From Gamer to Designer

Starting:
Let's start from the beginning. My name is Ali Arman, and I live in Karachi, Pakistan. Like many others, I was also interested in tech because of gaming. I bought my first computer just to play GTA Vice City. Yeah, it's true! I used to play many games from the era of 2005 to 2018 until I learned more about the thing computer. I thought about finding ways to engage myself in the tech world, so I tried many things. I started a tech solutions YouTube channel (which, of course, was unsuccessful), then I tried to learn coding for web development. I also spent some time in cybersecurity learning about ethical hacking. After that, college ended and I ended up with a data entry job, fun time ended!

LoonSnow - My Next Chapter

Story Begins:
I worked in data entry for four years, and during my third year, I met Bilal Ahmed, my journey partner. He saw my creativity and encouraged us to start our own app development company. We agreed that he would learn digital marketing for tech industry, while I would learn the technical skills needed.

I applied for a diploma in app development at Sir Syed University, but during the admission interview, the interviewer asked me some creative questions about why app development suited me, and I was at a loss for words. Then he suggested trying e-commerce or game development, which are also good courses. Finally, I heard something that resonated with me—game development! I decided to enroll in that program and shared all my creative game ideas and my experiences playing at a high level in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. After describing the tournaments I played in and my profile, he understood what I truly wanted.

That year, I learned game development, started freelance work and enhance my coding skills learning online. I realized that I wanted to explore the art of game design I'm not just for code and work on game engine. In my opinion, there’s nothing comparable to game designing in the app Industry; if you were to compare a game designer to someone in the movie industry, you should compare them to a movie director—and that's really true. So, I read books on game design, completed Udemy courses, and much more. Eventually, Bilal and I decided to leave our jobs.

Game Studio Journey:
After leaving our jobs, we had multiple ideas and marketing strategies, all of which existed only in our minds. All we had were a few freelance projects, but we lacked a team of good Artists and Developers, a market identity, and a name. So, we began brainstorming for a suitable name and eventually landed on "LoonSnow." Our slogan, "Where Dreams Become Pixels," perfectly captures our vision.

We then focused on finding permanent clients for LoonSnow, as freelancing couldn't be our main focus. It was a challenging year filled with the hard work of establishing a name, acquiring clients, building a team, designing a website, and developing our brand.

Today, I reflect on how far I have come since those early days. It has been an incredible journey, and we are proud to have created our own game studio!