More than play: Ngee Ann Polytechnic students turn video games into crime prevention tools

What if a video game could do more than entertain?

For a team of 50 students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's (NP) School of InfoComm Technology, a four-week game development project this year became an opportunity to explore how video games can go beyond entertainment and serve as a platform for crime prevention.

Speaking to AsiaOne on Friday (Sep 11), second-year student Low Jia Shen, 18, said the project allowed him and his peers to work on real-world scenarios rather than focusing solely on game design.

"I felt that it was very important to have outside experience instead of focusing purely on games, which is what we learn in our day-to-day classes. This gives me a more rewarding final product," said Low.

For Low and his schoolmates, the Delta Challenge was a new component introduced to their curriculum this year, allowing students to work on projects centred on real-world scenarios while applying their skills in game design.

Launched in 2025 by the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council, the Delta Challenge is a youth initiative that encourages young people to use creativity to raise awareness about crime prevention.

Participants can take part by creating projects such as online games and artworks centred on different crime prevention themes, with cash prizes of up to $25,000 up for grabs.

While the student-developed games are intended for members of the public, they are currently not available on any platform and will only be released if sponsorship is secured.

Among the entries are games developed by NP students, featuring themes ranging from road safety and scam education to crime prevention. The games place players in real-world scenarios where they must abide by different laws and rules in order to progress and eventually complete the game.

A learning point would also pop up each time a mistake is made, explaining what went wrong and reinforcing the relevant lesson. By incorporating educational messages directly into gameplay, the students hope to help players better understand the consequences of unsafe or unlawful actions and how they can avoid them in real life.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Siti Noraini Binte Shafiee Aloweni said the challenge gives youths a chance to take a more active role in keeping the community safe.

"The Delta Challenge empowers youths to go beyond being advocates for crime prevention - it gives them the opportunity to be part of the solution," said Siti.

"By harnessing their creativity, skills and energy, youths work with the SPF and NCPC to develop innovative ideas and initiatives that contribute to the safety and security of our community."

She pointed to projects such as educational games and digital artworks as examples of how participants can translate crime prevention messages into formats that are engaging and relatable for their peers.

Module participant Lam Thong Wan, 21, saw the project as an opportunity to challenge herself and gain experience beyond conventional game development.

"I wanted to give myself a new challenge and also to raise awareness of the different types of crime," said Lam.

"I had to do my research on different areas of crime prevention, such as vaping and road safety, among others. This definitely helped me understand more about these issues and how we can prevent them."

Challenge integrated through professor's personal efforts

While elements of the Delta Challenge have been incorporated into programmes at various institutes of higher learning, NP is the only school to date that has fully integrated it into its curriculum.

Professor Ryan Qin, a lead lecturer at NP who introduced the challenge to the curriculum, told AsiaOne that he decided to make it a permanent part of students' coursework to show how new media can also serve the wider community.

"This was something that I wanted to personally incorporate in my classes with the students because I want to let our students do something beyond what is typically taught," said Qin, who has been a lecturer in the school for over a decade.

"I found that the Delta Challenge was a perfect opportunity for our students not just to do a project, but also to work on a topic that affects them as youths indirectly."

For Qin, the students' games showed how familiar video game mechanics could be repurposed to educate players about crime prevention.

"This is more than just a game. It goes beyond the classroom - it is an education that comes from real-world experience and helps students understand how they can also play a part in the community," he said.

xingying.koh@asiaone.com

如果电子游戏除了娱乐之外还能做更多的事情呢？

今年，义安理工学院（NP）信息通信技术学院的 50 名学生组成的团队，通过为期四周的游戏开发项目，探索了电子游戏如何超越娱乐，成为预防犯罪的平台。

9 月 11 日星期五，18 岁的大二学生 Low Jia Shen 在接受 AsiaOne 采访时表示，该项目让他和他的同学们有机会处理现实世界的场景，而不是仅仅专注于游戏设计。

“我觉得拥有课外经验比单纯专注于游戏更重要，因为我们日常课堂上学习的就是游戏。这能让我最终获得更有价值的成果，”Low说道。

对于Low和他的同学们来说，Delta挑战赛是今年课程中引入的一个新组成部分，它允许学生们在游戏设计方面运用他们的技能，开展以现实世界场景为中心的项目。

Delta Challenge 由新加坡警察部队和国家预防犯罪理事会于 2025 年发起，是一项青年倡议，旨在鼓励年轻人运用创造力来提高人们对预防犯罪的认识。

参与者可以通过创作以不同犯罪预防主题为中心的在线游戏和艺术作品等项目参与活动，并有机会赢取高达 25,000 美元的现金奖励。

虽然这些学生开发的游戏面向公众，但目前尚未在任何平台上发布，只有在获得赞助后才会发布。

参赛作品中包括由NP学生开发的游戏，主题涵盖道路安全、防诈骗教育和犯罪预防等。这些游戏将玩家置于真实场景中，玩家必须遵守各种法律法规才能继续游戏并最终完成任务。

每次玩家犯错时，都会弹出学习提示，解释错误原因并强化相关知识点。通过将教育信息直接融入游戏玩法，学生们希望帮助玩家更好地理解不安全或非法行为的后果，以及如何在现实生活中避免这些行为。

助理警司西蒂·诺莱尼·宾特·沙菲·阿洛韦尼表示，这项挑战让年轻人有机会在维护社区安全方面发挥更积极的作用。

“三角洲挑战赛赋予青年力量，让他们不仅成为预防犯罪的倡导者，更有机会成为解决方案的一部分，”西蒂说道。

“青年们发挥他们的创造力、技能和活力，与新加坡警察部队和国家警察委员会合作，提出创新理念和举措，为我们社区的安全保障做出贡献。”

她指出，教育游戏和数字艺术作品等项目可以作为参与者如何将预防犯罪信息转化为同龄人能够理解和接受的形式的例子。

21岁的模块参与者林通婉将这个项目视为挑战自我、获得传统游戏开发以外经验的机会。

“我想给自己一个新的挑战，也想提高人们对不同类型犯罪的认识，”林说。

“我必须对犯罪预防的不同领域进行研究，例如电子烟和道路安全等等。这无疑帮助我更好地了解这些问题以及我们如何预防它们。”

挑战融入了教授的个人努力

虽然 Delta Challenge 的一些元素已被纳入各个高等学府的课程中，但迄今为止，NP 是唯一一所将其完全融入课程的学校。

NP 的首席讲师 Ryan Qin 教授将这一挑战引入课程，他告诉 AsiaOne，他决定将其作为学生课程作业的永久部分，以展示新媒体如何服务于更广泛的社区。

“这是我一直想亲自融入到课堂教学中的内容，因为我想让我们的学生做一些通常教学内容之外的事情，”秦说道，他在该校担任讲师已有十多年。

“我发现，‘三角洲挑战赛’不仅为我们的学生提供了一个完成项目的绝佳机会，而且还让他们有机会研究一个间接影响他们青少年时期的话题。”

秦认为，学生们的游戏展示了如何利用熟悉的电子游戏机制来教育玩家如何预防犯罪。

“这不仅仅是一场游戏。它超越了课堂——它是一种源于真实世界经验的教育，帮助学生了解他们如何也能为社区做出贡献，”他说。

邢英.koh@asiaone.com