenced the present and can point the way to the future

Video games have always been part of Francisco Nicolau’s life. “I have always enjoyed video games since I was a child and I have always been interested in their ability to convey a message and tell stories in an interactive and captivating way, which is hard to find in other types of entertainment”. This made him realise that programming was his passion.

After Search for a Star, Francisco Nicolau was contacted by some of the leading games development studios that sponsor this competition. “I had the opportunity to be considered for challenging positions in their studios, which is quite important, especially considering how demanding and competitive this industry can be”, he shares.

Although Francisco Nicolau is now turning his focus to his master’s thesis, he does not deny that he is already thinking about the future and the opportunities that await him, and the desire to turn his passion into a career. “I would definitely like to work in this area. It has always been my ambition and dream. I never thought I would be so close to achieve this dream”, he stresses.