Key facts
- Jarvs Tasker left teaching seven years ago at age 28 due to chronic illness.
- Tasker now earns double her former annual salary in the gaming industry.
- Tasker founded Jarvs Indie Insights, a firm providing communication and marketing for the gaming industry.
- Tasker believes passion is the most important factor for success in the gaming industry.
- Game Anglia works to raise awareness about careers in the UK's growing independent gaming industry.
- The East of England has growing clusters of students and developers, attracting studios.
Jarvs Tasker, founder of Jarvs Indie Insights, shared her experience of transitioning from teaching to the gaming industry, where she now earns double her previous salary. Tasker left her teaching career seven years ago due to chronic illness and found that skills like community management are transferable to the gaming sector. She emphasized the importance of passion in the industry and noted that many people enter it later in life.
Tasker's insights were shared during an event hosted by Game Anglia at the University of Suffolk, which aimed to showcase the expanding independent game development scene in the East of England. Mark Backler of Game Anglia highlighted that the industry is one of the UK's largest and that developing and releasing independent games is more feasible than ever, comparing it to being a content creator.
Developer Sam Read-Graves noted the massive growth of the gaming industry over the past decade, with initiatives like Game Anglia fostering clusters of talent that attract studios. While large-scale game production like Call of Duty may not yet originate from the region, independent games have the potential for significant financial success.
Abbygale Dunn, founder of independent game development company Astral Forge, spoke about the increasing opportunities for women in the industry, noting that despite a low number of women in her university course, she has never felt out of place as a programmer. Omar Khalil, game scout lead at Entity, pointed out that while the UK has abundant talent, the biggest challenge for developers is gaining visibility for their games amidst a crowded market.