KDU helps nurture game devt among youths
SHAH ALAM: KDU’s School of Computing and Creative Media ( SCCM) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDeC) conducted the ‘Level Up at School’ programme to nurture game development interest among Malaysian youths recently.
A press release said the programme was held at KDU University College in Utropolis, Glenmarie for students and teachers from 11 selected schools.
The initiative aimed to foster interest in game development amongst students in hopes they will consider it as a career path.
Students and teachers were trained to enable them to teach others in their schools on how to make simple games and received instruction manuals for their respective schools.
Participating schools were required to send studentdeveloped games on any platform that contained at least Level One to MDeC by July 31 for a chance to win awards.
They were assisted by KDU’s SCCM trainers and KDU’s stateof-the-art learning facilities and highly advanced lab Area52.
All participants engaged in a very interactive learning environment with trainers in sessions covering developing art assets for game development, and a beginner’s guide to game development.
Some of the software used included Stencly, SFXR, Audacity, and JPixels, which are all easily accessible and free.
SMK Seri Bintang Selatan Form 2 student Nurin Sofiya Izmari found the programme to be really good.
“So far I am loving it because I am very interested in making games and animation. I consider this as a great opportunity for me to get first-hand experience in learning how to make my own game.
“Unlike any ordinary ICT classes where we were only exposed to simple software or applications such as Microsoft Word, this programme is so much more fun as we get to make our own unique games and in fact, we could even make a career out of this game development industry.”
On whether she would be interested to take up game development in the future, she answered, “Quite possibly, yes!”
SMK Seri Bintang Selatan Form 1 student Nisa Inarah Shahrizal Aris said the programme was really nerve-wracking but also fun and interactive.
“This programme is really useful because in our ordinary classes, we only get to learn the basic programmes without going beyond the capacity of computers and what we learnt was very limited. Whereas here, we are actually creating our own game using our imagination and creativity,” she said.
KDU’s SCCM will provide similar training within the Klang Valley this year and hopes to be the choice for similar sessions.
The institution was recently awarded The Brand Laureate Most Sustainable Brand Award 2016-2017 for Brand Excellence in the Education – Private University College category.
To find out more, go to www.kdu. edu.my, or call 03- 55650538 ( KDU University College, Utropolis, Glenmarie), or 03-79536688 ( KDU College, Damansara Jaya).
So far I am loving it because I am very interested in making games and animation. I consider this as a great opportunity for me to get first-hand experience in learning how to make my own game. Nurin Sofiya Izmari, SMK Seri Bintang Selatan Form 2 student