Swinburne team hopes to shine at Imagine Cup

Own creation: (From left) Sim, Wang, Chia and Hii showing “Tou: The Sacrifice” on their mobile devices.

KUCHING: Three students from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus will represent Malaysia in the Microsoft Imagine Cup world finals in Seattle this week.

Multimedia design undergraduates Landon Chia Fei Ran, Stella Wang Tze Fang and Sim Jia Ying are among finalists from 33 countries taking part in the finals from today to Friday.

The Imagine Cup is a global technology programme and competition which provides opportunities for students to create applications, games and solutions.

Students have to design an original technology project from start to finish in three main categories – games, innovation and world citizenship.

Swinburne Sarawak’s SwinDesign team qualified for the world finals after winning the games category in the Malaysia and regional legs of the Imagine Cup in April.

Their creation, “Tou: The Sacrifice”, is an immersive exploration-horror game inspired by the culture and folklore of Sarawak’s Melanau community. It requires players to navigate 2D and 3D environments in search of clues and solve puzzles to proceed to the next level.

“It feels great that something we have worked hard on has been recognised internationally.

“I have always wanted to create games that are interesting to play in an innovative way. This is my chance to show the world the possibilities,” Chia said.

For Wang, the competition is a chance to showcase a Sarawak culture.

“I’m glad to be able to present the Melanau culture on the international stage. We hope we can make Malaysia proud,” she said, adding that going to Seattle was a dream come true.

Sim found creating the game to be one of her best experiences although it was “a little frustrating” at times.

“But with hard work, persistence and strong belief, our game is shaping up bit by bit. The growth of the game also reflects the growth in each of us in the team. I must say I am happy to represent Sarawak and Malaysia. We will do our very best.”

Accompanying them to the United States is their mentor and Swinburne Sarawak multimedia design lecturer John Hii.

“We’ve learnt a lot from having to create a project from start to finish. We’re excited to have come this far to compete with teams from around the world. We’re proud to represent our university and Malaysia,” he said.