From fame to game: Shorty St actor wins Sidhe scholarship
Former Shortland Street actor famous for playing 'Nick Harrison' wins scholarship to study game development.
A former Shortland Street actor has won a scholarship from New Zealand gaming workshop Sidhe to cover part of his tertiary costs.
Karl Burnett, who is famous for his role as 'Nick Harrison' on Shortland Street and who filed for bankruptcy in 2006, was awarded the 2011 Sidhe Elite scholarship, given to a promising game development student who needs financial help with tertiary education.
The scholarship comes from Wellington-based Sidhe, who cover 50% of course fees for the one-year undergraduate course at Media Design School, in either art or programming. The School then cover 50% of the fees for the first of a two-year Graduate Diploma of Game Development.
Mr Burnett said he is hugely thankful for the scholarship, and he is loving the course.
“I am finding the whole experience very humbling but extremely rewarding at the same time. It’s hard to believe that after a week, I was able to sit down and write a computer game.”
He is now studying towards a Diploma of Interactive Gaming with Media Design School.
Managing director of Sidhe Mario Wynands said the selection process had been intense and that Mr Burnett's portfolio made him stand out.
This portfolio included a game Mr Burnett built from 'drop and drag' editor, Game Salad, which Media Design School communications manager Karen Tay said "basically involves no code- it's like a What You See Is What You Get content editor but for games". Mr Burnett's game, called Max Vector, was about an evil robot warlord trying to take over the world.
Ms Tay said it was quite tough getting into games courses at the school, especially for programming. "You have to have a portfolio, be interviewed and pass a Maths test...and we're not talking addition and subtraction here."
Mr Wynands said Mr Burnett showed a lot of talent and promise in game development.
“Karl has demonstrated great potential, and we hope that this scholarship is a springboard for him towards a great career in game development.”
Alex Walls
Fri, 18 Mar 2011
Fri, 18 Mar 2011
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From fame to game: Shorty St actor wins Sidhe scholarship
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