The Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA365), the leading initiative for Australia’s best emerging artists, designers, and creatives, has today announced Harry Lee as the 2012 recipient of the SOYA365 Interactive Content & Gaming category award.

Many talented Australian designers submitted their work into the Interactive Content and Gaming category this year, vying for a chance to win the prestigious title as well as $5000 in cash, and a rare 12-month mentorship opportunity with renowned gaming industry leaders digital agency SOAP Creative, consisting of Ashley Ringrose and Brad Eldridge. This year, the winner in this category will also be sent on a trip-of-a-lifetime to South By Southwest music festival in Texas, USA to attend the music festival and have access to some of the world’s most heralded leaders in the interactive content and gaming field.
Harry is the first recipient of the SOYA365 Interactive Content and Gaming award, with this new category only added to the programme this year.

Melbourne-based, 18 year old winner Harry Lee runs an independent games studio, Wanderlands [http://wanderlands.org] and last year released Impasse, a difficult and different minimalist puzzle game to critical acclaim [http://wanderlands.org/impasse]. 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 [http://undergroundcollective.org], a society of young game developers in Melbourne who occasionally meet up to discuss, critique, and learn from current game development practices.

"I am thrilled and honoured to have won and look forward to learning from the mentors and improving my skills. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!" says Lee of his 2012 SOYA365 win.
“I hope to continue to craft unique and engaging experiences, and am constantly seeking to improve my skills.”

For 2012, Lee will be mentored by interactive content and gaming maestros Soap Creative, an independent digital creative agency, with a team of more than 60 people and offices in Sydney and LA. An avid gamer and game creator, founder Ashley Ringrose has been responsible for the game design and build of over 50 online “advergames” and has overseen game designs ranging from small single play games to massive, multi-user games.

As a Partner at Soap, Brad Eldridge is responsible for business and management decisions for the company‟s growth and future. His responsibilities extend to nurturing the wider creative team and culture while managing a client portfolio that includes 3 Mobile, Streets, LYNX, 20th Century Fox, Activision and FOXTEL.
Brad has spoken at the AGIdeas conference in Melbourne. He has judged the IAB awards and AIMIA awards and has appeared on the Gruen Transfer Pitch segment. Eldridge has also lectured at Charles Sturt University, St George TAFE, Enmore TAFE and regularly attends events at those institutions to sing the praises of digital as the No. 1 employment choice for students.

SOYA has been instrumental in unearthing and nurturing young artists, designers, and creatives, helping them expand their horizons, build up their business and learn the ropes from some of the greatest creative minds in the world. This year the newly rebranded SOYA365 has also introduced four additional categories: Animation, Interactive Content & Gaming, Architecture & Interior Design and The Written Word.
SOYA365 is open for submissions, with one new creative category closing every month. All submissions can be made through the new SOYA365 hub at www.soya.com.au.