IT’S A GIRL’S GAME

SHAH ALAM, 8^TH JUNE 2015 - Games has long been associated with men in general - it is a notion immersed in societal perceptions for reasons unknown except that when men says that he plays games, it is perceived to be absolutely normal and fitting for his gender role.

The inception of the Bachelor of Game Development (Honours) programme by the School of Computing and Creative Media (SCCM) in KDU University College (KDU) has been an eye opener to an otherwise conservative society that a career in Malaysia’s ever-growing game development industry is a viable and lucrative option, whatever one’s gender may be.

There are currently over 200 students enrolled in the programme, but these young ladies stood out as roses among the thorns. Chelcy Wong Mun Ei and Isabell Liang Sharfen are not shy; dedicated with genuine passion for their chosen course of study, these girls have their hearts and minds set in breaking into an ever-evolving industry that has long been seen as male-dominated.

Isabell takes her games seriously, occasionally commentating for e-sports competitive games (shoutcasting) such as Blizzard’s DOTA 2 and FunPlus Interactive’s DotArena. With such interests taking centre stage in her life, she naturally pursued a career in Game Development.

Chelcy, on the other hand, elaborated on her decision to undertake the course, “Back when I was in my foundation studies, I attended a session where a few of the Game Development lecturers spoke about the programme and the industry. I was immediately taken by their talk about the course, as I have always aimed to do art for games in the first place.” 

Chelcy also attributed her passion for games to her father, explaining, “My dad bought my first Gameboy when I was 5 years old. I guess you could say that, in a way, my dad paved the path for my interest in games. Art has always been a passion of mine. I was always amazed with the graphics in games, especially in their character designs.” 

Chelcy shared her aspirations for the future. “I have plans to go abroad to either further my studies or work my way up to get a job in a game company that I look up to. Once I have gained enough experience, I would like to return home and share my knowledge with the newer generation or work freelance as an artist.”

Isabell too has her future plans laid out where she quipped, “If time and luck allows it, I would love to work for Naughty Dog (an American video game development studio) as they are the ones who inspired me to be involved in games.”

With their passion, determination and talent, as well as KDU’s state-of-the-art facilities, experienced faculty and a unique syllabus, these girls will be well equipped in this most challenging of careers.

The Bachelor of Games Development (Hons) programme allows students an option to major in any one of the three specialisations, which are Game Art, Game Design and Game Technology. The programme and syllabus was carefully developed by academicians and industry practitioners with the objective of being a catalyst in the growth of the Malaysian game industry.

According to the Head of School, Mr. Tan Chin Ike, talent development and the injection of much needed well-trained graduates into the industry would not only help rejuvenate existing development studios, but also help to spur the growth of new ones. “We believe in a blend of industry experience coupled with a unique pedagogy in order to ensure that our game development graduates are exactly what is required by the industry,” Ike explained.

With a team made up of pioneers of the Malaysian game scene, as well as its collaboration with the industry, students of the Game Development programme are ensured that they will receive the education, training and experience to hit the ground running upon graduation. KDU is the only education institution in Malaysia to spearhead national initiative in Game Development under the government’s National Key Economic Area (NKEA) for education. The Bachelor of Game Development (Hons) programme is also endorsed by Codemasters Studios, with its curriculum and assessment methods benchmarked against industry standards.

To find out how you can hit the ground running with the School of Computing and Creative Media’s programmes, go to www.kdu.edu.my or call 03-5565 0538 (KDU University College, Utropolis, Glenmarie) / 03-7953 6688 (KDU College, Damansara Jaya).