I have been selected to participate in Game development program at MIT offered by MDA! Although it’s only 9 weeks, but... that is enough already!

I always dream to go to America someday. But I never think of a chance to go to MIT, one of the best universities in the world! I will also travel around Boston for culture exchange.

There are total 30 students got the offer. 6 students are from NTU - 3 from School of Art, Design and Media and 3 from School of Computer Engineering (SCE). The rest are from NUS, SMU, and Polytechnics all around Singapore. I’m lucky to be one of the 3 SCE selected candidates. Together, we will be Singapore representatives to go to Boston and work with MIT students.

There are about 6 game projects. Each project is handled by a team of 7 (2 from MIT, and 5 from Singapore). Projects range from audio-based to animation-based areas where the intent is to create a playable game demo by the end of the 9 weeks attachment. We will also attend seminars provided by the MIT professors and game experts.

After the exam, I will have to take another ability test on around 10th May in order for them to allocate project. Then, they will help me with Visa application which I’m a bit nervous as I’ve never done this before. They will bring me to US Embassy for the interview. Hopefully everything will be fine. If this visa process finishes soon, I may go back to Vietnam at least one or two weeks before coming back to Singapore on 28th May for preproduction and preparation.

On 10th July, all of us, 30 students will be on direct flight from Singapore to New York (17 hour), and then from New York to Boston. What’s long trip!
All the fees, airfare, campus accommodation will be provided. They also give me a monthly stipend of USD 800 for cost of living!

It is the first time MDA offers this wonderful opportunity. From now on, this event will be held annually to boost up Game Industry of Singapore. After 9 weeks, we are expected to have some good game demos, maybe in 2D or 3D. These demos will be presented to the authorities, the public, and also Game companies in Singapore.

After this program finishes on 10th August, I may stay back in USA for a few more days to visit some of my old friends - Quang in Harvard, Tue, M.Chau, Minh… and my little sister P.Thuy. Until my exam finishes, I will inform them. Hopefully I will be able to visit them all. It’s been so long…

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One more paper and FYP presentation are left, and my university life will be soon over. No time to think, all of us are rushing out looking for job. Many of my friends already have good offers, yet I’m still waiting…

I only applied for three places, graduate studies (Master, PhD) and an IT position in Macquarie bank. I’m in the selection process of Macquarie. My classmate Shashank and Pragyan just finished the final round, yet I’m still waiting for them to schedule the final interview time. I was told that they will recruit 2-3 IT guys. This Australian bank has quite good offer (3400$/month); however I don’t expect much about it.

Hopefully next week I will receive good news on from my Master application. The PhD application has taken too much time, nearly 4 months has passed, yet still have some obstacles. My professor is helping me to handle it. There are too many unclear things about this PhD program…

If only one succeeds, I will take it. But if both, I really don’t know what to choose. Honestly, I like the Master programme offered by TQ Global more, where my seniors HA and Q. is working on. I have been watching this programme for the entire year from its very first stage till now. I know the working environment, the master students, their projects and the director, even the founder of this game company. My seniors always give me great advice and supports. Whenever I talk to them about this programme, they always share it with proud. It does make me think a lot.

I heard unofficially that TQ Global will make offer to 14-16 candidates. Among that, there will be two Vietnamese, one is from NUS, and the other… hopefully would be me. They told me that the guy from NUS is a real game master. He made great impression on the recruiter. If I’m able to make it, there will be 4 Vietnamese masters in this programme (together with 2 seniors)

Making games is quite similar to making movies. A commercial game project normally costs a few millions dollars, and takes at least one or two year for development. When the project finishes, a game publisher company will bring it to the market. The revenue of a potential game, although depending on many factors, is expected to be 5-10 times the original cost. Media Development Authority continues providing funds for game development in Singapore. This game industry is foreseen to grow very fast. Singapore aims to become a hub for game development, to attract talents and technologies from “professional game maker” countries like USA and Japan. The first game created by Singapore will be in the market very soon...

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Teresa Teng (邓丽君/鄧麗君) enjoyed immense popularity amongst all Chinese-speaking people and in the rest of East Asia, particularly in Japan, for some 30 years. Teng was known for her folk songs and romantic ballads, which remain popular today. Here are some of her best songs, which I like alot!

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