Richard Leinfellner, Executive Producer & Vice President of Electronic Arts visited Abertay University to talk to students taking part in Dare to be Digital 2006.

He said: “Yet again DARE seems to have attracted some of the best new talent, I am planning to spend some time to help them hone them their ideas and put them in pole position for one of the major prizes.”

Richard has been developing video games since the early 1980s, and has been associated with a string of successful games development companies and many bestselling titles. He co-founded Palace Software in the 1980s, headed Mindscape’s European games production division in the 1990s and has worked at Electronic Arts for the last nine years.

Dare to be Digital organizer Jackie McKenzie said: “As one of the judges of Dare to be Digital for the last three years and with more than 20 years of experience in developing best-selling computer games, Richard is the ideal person to give our contestants the inside track on How to Win Dare.

“We’re delighted that, as well as giving a presentation to all the students, he also found time in his busy schedule for one-to-one sessions with each of them. It was invaluable personal tutoring that I am sure will make a big impact on how they develop their ideas over the coming weeks.”

Scottish Enterprise Tayside business growth director Jill Farrell said: “The competition gives students an excellent insight into the working world and access to advice from people with real success stories behind them, such as Richard.

“The lessons they will learn from him will stand them in good stead, whether they go on to employment in the burgeoning digital games sector or go into business themselves.”

In all, 42 students from all over the world qualified for this year’s Dare to be Digital competition. Divided into seven teams, they will be working night and day from now until late August to develop a prototype video game, receiving daily support and weekly training sessions from industry specialists, with accommodation and a weekly allowance of £170 thrown in.

At the end of the competition, a panel of experts will judge the prototypes and award prizes at a special awards ceremony and talent showcase in August.

The teams for Dare 2006 comprise four from Scotland, one from Northern Ireland, one from Ireland, and one from Canada. In addition, the Scottish Executive’s Fresh Talent initiative has funded seven places for Chinese and Indian students, each of whom has joined one of the teams.