KUALA LUMPUR: While giving a demonstration of the 'Overgrown' game that they had recently developed, Sai Natth Rao, 16, and his teammates are already discussing ideas to expand it further.
They were among 40 participants from 10 teams under the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation's (MDEC) Digital Ninja's programme, selected nationwide through rigorous vetting process.
"There were times when I felt like giving up, not to mention we lost a lot of sleep in creating the game.
"However, we gained a lot more as we did not only learn coding, but also received mentoring for public speaking so we can better present our game to others," said the student from SMK Aminuddin Baki at the 2023 MyDigitalmaker Fair.
Using the Unity programming, he said, participants created the games based on three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely, sustainable cities and communities; life below water and life on land.
The team, also comprised Afiqah Maisarah Mohd Rizal, 16, from MRSM Bentong, Muhammad Aqil Mohd Sufian, 15, from Maahad Tahfiz Negeri Pahang and Ahmad Bunyameen Mohd Nor Effendy, 16, from Kolej Vokasional Sepang, emerged as the Digital Ninja's games development champion.
The player is portrayed as a plant-based character whose aim is to gather sunlight with the help of crystals and refraction.
Meanwhile, Voon Sen Yu, 15, from SMK Chung Hua (CF), Miri, whose team Kenyalang, claimed the third place, said the programme also taught participants, who came from different schools, on improving teamwork.
"We used which ever platforms we could to communicate and share files mostly via messaging app Telegram.
"We chose hornbill as the game character as it is the pride of Sarawak and Malaysia; and are now looking at developing the game further by adding animals representing other states."
MDEC chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz in his speech earlier said the fair was part of Malaysia Digital, a national strategic initiative to attract companies, talents and investments to Malaysia.
"Through the initiative, MDEC, together with partners hope to see changes among youths in Malaysia from being digital user to creators, instil interests and skills in digital innovation and creativity; enhance interest in science stream at the secondary school and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at the bachelor's degree level," he said.