Would-be developers invited to compete for PlayStation internship

25 Sep 2012

Stephen Nally, Irish judge for the PlayStation internship competition

Meath man Stephen Nally has been selected by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) as the Irish judge in a Europe-wide competition to win a month-long internship at Tarsier Studios, Sweden.

To win the position as PlayStation’s next intern, candidates need to create a mini game using LittleBigPlanet for PlayStation Vita (released on 19 September) that will impress the panel of portable gaming enthusiasts from across Europe and stand out from the pack.

Stepping stone

The successful entrant will be awarded a month-long placement working in the different departments of Tarsier Studios, where LittleBigPlanet was made. To give him or her a stepping stone into the gaming industry, the intern will be offered the chance to develop their LittleBigPlanet mini game from an amateur title to an official downloadable game.

“Gaming is an exciting and fast-growing industry but it can be tricky to get your foot in the door,” said Elliott Linger, product manager for LittleBigPlanet for PlayStation Vita. “This internship offers a whole month’s experience at a great studio, all for creating an awesome mini game. We’re expecting hundreds of entries and can’t wait to see what players of LittleBigPlanet PlayStation Vita come up with.”

Game on

Nally, a student in Dundalk IT studying computer and games design, was selected as a judge earlier this year, and he and his cohorts will test and review each entrants’ mini games before selecting a top 5 from each country. The team at Tarsier will then be left with the final decision on who will be the overall winner.

On being appointed a judge, Nally was brought to PlayStation’s Dublin HQ and given a PlayStation Vita, as well as a day’s training in game testing.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com