Jordan Gaming Lab organises training courses on developing video games for children

AMMAN — The Jordan Gaming Lab has organised 10 free training courses specialised on the design and development of video games for over 215 Jordanian children around the Kingdom this summer.

The training courses, which are conducted annually, target children between 8 and 13 years old, aim at teaching the basics of designing mobile games and at exploring the visual programming language, according to the organisers.

A total of 26 courses, making up to 52 hours, were conducted in partnership with the Jordanian mobile game production company, Maysalward, including seven courses in Amman, two in Aqaba, and one in Irbid. 

Founded in 2011, The Jordan Gaming Lab is one of the initiatives of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) that supports the digital gaming sector with the aim of turning Jordan into a regional hub for the gaming industry, according to the KAFD website.

After this introductory course, the gaming lab will continue its training with an intermediate course to further develop the participants' creative skills in video games development, according to the organisers. 

The children will then be given a two-week timeframe to work on their games, as part of their access ticket for the next more advanced course, the organisers said. 

Nour Khrais, the technical managing partner at the Jordan Gaming Lab and CEO of Maysalward, said: "The summer course for children is an annual initiative that has been taking place since the launch of the first gaming lab in Amman in 2011. It is free and open to everyone, especially those who have passion, and possess the necessary skills for the programming and video games industries."

He said that these courses help children gain confidence in their abilities to produce and unleash their creativity using modern methods and techniques.

The first gaming lab was launched in the capital in 2011, and later expanded to Irbid, Aqaba, and Maan, according to the organisers.

New labs are scheduled to open in Karak and Zarqa Governorates.