Gaming zest fills kids at FUNN event

Sohaila Ahmed, Staff Reporter

Funn, a Sharjah-based organisation dedicated to promoting media arts learning for children and youth, brought down the curtain on the VGX Event, the first of its kind event in Sharjah dedicated to the video gaming industry, after three days of fun-filled and educational activities and hands-on workshops.

Held at Expo Centre Sharjah, VGX Event aimed to engage children and youth in gaming activities and encourage them to make the most of online games in expanding their intellect and cognitive creativity and how to utilise them in their daily lives.

Funn conducted two workshops at the event. The first one titled ‘Games Design as a Career’ was presented by Pakistani artist and gaming professional Ahmed Feras Sheeraz, who introduced young participants to the mechanisms and techniques of electronic games as well as the basics of designing electronic games. The workshop was centered on how to select the appropriate elements for characters, events and scenes as well as other fundamental elements used in designing electronic games.

Sheeraz underlined that artists should have an eye for exploring the various aspects of aesthetics that they want to add to the game. He stressed that games design was more lucrative than the filmmaking sector at present and that professionals in games design should pay more attention to content as well as the artistic elements of the game to attract the audience.

Sheeraz added, “Investment in video games is highly promising and rewarding. The returns almost exceed that of film and allied industries. This clearly demonstrates the huge reach of the games industry and its diverse areas that open up employment, such as designers, gamers, scenarists, photographers, light technicians and other professionals.”

Sheeraz noted that games design is a group activity because it involves designers, developers, artists and many more professionals who play an important role in the games industry.

The second workshop was conducted by Emirati lecturer Hind Al Gergawi from Dubai Capture who highlighted the role of censors in enriching the experience of video gamers.

In a workshop titled ‘Sensor Games’, Emirati lecturer Hind Al Gergawi gave a detailed presentation  on how the Microsoft Xbox platform functions, and how gamers can use sensors such as ‘wireless handheld interface clutch’ and ‘interactive cameras’.