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Innovative gaming inventors Mahmood AlSarhani and Noof Abdulla will be flying out to the US this weekend to represent the kingdom in the Imagine Cup World Finals and hope to get pulses racing in more ways than one with their entry.
The Bahrain Polytechnic graduates, who won in Bahrain and in the Pan Arab Semi-final in Egyptian capital Cairo for their thrilling gaming creation, are excited to be joining 34 teams in Seattle from next Tuesday to Friday to compete in Microsoft’s premier global student technology competition.
Mahmood, 22, who lives in Hamad Town, said: “This is our second time in a row competing in the Imagine Cup. It is a joyful and amazing feeling and we feel honoured to have been selected to attend the final.
“We are a little scared and will try our best not to disappoint the Arab region.”
The Bahraini developers, known as Team Vanguards, will be challenging eight other teams from around the world in the games competition category, which is one of Microsoft’s three global contests, along with Innovation and World Citizenship.
It was formed to allow youngsters aged 16 and above to create and share their new games with the world and possibly take home a $50,000 first prize (BD18,860).
Mahmood added: “We see ourselves as people that want to create new ideas, new concepts and new ways to experience games. We would like to think of ourselves as innovators and thus Vanguards seemed like the most suitable name.”
The dynamic duo will be showcasing a horror offering called Apollo X, which integrates virtual reality, biofeedback technologies and a mobile phone to immerse players in a stimulating gaming experience.
According to Noof, 23, the concept was born when one of their closest friends was experiencing frequent stress and anxiety attacks despite regular therapy sessions.
Noof said: “At the time we were interested in game development and technologies such as virtual reality and biofeedback. “We heard they were used to help psychological patients control their emotions using something called exposure therapy.
“However, when we tried to find a game that used both of these technologies together we could not find one. We set about creating a game that could help our friend as well as entertain and ‘Apollo X’ was born.
“The name of the game came to us when we started the project. We wanted to base our story on real life events and there is no mistaking that when it came to space, the Apollo missions were the first name to be remembered.
“Apollo was based on that. As for the ‘X’, we decided to use a letter instead of a number to avoid confusion. That letter seemed most appropriate since it is a horror game.”
The sci-fi horror game was developed using Unity, C# as a programming language, Oculus Rift as a VR headset, Microsoft Band as a heart rate monitor and Windows Phone as a mobile platform.
What makes this game electrifying, its creators say, is that it has an adaptive system that changes according to the player’s heart rate. Apparently, the more scared a player gets, the scarier the game becomes.
Mahmood said: “The game is played on a computer and the player has two options; either play alone in story mode which features an empathetic story or play with someone in multi-player mode where the player will be connected with another on a mobile phone. They will then need to work together to overcome the challenges.
“The PC player can enhance his gameplay experience by using an Oculus Rift VR headset and/or a heart rate monitor such as a Microsoft Band or Mio Alpha Watch.”
The team spent four months developing the project with the support of their mentor Dr Christos Gatzoulis, a programming manager at Bahrain Polytechnic.
Noof added: “Our mentor was undoubtedly our greatest support as he guided us in every aspect.
“Our families have also been extremely happy with our success so far and are helping us greatly too.
“We would also like to thank Microsoft and Tamkeen for providing us with such an amazing opportunity to develop our skills and being the reason that our project has developed in such a short space of time.”
Aside from participating in the global contest, the tech-geniuses hope to sell the PC side of the game on multiple online portals such as Stream and Oculus Store while the companion app for the multiplayer mode on the phone will be available for free.
