Gaming Galore in Ngee Ann Polytechnic

By Caleb Ng • UrbanWire
email reporter • email story • printer friendly

Hardcore Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) gamers were treated to pretty intense gaming action with the UrbanWire Gorky Zero Gaming Competition at NP’s Atrium for 2 consecutive days.

The Atrium, usually a quiet and peaceful study area, had been transformed into a gaming haven from Sep 9, with computer systems as well as sponsor stalls selling PC games, gaming equipment and internet service plans.

More than 80 registrants had signed up for the 50 competition openings forcing Innovative Distribution, the gaming competition’s main sponsors, to increase the initial number of 8 computers to a whopping 14!

“It’s always a pleasure to receive positive response for gaming events like this, thus [this] is only necessary so as to accommodate more players,” Victoria Koh, Innovative Distribution’s marketing executive said.

The idea for such a competition was proposed by the promotions, advertising and publicity (PAP) team of UrbanWire.com, an entertainment/lifestyle magazine which has aggressively been giving away prizes and collectibles worth thousands of dollars within a few months.

“The idea was to bring UrbanWire to a physical platform. Our readers see UrbanWire [only] in a virtual realm and it was about time to change that,” Lynn Chong, a member of the PAP team, explained.

A debut event for Innovative Distribution, the company welcomed the idea as working with UrbanWire would help them accomplish their objectives of “creating awareness for both Innovative Distribution as well as all the games we are distributing”, Victoria added.

Day 1 of the competition consisted of game trials/tutorials. Participants were assigned slots to try out, experiment with and adapt to the game and its graphics. This was mainly because the game selected by Innovative Distribution, had just been released.

“This way, with the tutorials provided for all participants, the competition would be fair for all, and all would be on an equal playing field,” added Lynn, a final-year Mass Communication (MCM) student.

Sponsored also by Pacific Internet and Guerrilla Games, and supported by NP’s campus radio station, Radio Heatwave, the gaming competition promised loads of fun. And with the bazaar organised by the School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology being held concurrently, the Atrium was bustling with activity.

Onlookers were treated to numerous prizes, like PC games, game posters and tees, Innovative Distribution discount vouchers, mouse pads and even a Creative wireless optical mouse, during the competition’s question and answer session held nearly every half hour.

Finally, after a long day of battle, three 2nd-year students from the School of InfoComm Technology (ICT) clinched the top prizes of the competition amid fierce competition.

Completing the final round in less than an hour, Jeffrey Ng emerged victorious with a near perfect overall score of 90% and received the grand prize of a Creative Zen Touch MP3 player worth $499.

His other friends, Lee Wei Xiong and Luan Chang Ye, were tied for second place with scores of 88% each. However, having completed the round in a shorter time, it was Wei Xiong who was awarded first runner-up, earning him a brand new Canon Bubblejet i255 printer.

Wei Xiong had no hard feelings towards Jeffrey, who walked away with the top prize. He said, “It doesn’t matter lah, we’re all friends so it doesn’t matter what position I am.”

"Ngee Ann should have more of such [events]. This gaming competition was awesome!" Jeffrey said.