Gaming development winners bared

MANILA, Philippines - A team from the iAcademy bagged the top prize in the Salinlahi Evolution game development competition held by the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Department of Science and Technology (NAST-DOST).

Team Happy from iAcademy composed of Jhunel de la Cruz, Meris Soneja, Gian Legaspi and Karl Rodriguez won the grand prize for their “Tuklas” educational game for kids that offers simple yet engaging puzzles where children learn, explore and enjoy science at its basic form.

Winning second prize was the “Invention Rush,” developed by team Code Eater of Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Taguig; and “Arcadia” of team Multiple Error also from PUP-Taguig.

The winners were given their prizes and trophies at award ceremonies held last week at the Philippine Science Heritage Center (PSHC), DOST compound in Bicutan, Taguig City. 

For bagging the top prize, the iAcademy students received a cash prize of P50,000 and earned the chance for “Tuklas” to be featured at the PSHC.

“Invention Rush” is a mobile game application which earned for team Code Eater a cash prize of P30,000 for copping second place.

Meanwhile, “Arcadia” is a two-dimensional android application featuring six mini-games. Team Multiple Error received P20,000 for claiming third prize.

A total of 50 entries were submitted after the competition was launched last year by NAST.

The top five teams were given the chance to pitch their products in front of the judges last Dec. 3. The judges were Liandro Antonio Tabora, founder of Owlery eLearning Solutions; Gaius Karl Noble of DOST’s Science Education Institute; Roel Cantada, assistant professor from the UP Open University, and Jaderick Pabico, professor at UP Los Baños.

“We are so glad that we won the top prize, despite having only three days to develop our entry product.  But the most important to all, we created a game that would help many Filipinos to learn more about the life of our scientists as well as their contributions in resolving various problems of our country,” said Rodriguez of Team Happy.

The criteria for the competition include: 20 percent each for relevance to the topic, idea/enjoyability, and game mechanics; 15 percent for graphics and sound; and 10 percent for trailer.

NAST organized Salinlahi Evolution to encourage college students to produce computer or mobile learning games anchored on science and technology. The computer games should run on Windows while mobile games should run on Android devices. They should be in English and may be played even without Internet connectivity.