Game designers from Kazakhstan on the development of the indie gaming sector in the country

Amir Aitkulov, Game Designer at indie studio CorgiBites, @steppe.boy 

Olzhas Amanzhol, Game/Level Designer at Borsyq Games, @balabrola 

About the company

Amir: Olzhas and I know each other; we both took the Pipeline 3.0 course under the Tech Orda program, which is run by the video game development company Omnium. We went through the entire development process, including 3D and 2D modeling, game design, and programming. At the end, as our diploma project, we submitted a finished mobile game.

The CorgiBites team consists of 10 people, some of whom have good experience. After completing all the courses, we came together as a team and released our first mobile game, Project Red, which is available on the Play Market. At the moment, we no longer provide technical support for it because we have moved on to another project in collaboration with an existing operating company called Take Top Entertainment.

Our most significant achievement is that we are working together with industry professionals and developing a new project.

Olzhas: Two weeks ago, we received a message from Astana Hub and officially became residents as a separate studio.

After completing the courses, we released our project Eden, which is a 3D platformer for mobile phones. A demo version is already available on the Play Market. We plan to continue working on this project in the future, but for now, we have decided to focus on the business side—developing interactive 3D websites using various game mechanics and opportunities for businesses.

What is indie gaming

Amir: The word itself defines the name: Indie stands for independent development. The main difference is that indie development does not involve a large game publisher. Our teams also do not currently have a publisher. The people gather themselves and start developing games. It is difficult to draw a clear line for the concept of "indie." Many small teams receive support from large companies, which contributes to their development. We ourselves have an agreement with such a company that helps with promotion.

Experience of creating your own game

Amir: Creating your own game is a cool but simultaneously difficult experience. Development is not an easy task in itself. Even large companies often face financial problems or difficulties in creating something new. Recently, remakes or sequels of existing series are frequently released.

I think it was a good experience in terms of developing teamwork skills, since game development is mostly about teamwork. The difficulty lies in the fact that the market in Kazakhstan is not yet very large. There are major players, some of whom recently moved from Russia. Kazakhstani companies with successful cases include Olzhass Games, which developed Car Parking. I think our market is just beginning to grow in terms of gaming.

Olzhas: I have always been attracted to this field: I have played games all my life, and development left a good impression on me. I managed to find a good group of people with similar interests and desires.

Developing from scratch without experience in this field is not the easiest task. However, enthusiasm helped overcome the fear of the unknown when you don't even know what needs to be done. The most stressful stage of development is crunch time—moments when you have deadlines by which you need to prepare the project, and you have to stay up all night to finish everything.

Development of the indie gaming sector in Kazakhstan

Amir: One of the problems is the lack of paid job positions. We have several large companies, such as Playrix, G5, and Olzhass Games. I believe that skill development through educational programs plays an important role. We have talented freelancers, but working in a team or company could lead to a greater number of projects and the unification of talents.

The GameDev center at Astana Hub provides a venue for meetings, communication, and collaboration. Creating a strong community of game developers is the first step toward industry development.

Olzhas: We need more specialists in 3D modeling, animation, game design, and programming. Universities do not yet provide such education, but they are working on it. Improving the level of education in universities will create more qualified specialists. It is also important to develop local studios and provide job opportunities for new specialists.

At the moment, it is difficult to find a place in game development companies. The community plays an important role in this aspect. Many developers in Kazakhstan feel isolated, are shy about sharing their ideas with the public, and prefer to work in secret. However, it is important to share experience and develop the community so that more people are aware and interested in this field.

Recommendations for those who want to start a career in game development

Olzhas: Participate in various events, attend meetings, forums, and events related to game development and the IT industry. Develop hard and soft skills. Currently, the IT sector, including programming, is developing well. If we talk about directions in the gaming industry, the most common programming languages used are C++ and C#. They are used in popular game engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity.

If you want to enter the gaming industry, it is important to keep up with the latest news and opportunities. Take courses at specialized schools such as Tech Orda or Omnium, where you can not only gain knowledge but also join a community of like-minded people.

Amir: I am not a programmer by education. My major is Political Science. But I was interested in the gaming field. I started looking for opportunities to enter the industry, reading various articles. During my internship at Astana Hub, I helped organize the Digital Bridge 2022 event. And already within the framework of the event, I met Omnium, which provided educational services in GameDev.

Study the most basic and popular tools—Unity, a platform used for mobile games, and Unreal Engine for computer projects. In Kazakhstan, there are opportunities to improve your qualifications. And if you want to develop games, enroll in universities to study computer science.