Games students’ progress to the next level with Women’s Rugby World Cup commission

23 April 2025

The countdown is on to the Women’s World Cup, and as West Northants prepares to host six of the games later this year, a team of enterprising students at the University of Northampton have been commissioned to deliver a creative project to help build-up excitement across the county.

West Northamptonshire Council has commissioned a talented team of six at Goblin Games to deliver a purpose-built arcade machine – accompanied by an arcade-style game built specifically for the event – as part of their build-up to the Women’s World Cup in August 2025.

The group of super six students at the forefront of this first mission are Programmers Sam Cairns and Sam Waite, Designer Elisa Pojaga, Artists Ben Green and Sam McDonagh, and Sound Designer Roman Pegg.

The arcade machine will be brought to thousands of local people as it tours the county at local libraries, theatres, sports grounds as well as the market square, drumming up excitement ahead of the tens of thousands rugby fans expected to descend on the town for the tournament debut on Sunday 24 August. 

”This journey has been an incredible opportunity for gaining industry-standard experience. Working closely with the council has been a true demonstration of what it means to work for a client and the responsibilities that come with it. 

“Through balancing full-time work on the project alongside our studies, part-time jobs and other life commitments, I’m grateful to have collaborated with such talented people on my team. Together, we’ve worked with passion and dedication on this project from day one.

“We’re all incredibly proud of the result of our hard work and are thrilled with the impact it's had on people. We’re excited to see what comes next, and personally, I want to thank every member of the team for their dedication and professionalism. The game industry needs more people with their level of talent, creativity, and determination.”Third-year student and Lead Designer for Scrum Showdown, Elisa Pojaga

Titled ‘Scrum Showdown’, the arcade machine features four mini games based on four key rugby themes - passing, kicking, dodging and scrum – and offers both single and two-player options along with a competitive score board.

Established ahead of the academic term in September 2024, Goblin Games offers creative students from the University’s gaming courses – Games Art, Games Design, Games Programming and Animation – the opportunity to deliver commissions and projects as part of an established, industry-grade games studio.

This commission marks the first in a series of projects expected to test the students’ creativity in real-world projects – as well as give their CVs an invaluable boost as they prepare to graduate and launch into the gaming industry. 

“The students have very much led the way with this commission, imparting their creative flair, technical know-how and professionalism to deliver a top-quality product which will engage members of the community of all ages to take part, play a game or two, and be part of a massively exciting time for the town.

“This commission is further testament to the value which our in-house games studios – Goblin Games and Goblin Academics - brings to our students, offering an unrivalled opportunity to develop their skills in an innovative and industry environment. Watch this space, because this is the first in a long line of exciting projects to be delivered here at UON!”The University of Northampton’s Senior Lecturer in Games and Animation, Vikaas Mistry

"It's great to see the enthusiasm of the students and how much work they have put into the arcade machine. We wanted to look for innovative ways to promote the World Cup and this felt like a really unique way to do it. Also having the opportunity to promote the Games Design skills coming out of the University has been a real added bonus to this collaboration"Innovation Manager at West Northamptonshire Council, Richard Beards

Goblin Games will be presenting on June 13 at Merged Futures 7, the annual tech innovation showcase hosted at the University’s Waterside Campus. The team of students – including Elisa - will present the final game, diving into the art, design, and programming challenges they've tackled. Free tickets can be booked via the Digital Northants website. 

Further details on where the arcade machine will be hosted and available to play will be released soon.

Find out more about studying Games Art, Games Design and Games Programming at the University of Northampton.