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Filipino developer secures Google mentorship with plantita-inspired game

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AC Coloma

ABS-CBN News

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17145515564671714551554552.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Filipina-developed Window Garden allows players to build their own virtual indoor garden on their phone. "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em></em>Filipina-developed Window Garden allows players to build their own virtual indoor garden on their phone. <em></em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">MANILA - A Filipino-developed mobile game about plantita life has been featured in one of Google’s grants for indie game development. </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Clover-Fi Games, founded by one woman team Camilla Santiago, is the sole Filipino game development company representing the Philippines this year in the Indie Games Accelerator (IGA) </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><br/></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Window Garden allows players to build their own virtual indoor garden on their phone.  The game was also featured in the GameDev Summit held in Boracay last February. Pinoy game development companies such as Yangyang Mobile and Ranida Games have also represented the country in IGA in previous years. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/2/15/foreign-game-companies-investors-urged-to-partner-with-ph-devs-1406" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="color:#1155cc;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:underline;-webkit-text-decoration-skip:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Foreign game companies, investors urged to partner with PH devs</span></a></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In an interview last February with ABS-CBN News, Santiago said the game was inspired by her mother’s own indoor garden during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;It started during the pandemic. [My setup was] work from home, and my mother had this little garden with plants. [I named it] Window Garden, [because] it&#x27;s literally a window garden with plants,” she said. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Santiago learned how to develop applications during COVID-19 community quarantines, learning the fundamentals through YouTube, and Google. Over time, she managed to build the application, which now has a 4.7 rating in Google Play. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Fellow game developers who made the program in the past encouraged her to apply. And eventually, in March, she found out she was making the cut. </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Kasi nung una hindi ko alam na may ganitong program. When I started wala akong alam na ganito, walang community ng game developers na kasama so I was just doing everything by myself, tutorial lang, YouTube. Kasi may naaaccept na akong help nung nagsta-start parang may mga possibility pala na parang ang tulong nila iinterpret ang data na paano makakatulong sa&#x27;kin as a game dev,” Santiago said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(At first, I didn&#x27;t know that they had a program like this. When I started this, the gaming community was barely visible so I was just doing everything by myself. Tutorials, YouTube. When I started I already accepted help from others on how I could be assisted as a game developer.) </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">For Santiago, being part of the program will help her in her journey as a solo developer, and expand her own game development company in the long run.  </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Hindi ko siya tinitingnan as a business. Pero gusto ko pa i-expand yung team dahil mag-isa ako. Wala pa kasi akong idea sa legal issues to expand, hire mga ganoon so yun ang pinaka looking forward ako,” she said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(I never saw this as a business at first. But I want to expand the team because I do things all by myself. This is because I don&#x27;t have an idea on the legal issues in expanding, hiring people so that&#x27;s what I&#x27;m looking forward to.) </span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Santiago’s tenure in the program will last ten weeks, starting mid-April.</span></div>

<p>Clover-Fi Games, founded by one-woman team Camilla Santiago, is the sole Filipino game development company representing the Philippines this year in the Indie Games Accelerator (IGA). </p>

Clover-Fi Games, founded by one-woman team Camilla Santiago, is the sole Filipino game development company representing the Philippines this year in the Indie Games Accelerator (IGA).