XTiming Interviews #BreaktheBias Part 2
XTiming Interviews is a new series telling the stories of various gaming industry leaders who have impressed us! Hopefully, you can learn something from their stories, and support them by following and playing their games!
In this story, we speak to Fathima Minha Farook, the Ambassador at Women in Games, Game Tester and Indie Game Developer, on the importance of self-education and following your dreams!
Q: Let's kick things off with a brief career history: how did you come to be doing what you do now?
I didn't have a computer when I was a kid. When I first went to computer courses, I found a few games on the computer. I gathered some courage and asked my teacher if I could play games for 15 minutes after class. I still remember the first game I played was Super Mario and some racing games. I was so impressed, the game world looked so realistic. What gets me the most about games is the ability to explore countries and universes from home and be whatever I want to be.
I got a job as a computer teacher for kids after graduation. At the time, I already knew that I had to belong to the gaming industry and used every spare moment to learn coding and game development.
Q: Let Q: As a self-learnt gamedev, how did you learn game development?
When I started, I didn't even know what “game engine” meant. I downloaded everything I could find on the Internet. For example, Unity game engine has a free trial and a guide for beginners.
During the lockdown in 2020, while I was browsing Facebook I saw a competition to make games in 42 hours. I was so interested to participate in it but I didn't have a good laptop to participate in. I used my Personal Desktop and designed many creative designs, drawing without any special software. I only used paint software which was on my computer.
I didn’t have an opportunity here in Shri Lanka to study game development at university. I couldn't attend university due to my religion and the ban on wearing headscarves. So the only thing I could do was to self-learn gamedev. Nowadays, there are a lot of videos on YouTube, and thanks to that I’ve learned everything I know about game development from these videos. You shouldn’t make any excuses that you don’t have this or that, if you are truly motivated nothing should stop you. Now I'm also sharing my knowledge by making tutorial videos about Scratch and game development.
Q: What mobile games do you have on your phone right now?
I have countless games on my phone, like Mario kart and also many Aliexpress games. I'm a gamer and tester so I have to download different games when I work with different projects. My favorite is Toanga The Island Farm Game on my Tablet.
Q: A lot of people seem to think being a game tester is a dream job. What do you think of the work?
It’s my favorite job in the game industry. You can be a game tester if you have a passion for playing video games and attention to detail. The testers have to go over the same area of a game multiple times, you have to concentrate at all times. And also, you need to have a technical background and coding knowledge. Whatever the bug a game tester needs to find it first.
In 2019 I had an opportunity to test Shadow's Edge-UK. This is an educational game so I tested as a teacher and a student.
Q: Tell me more about “Women in Games”
Women in games: Women in Games is a UK-based community interest company which aims to recruit more women into the video gaming industry and to protect the interests of women in the industry. The purpose of Women in Games is to build a fair, equal and safe environment empowering girls and women in the global gaming ecosystem.
Q: What does being a Women in Games Ambassador consist of, and how did you become one?
Women in Games Ambassador- My Responsibilities as a Women in Games Ambassador- I will be contributing to Women in games events, awards, conferences, research and celebrating female innovation.
Everyone working in or looking to work within games is welcome to apply on our website to join the program, providing they join us in our mission.
Women in Games support all women, female-identifying persons, non-binary people and allies, in understanding the games industry and the opportunities there are within it, no matter at what stage their career or life journey they are in.
Find out more about the Women in Games Individual Ambassador Programme: https://www.womeningames.org/ambassadors/about-individual-ambassadors/