Matthew jetting off to the US for gaming challenge

Matthew jetting off to the US for gaming challenge

27 June 2018

A DOWNPATRICK undergraduate is off to the US next month to challenge the best in the world at the finals of the prestigious Microsoft Imagine Cup.

Matthew McAuley — who is studying games design and production management at Abertay University in Dundee — will be in Seattle alongside some of his third year colleagues in the hope of winning an international prize.

Matthew is part of Backlight Games which secured its place in Seattle after competing in the UK final of the competition last April which seeks out the most innovative and potentially world-changing software solutions.

In Seattle, a prize of $100,000 is up for grabs and Matthew and his colleagues are hoping they are in with a realistic chance of doing well.

The students developed a game called Firepoint, a fire fighting simulator that uses both the HoloLens and Mixed reality headsets that allows trainees to see through the eyes of a firefighter as they make their way through a multi-storey training ground, tackling a variety of different issues.

The simulation aims to bring a new realism to firefighter trainer with the UK judges already mightily impressed with what Matt and his colleagues have developed. It is hoped that simulator can eventually be used at open days and recruitment fairs.

As the Back Light Games team prepare to jet off to Seattle, Matthew, who studied at St Patrick’s Primary School, Saul, St Colmcille’s High School in Crossgar and Belfast Metropolitan College, hopes the US judges will be impressed.

“We wanted to use technology to help provide training for different scenarios,” he explained.

“The trainer can give feedback as the firefighters are moving through the world and it gives an idea of what they would be facing in real life.

“It’s immersive and gets them ready for real training. Microsoft really saw the potential in it, particularly the potential to improve response times and how it could be used for training in different building situations.”

Matthew explained ahead of the trip that the team is going to narrow the game down and look at so-called spatial mapping to see if they can make it more real, based on real environments and make it a really polished product.

“This project has been real fun and to go to the final of the Imagine Cup and make it through to Seattle is incredible,” he continued.

“The fact we have a mix of disciplines within the team has been fantastic and I feel like it is getting us ready for a company environment; different people with different talent coming together to make something new.”

Matthew explained the team members were the first to develop the mixed reality headset which was only released last October.

The students’ success to date is making headlines in Scotland and they even got a mention in the Scottish Parliament by MSP Liam Kerr, whose motion congratulating the students and wishing them all the best in the final which was wholeheartedly endorsed.

Back home at The Meadows in Downpatrick, Matt’s parents David and Geraldine, are keeping their fingers crossed that the boys will be successful in Seattle.

“We are very proud of Matthew and his colleagues and hope they will be successful,” David remarked.