Up-close tour for aspiring game designer
June 30th, 2008 by Kim
I did a story and posted on this blog in April about Kevin Nguyen, 17, who is suffering from a rare genetic disease that claimed the lives of his two brothers.
Because of his illness, Kevin can’t live the life of a normal 17-year-old, and spends much of his time playing video games in his Kalihi home and dreaming about becoming a video game designer.
After the story ran, Aloha Island, a local video game developer, got in touch with Kevin’s family and arranged for him to visit their small studio on University Avenue, which he did last week.
(Above: Kevin poses with a character from a game, “Aloha Island,” that is still being developed.)
“He seemed equally interested in everything, and not just art or programming,” Aloha Island producer Ty Robinson, who took the photos, said in an email. “Usually kids gravitate quickly to something, but it seemed he had a very broad view of all the elements that go in a game, which I thought for his age was pretty amazing.”
Robinson also showed Kevin a tool he could use to make his own games, called “Scratch,” and how 3D characters are created in movies and games with a software package called MAYA.
“Although I just met him, I could tell right away he is a fighter, and really knows his stuff about games,” Robinson said. “He made a big impression on all of us, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity.”
(Above: Kevin with lead artist Jason Nobriga, who presented Kevin with an autographed concept sketch.)
Kevin graduated in a special ceremony from McKinley High School in April. The principal of McKinley, as well as Kevin’s elementary and middle school teachers, his family and many friends, attended.
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Read about the difficulties of finding a bone marrow match for Vietnamese patients in this story about the Nguyen family in NHA Magazine from 2007.
For more information about bone marrow donation and the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, visit their website.
Tags: health, kevin nguyen
June 30th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Aloha Island ROCKS! Great news to hear that someone decided to do something to help this boy have a little better life experience. I love stories like this. GREAT STORY!
July 1st, 2008 at 1:10 am
I agree, great story!! Always great to see and hear news like this!
July 1st, 2008 at 8:21 am
Fantastic, way to go Aloha Island
July 1st, 2008 at 9:33 am
They’re having huuuuuuge bone marrow drives up here (NorCal) to for a Vietnamese girl by the name of Michelle Maykin. Hope it’ll find donors for both Michelle and Kevin…
July 10th, 2008 at 1:43 am
I am a family friend of Kevin and had the pleasure of accompanying him on his visit to Aloha Island. They were amazing hosts and made Kevin feel so comfortable. He does not go out much and is a bit guarded when meeting new people but this visit really meant a lot to him. This was actually the most talkative I had seen him in quite some time. Kevin asked thoughtful questions about every step of the game design process and the entire staff was very gracious in answering them. What an amazing day it was for Kevin! Our deepest gratitude goes to Ty for making this visit happen and to the rest of the Aloha Island staff for opening up their office as well as their hearts to give this boy something to strive for and hold on to.
And Kim- Thanks for continually following-up on Kevin! Keep up the amazing work!