Three Malaysians shine at The Games Awards 2023 Future Class

PETALING JAYA: Three Malaysians have been inducted into The Games Awards 2023 Future Class.

Samantha Low, Saqina Latif and Jonathan Tang Ziyi join 47 other video game personalities, creators and developers from all over the world as its latest inductees.

Low, a freelance videogame journalist, started her writing career at The Star as an intern before moving overseas and settling down in Tokyo, Japan. She is a regular columnist for multiple video game publications, including Kotaku.

Low: ‘I’m so happy to see more and more South-East Asian representation in gaming at a global level.’

“I’m so happy to see more and more South-East Asian representation in gaming at a global level. Our stories matter now more than ever, and video games are an incredible medium to tell them.

“What this means for me is hopefully more opportunities to advocate for my communities in South-East Asia and Japan,” she said when contacted.

Saqina, founder of Malaysian-based game studio Persona Theory Game, said that she still could not believe that she had been inducted.

“I’m eternally grateful for my friends, families, company and community who nominated me for this and continue to believe in me, even when I felt like I didn’t believe in myself.

Saqina: ‘I’m eternally grateful for my friends, families, company and community who nominated me for this and continue to believe in me, even when I felt like I didn’t believe in myself.’

“Here’s hoping for even more South-East Asian representation in games moving forward to 2024!” she said.

Game programmer Jonathan Tang said that being inducted into the 2023 class was a dream come true and proof that a career in the local video game scene is a viable one.

“Working in games was once a very risky career decision, but time and time again I have been supported by my community and their neverending fervour to make their craft better and better.

“I’ve found my medium to express my creative side, and with the honour of being able to be a representation to the community that nurtured me meant mountains of gratitude I could never repay for the life trajectory I now have.

“We are SEA, and we have a lot of stories to share!” he said.

Jonathan: ‘Working in games was once a very risky career decision, but time and time again I have been supported by my community and their neverending fervour to make their craft better and better.’

The Games Award is a yearly award ceremony celebrating the best video games of the year.

This year’s ceremony is scheduled to be held on Dec 7 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Every year, 50 people in the video game industry are honoured in their Future Class programme “who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future of video games”.

Last year, game developer Sophie Azlan was inducted as the sole Malaysian in the 2022 class.