I was waitlisted for Build for Impact. The sensible move was to skip it. Term 2 started the next day, and I had never built a 3D game.
I sent one more email anyway.
They let me in. Twenty-four hours later, SpillTeaLeh won Champion and S$9,500 against more than 130 participants.
The idea needed one complete loop
Everyone in the wellness track was building a habit tracker. We built a running game instead.
The player moves through a Singapore-flavoured 3D city. Every 30 metres unlocks another piece of gossip and a choice that changes what appears next. The running mechanic gives the story its pacing without adding another dashboard.
SEA-LION, AI Singapore's model, generated the Singlish encouragement. It landed better than another generic motivational prompt. This was my first 3D build, shipped in 24 hours.
The city came from an imported low-poly asset pack. I focused my time on the parts that made it ours: movement, distance tracking, story state, unlock pacing and the mobile web build.
The ugly version won because it was playable
We scoped everything around the demo. One city route. One reliable distance loop. Enough story to make the next unlock feel worth chasing.
The email got me into the room. The win came from cutting the product until the risky idea could be played, not explained.