STAR students from Huddersfield University have landed a dream job.

They have won the chance to develop a computer game for Microsoft.

Dave Webb, Mark Brotherton and David Horton, all BSc Computer Games Programming students, have landed a contract with the company to develop and publish their game Yo Ho Kablammo.

They entered the pirate-themed game in Microsoft’s international Dream-Build-Play competition and came second out of 4,600 entries.

As well as winning the contract with Microsoft, the trio have received £5,000 worth of prizes – £2,500 cash, a state of the art gaming PC, an Xbox 360 Premium autographed by the Microsoft development team and software packages.

Ruth Taylor, senior lecturer in Digital Media and course leader for BA Computer Games Design, said: “This is fantastic news. Out of 4,600 entries from across the world, students studying at Huddersfield were winners. They’re world class. The students had a good idea and worked hard with persistence and confidence.

“The success of these students proves that Huddersfield is at the cutting edge when it comes to computer games design. I’m immensely proud of them. For any start-up company to win a publishing contract with Microsoft is tough, but for a student-led company to do so is unheard of. Many of our friends in the gaming industry are amazed.”

The three students are in the third year of their course, on a placement. They plan to take another year out to continue developing their game.

They were helped with art work, 3D models and animation for the competition by other students from the BA Computer Games Design course.

The team developed the idea for the game at Huddersfield’s student-led design company, Canalside Studios on the university campus.

Canalside Studios, launched last year, is a member of Gamer Republic, a regional consortium of computer game producing companies.

It is supported by local businesses including Creative North, Gamer Republic and Team 17.

“Our students are very well supported by a number of local businesses. With this success and the possibility of commercial success, games design companies are now looking at Huddersfield for placement students,” said Ruth.