PURPOSEFULLY PI PHI

Choose Your Own Adventure

“Do what you love, love what you do” is age-old advice. Many strive to find not just a job, but something they enjoy doing. Massachusetts Gamma JENNY XU considers herself lucky to have turned her passion for video game development into a career. “It’s been fun to finally do what I’ve always wanted to do,” Jenny says. “It used to be my hobby, now it’s my job.”

Jenny is the CEO of Talofa Games – a gaming studio she started after winning the Niantic Beyond Reality Contest in 2019. In her role as CEO, Jenny oversees the game design, copywriting, art design, audio and engineering for Run to My Heart – Talofa Games’ social running mobile game.

As a child, Jenny spent most of her time drawing her favorite Pokémon and Neopets characters. She realized at a young age that video games were a way to bring her art to life. “I would often write visual novels or short stories that players could experience,” Jenny says. “I have a love of drawing, animating and storytelling.” For Jenny, video games are the most immersive way to experience a story.

Video game development requires a great deal of world building – designing the game play, writing dialogue, selecting music and even developing backstories for the characters. Everything from the dialogue between characters to the adjustment of sound is designed to elicit emotion from a player, and – unlike in books and movies – players have agency in the storylines they choose. The different components of each game are typically shared among a team, but Jenny designed many of her games on her own.

At 12 years old, after teaching herself to code, Jenny made her first video game. By middle school, Jenny was releasing a game every week – sometimes every day. She eventually founded JCSoft Inc. in order to share her games on Apple’s App Store. Jenny’s confidence continued to grow as some of her games hit the top charts and started providing a small income. “I realized if I was making games and utilizing monetization strategies, there was actually a way for me to build a career around this.” Jenny says. “That was an empowering moment for me.” The financial instability of a career in game development is a risk for anyone, but especially for women. “It’s still considered special if you’re a woman in the game industry,” Jenny says. “And even more special if you own your own studio.” It wasn’t until Jenny entered college that she realized the lack of women in game development. “People very quickly assumed that I was a guy,” Jenny says. “When I attended my first game conference, people were surprised to learn that I made my games on my own.”

Although Jenny recognized she was creating a path for women in video game development, at times she still felt lonely. It was the support from other women mentors in the gaming industry that provided Jenny with the confidence needed to continue. “Mental health is really important,” Jenny says. “Anyone who wants to enter the game developer community should find a support network.”

Jenny’s passion for gaming led to her successful and inspiring career in video game development. Just as she frequently looked to her mentors for guidance, Jenny knows she serves as inspiration to many young women and girls interested in gaming. Her advice is to share your work as much as possible. “The more you make, the easier it is to learn,” Jenny says. “Learn by doing and put stuff out before you’re ready. If you’ve put something out and you’re not even a little embarrassed by it, you’ve put it out too late.”