Melbourne-based independent game developer Harry Lee has come out on top in the recent Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA365), scoring a cool $5,000 as well as a 12 month mentorship with Sydney-based creative agency Soap Creative.

18 year old winner Harry Lee runs an independent games studio, Wanderlands and last year released Impasse, a difficult and different minimalist puzzle game to critical acclaim. Most recently, Lee made a mythology inspired platformer called Midas for Ludum Dare 22. Midas was awarded four gold medals, winning the jam. An active member of Melbourne’s development, community, Lee is involved in many projects promoting play making and game literacy, as well as hosting many informal game jams. Last year, he formed The Underground Collective, a society of young game developers in Melbourne who occasionally meet up to discuss, critique, and learn from current game development practices.

You can check out Harry's work on his Wanderlands site. Hot on the heels of the SEGA shutdown from yesterday, it's great to hear indie developers are still making great strides here in Australia.

There are four new categories in the SOYA awards this year, including Animation, Interactive Content and Gaming - both worth a look if you're an independent developer doing your own new and exciting stuff. Creative categories close every month, so if you're interested in participating (and winning) head over to the SOYA365 site now for more information.