^{Artur Petrosyan, 19, Gyumri}

Every game begins with a Level 1: Here, players understand their abilities and navigate the intricacies of the game. Artur’s Level 1 began in 2016, when he pressed “Start” on his adventure as a Gyumri TUMOian. “The first few days were confusing. I was young and when I couldn’t enroll in the Game Development workshop, I felt pretty disappointed. Everything changed when I landed in the programming workshop. After also trying out robotics, I eventually found my way back to game development and fully immersed myself in it.”

The games that Artur created back when he was in the Level 3 game development workshop  are still available on Google Play. When asked about how it feels to have someone play his games, Artur responds with a smile, “It depends on the review.” In the future, Artur plans to design a globally-acclaimed game that will bring recognition to Armenia and inspire other companies.

^{The Pyramid Mystery game created by Artur}

According to Artur, games should be inspired by life. “The plot and gameplay of the most famous games contain nuances that teach you about yourself and others. Even games that take place in imaginary worlds often touch upon questions about human existence and interpersonal relationships. They push you to ponder these topics and approach your future life events from a different perspective.” Although life doesn’t have checkpoints and multiple tries in each level, it does contain heroes who guide and support you through different stages. “TUMO was my hero since it was there that I found my profession and fell in love with it. The five and a half years that I spent there were part of an important transformative stage for me. I’m still in touch with some of my workshop leaders and have a unique bond with TUMO Gyumri.”

^{Artur participating in the Drone Building learning lab, 2019}

Artur moved from Gyumri to Yerevan to attend university. As planned, he also began working and is now a programmer at The Software Development Company. Although he enjoys programming, game development is still on his horizon. By attending different workshops at TUMO (everything from animation and 3D to JavaScript), he came to the conclusion that focusing on one field shouldn’t mean dismissing other ones. “Games have a rule that you should always develop different sides of your protagonist instead of only focusing on one skill. This way, you’re more resilient and better prepared to handle all types of obstacles.”