Bournemouth animation student Sarah Bucksey has won a competition to create a new character for Subway Surfers, the world’s most downloaded game of all time.
For Subway Surfers’ 12th anniversary, SYBO – the Danish studio behind the mobile game – called upon its global fanbase of 24 million-plus social media followers to ‘Craft-A-Character’.
The prize was to have their design featured as an all-new playable character in the endless runner game.
Sarah, who’s in her final year at Arts University Bournemouth and has 27,000 Instagram followers, beat over 800 submissions from around the world with her character design, Hammy-Bee.
Inspired by her classmates and friends as well as broader gaming culture, Hammy-Bee will launch in-game in May for Subway Surfers’ 12th birthday celebration.
The game reaches more than 150 million monthly active players around the globe.
Sarah, 21, told Bournemouth One she feels “absolutely ecstatic”.
She added: “It’s been really, really exciting.
“The first thing I did when I found out that I’d won was I literally jumped up and ran to tell my friends.
“I based the character on the people I see at university.
“A lot of people at Arts Uni just rock up wearing pyjamas which I think is hilarious.
“I wanted to have that as a part of my character.
“Then a statement piece as well, hamburger slippers, hence the name.
“You see a lot of that at the uni as well.
“You see crazy earrings and shoes, all sorts of things.”