Gaza Teenager Invents 20 Games: The Prodigy Programmer Dreams Big
New York, (MINA) – For five years, the now 15-year-old Bilal Shahin has been glued to the computer in his home in the besieged Gaza Strip. His love of discovering what lies inside this fascinating machine has consumed much of his existence.
He used to spend hours playing computer games, intrigued by how they were produced to entertain millions across the globe, The Middle East Eye reported.
“I was very curious to know how these games were made, which is why I started learning how to produce my own video games,” Bilal tells Middle East Eye.
When Bilal was only 11 years old, he started watching YouTube videos and skimming through articles online to learn how to produce and program his own video games.
“No one helped me, or noticed me. I was on my own the whole time trying to learn every single detail about programming,” he says proudly.
He began producing prototype games. He continued to adjust the structure of the games’ programming and make alterations using Microsoft’s code editing suite Visual Studio until he was happy with the final product.
Bilal said that he has developed 20 games over the past three years, including Flappy Attack Crush, which is available on Google Play.
The game’s aim is to prevent “pesky” birds from crossing through animated pipes by crushing them. Bilal was inspired by other games he played on Google Play and challenged himself to produce games similar to them.
To launch a game on Google Play, the contributor must provide proof of all the steps taken to produce the game in detail, as well as pay $30 online. Bilal’s IT teacher, Tawfiq Afana, insisted on paying the fees to encourage his talented student to pursue his dreams.
Afana says that Bilal always pays attention in his class and talks about how much he loves programming.
“I help him because you can’t always find an advanced passionate 15-year-old programmer,” Afana said.
In 2016, Afana encouraged Bilal to take part in the Gaza Technological Competition in al-Shalihat area, on the coast of Gaza. He demonstrated all of his video games in the competition and won first place amongst all the participants.
“I’m so proud Bilal is my student, I’m sure there is a bright future waiting for him,” he said.
Bilal is in the 11th grade at Al Taqwa school in Gaza, where he got a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).
Bilal likes to get feedback and take advice from his friends on how to develop and improve his games.
“I love playing Flappy Attack Crush especially when there is no electricity; I tell everyone I know that my friend Bilal made this game,” said Reslan al-Jaabari, Bilal’s friend said.(T/RE1/RS5)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
