At 6 years old, many children are probably just worried about playing and getting good sleep. However, at 6 years and 335 days, Simar Khurana has become the world’s youngest video game developer. The feat has put her name on the Guinness World Records.
While most kids of her age would love to spend lots of time playing games, Simar Khurana decided to make one. What is most fascinating about her game is that it is entertaining and educational. Also, her games are designed for kids too.
Simar Khurana is from Beamsville, Ontario, Canada. She started learning coding in 2022 when she was 5 years old. She took three classes a week. Paras Khurana, her father was the first to notice Simar’s aptitude for coding and mathematics.
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“Simar learned math on her own by watching YouTube videos,” Paras told Guinness World Records. “While in Kindergarten, she was able to do Grade 3 maths. She was making crafts and games with whatever she had, sometimes just out of waste paper.”
After noticing her love for coding, Paras decided to introduce his daughter to demo coding classes—and she loved it. According to her father, one of the biggest challenges he faced was finding a coding class for Simar. Most of the coding classes he approached rejected her due to her age.
The reason was that they weren’t sure she would be able to cope with the advanced reading and writing that was involved in game development. Surprisingly, Simar did both at a level that was considered advanced for her age.
Paras’ long search eventually paid off and he found a teacher for his daughter. That marked the beginning of her coding journey. A few months into her classes, Simar decided to make her own video game.
What inspired the game created by Simar Khurana?
Every video game tells a story. Sometimes it is a collective story of a group of developers. In the case of Simar Khurana, her game was inspired by a visit to the family doctor. During the visit, the doctor spoke to Simar and her elder sister about the danger of bingeing on junk food. That sparked the idea to create the game which she called Healthy Food Challenge.
According to Simar, her intention was to make a game that would teach her peers about the difference between healthy and unhealthy food, the importance of eating a balanced diet from a young age, and how eating junk food can affect their health.
When Simar and her father decided to attempt the Guinness World Records for the youngest video game developer, they only had four months to achieve it or she would pass the age limit.
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“Simar was determined and willing to work hard,” Paras said. “We increased her classes […], she started taking 4 classes a week. At the same time, she was learning dance, gymnastics, and karate which she wanted to continue. Imagine a 6-year-old who goes to school and after that, she has 1-2 classes each day and has to do coding projects which require 1-2 hours of practice each day.”
Most adults would flinch at the idea. Contrary to that, Simar was excited to take on the challenges. She said she wants to be a game developer when she grows up. She recently made her first foray into AI and Machine Learning. She hopes to connect with other kids using her YouTube Channel called Simars World.
The day a reporter challenged Simar Khurana
Simar Khurana’s game is about two people who challenge each other to a race. One of them ate junk food before the race while the other ate a balanced diet. In Simar’s game, the player that ate the balanced diet always wins the race which is her way of telling her peers the importance of eating a balanced diet.
Eric Viano of CHCH News paid a visit to Simar and challenged her to put his name and voice in her game. In a few minutes, Simar completed the challenge. However, the reporter chose the character that ate the junk food and lost.
There is no limit to what this prodigy can do and we are excited to see how she will impact the video game industry in the future.
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