You don’t expect the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a company to be a mediocre student, but Fadzuli Said of mobile games studio Mighty Bear Games isn’t shy about sharing about his past failures.
“I was very studious during my early primary school years and did well for my PSLE. Then I got addicted to video gaming and my studies fell by the wayside. I believed I could cruise through,” he says. “I spent a significant portion of my secondary school life either playing Dungeons and Dragons or chess.”
When this led to poor O-Level results, Fadzuli decided to head straight for National Service (NS), which was the turning point in his life.
“I was a platoon sergeant in charge of 60 people. It made me realise that if I’m not control of my own life, I can’t be responsible for others. That gave me the drive to start afresh and improve myself,” he says.
Here, the 39-year old shares the three principles that helped to take him from dejected student to CTO of a company that has released three games. Along the way he’s chalked up stints at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney.
His advice: Find something that you really enjoy doing
His story:
After Fadzuli’s O-Level results, he felt adrift.
“I was still not interested in studying then. So, when I tried applying to the polytechnics, I just picked courses at random, such as aerospace or engineering; I didn’t get into any of them,” he says.
During NS, Fadzuli met people from all walks of life – and that helped to broaden his perspectives. “I got to understand what their goals were, and it made me think of my own options.”
He cites an example of a friend in NS who had mapped out his long-term goals. “This guy had a clear direction in life; he wanted to be a manager in five years and had other things planned out beyond that,” he says.
These experiences got Fadzuli thinking hard about what he wanted in life and he recalled his love for computers and video games.
“I always had an interest in computer hardware and software, and I love creating things from scratch. So, I decided to take up coding classes at a private school,” he says.
“And once I started on it, I knew I had finally found something I enjoyed learning,” says Fadzuli.
With a renewed focus, Fadzuli applied for only IT-related polytechnic courses after completing NS.
He got into Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)’s Diploma in Information Technology course. After his first year, the school introduced the Digital Entertainment Technology (DET) course, and Fadzuli applied to transfer there.
“It was no-brainer for me. The course was about developing games and other interactive applications. I love playing games, so I was excited about this opportunity,” he says.
To qualify for DET, Fadzuli had to write an essay on why he wanted to be enrolled in the course.
“I wrote about the games I played in my childhood and why I liked them. I also wrote about the shared experience I had playing games with my sister and how this experience made our relationship stronger,” he says.
Fadzuli got in, and because he transferred from a course in IT and had foundational programming knowledge, he was able to skip a year.
His journey had begun.
His advice: Capitalise on every opportunity
His story:
During Fadzuli’s final year at NYP, a director from the Carnegie Mellon University came down to check out the DET students’ projects. The university was interested in offering the top four students places in its Masters in Entertainment Technology course.
Fadzuli qualified, but he did not have the means to fund his education. Undeterred, he applied for scholarships.
He managed to secure a Media Education Scheme scholarship from the Media Development Authority of Singapore (now known as the Infocomm Media Development Authority) thanks to his good results, but it wasn’t enough.
“I needed more money to cover my tuition and living expenses,” says Fadzuli.
Then, help arrived from ST Electronics.
“A representative from ST Electronics was at the NYP graduation show. He liked my projects and was interested in hiring me. So, I asked whether the company could be a co-sponsor for my studies,” says Fadzuli.
ST Electronics agreed to his request. Fadzuli would later return to Singapore after his studies to use his new skills to develop multimedia applications for ST Electronics.
Says Fadzuli, “Put yourself in situations where you can gain access to new opportunities and boost your career prospects – even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.”
While at Carnegie Mellon in 2009, he managed to score an internship at Disney. “It was a great experience because I got to work on an online role-playing game. Having a big company like Disney on my resume was also good for my career prospects.”
Besides being proactive in making the most of every opportunity, it’s also about waiting for the right time and place, says Fadzuli.
“I had actually been thinking about starting a gaming company long before I thought about Mighty Bear Games,” he says.
Friends and former classmates had floated the idea to him, but Fadzuli did not feel ready.
“That moment only came when I was working at a game studio called KING. The company was winding up its operations in Singapore and wanted us to work in its branch in Europe,” says Fadzuli. “A few colleagues and I felt that Singapore was a good place to stay and make games. So, we talked about forming our own company, and how we wanted to run it. That was when everything clicked for me.”
His advice: Never stop learning
His story:
“It is important to always be learning; this is how you can continuously pick up important and relevant skills,” says Fadzuli.
He recalls how during his NYP days he would read up on topics that were not taught in his course. “I never paid much attention to my maths lessons in the past. And because my diploma had modules that dealt with advanced maths concepts, I struggled,” says Fadzuli. “I had to quickly pick up fundamental concepts like vectors and geometry in order to catch up.”
Even now as the CTO at Mighty Bear Games, he continues to explore online courses. This is especially crucial now as he has to stay on top of industry trends and oversee the entire development of the company’s games.
“Previously, I was very focussed on client-facing technology, such as user interface and graphics. Now, I must understand the backend technology as well, such as the running of servers,” he says. “It is about developing a more well-rounded set of skills.”
And before the pandemic, Fadzuli would organise gatherings with his peers in the industry to discuss industry trends and best practices.
At the end of the day, there is more than one measure of success and many routes to get to your goal, says Fadzuli. But, he reiterates that you have to be willing to step up and try new things.
“This way, you will be able to grow as an individual and figure out what works for you,” he says.
“For me, I never planned to be in the gaming industry. I was very lucky to be given those opportunities. But at the same time, I put myself in situations where I could capitalise on these opportunities and build my experience, skills and network.”
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