Do you love playing games? Are you into coding? If the answer is “yes” to both questions, perhaps you should consider a career as a game developer.

Since a young age, Samuel Febrian, a freelancer in the game development business, loved to play games and spent most of his time playing them until he decided to do something significant about it during his sixth semester in university.

“It was my thesis that analyzed the adaption of artificial intelligence in games that took me to the market place, where I was able to get my first client, a Jakartan who asked me to create a game,” said Samuel.

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“So then I got thinking this field really suited me. I have the passion, plus, I can earn money from doing what I love,” said Samuel, who has so far created 6 games for mobile and websites, including Bullet Rush Combat and Blaze of Drago.

For Andi Taru, it was the response from users that drove him to bury himself deeper in game development. Residing in Salatiga, Central Java, Andi is known for his passion in educating children through games.

Andi learnt about game-making since he was in university and created his first game called Shoot Empire in 2007. But he stopped when he and his wife decided to start Educa Studio, a company that focuses on creating educational games (edugames) in 2012.

“We started everything from zero, both in technical matters and programming, picture making and animation, as well as voice recordings and music. We also learnt about non-technical matters such as how to create games that are suitable for children,” Andi said.

He and his team then created a game called Marbel, short for mari belajar sambil bermain (let’s learn while playing), as well as other interactive games such as Kolak, which showcases the latest animated songs for children aged 2-8, mini edugames for children aged 6-10 like Riri and Kabi, and the Marbel & Friends game series for children aged 7-12. All these games can be downloaded at their website.  

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“The good thing is this field fuels our passion in education. We can create many things according to the goal we set. And it pleases us if we hear that what we create can help many people to learn,” Andi said.

Andi shared some more important factors to succeed in this field.

“You need to master certain fields, such as design, art, music or coding. Then you have to do it often to enhance those skills,” he said. “Technology changes at the speed of light, which is your hardest challenge.”  

Those who are interested to become a game developer also need to possess a fiery passion in this field, said Samuel.

“Because programming language is very complex, the complexity can be overcome only if you’re passionate about it and willing to work hard,” he explained.

He suggested for those hunting for work join groups like Facebook Game Developer Indonesia or Video Game Artist Indonesia or visit websites for freelancers like freelancer.com or upwork.com.

“You should not give up easily as you will always feel challenged. But aside from that, you should have discipline and don’t forget to build a portfolio. Finish your creation and get it published at app stores,” said Samuel. (kes)