Seyed Nasrollahi
Video game developer
Founder, UnifiQ Games
Turning a passion for video gaming into a career
Seyed studied theoretical physics at Imperial College London. He then went on to do a masters in mathematics at the University of Cambridge, before returning to Imperial for his PhD in physics. After his studies, Seyed founded a start-up aimed at developing an AI model to predict metal properties based on their composition.
However, the idea struggled to find a market and Seyed pivoted, setting up UnifiQ Games to develop Operation Outsmart, a physics-based computer game to promote STEM learning. In 2021, he won an Innovate UK Young Innovators Award.
More than three billion people around the world regularly play computer games and, on average, young people spend more than 15 hours per week playing them. That’s a lot of people. And a lot of time. So, why not channel this into something that is both fun and meaningful?
Educational games have got a bad reputation for being boring, but this is something I am determined to change.
I believe absolutely anyone can enjoy learning about science if it’s delivered in an engaging way. So, for me, the big question I’m trying to crack is “Can we make a video game that is super fun to play and creates interest in STEM* topics?”
My journey to answering this question began after my first start-up didn’t work out. I came up with the idea of using our AI technology as a core mechanic for a game, allowing the user to experiment with the physics and chemistry of materials to create wacky machines and overcome environmental obstacles. The aim is for users to reach a volcano to stop it from erupting – recruiting warrior koalas along the way.
The early prototypes had a lot of potential, so we started to put in some serious work on developing a commercial game.
I loved video games when I was younger, so getting to follow a passion of mine felt like I was finally doing what I was meant to do – and brought back a lot of my childhood memories.
I’m the CEO of UnifiQ games, but – like the founder of any early-stage start-up – I have to wear many hats. Broadly speaking, my role is divided into two parts: the business side and the creative side.
On the business side, I need to constantly keep an eye open for talent, conduct interviews, manage the finances, do bookkeeping, project planning, meet my mentors, manage the team, go to games events, network with investors and publishers, pitch the product, and more (phew!).
On the creative side, I research similar games – I get to play lots of games (huge perk), design the game, design the levels, program the gameplay mechanics, work on the visuals, and continuously test the game.
The most exciting part of my job is designing the game and programming the mechanics. I love game design because it is a huge problem-solving task. You need to seamlessly connect many pieces of the puzzle within the constraints you have, making sure the overall result is fun to play but also aligns back to my vision. Then we programme prototypes of those design decisions to see how well they work.
The biggest myth about the games industry is that game developers like me aren’t scientists because we don’t work in a lab or research institute. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
I’m using my background in science to continuously experiment within my game. Whenever something doesn’t work, I change the conditions and try again until I succeed at creating the perfect game element. And that is what science is all about.
When I started UnifiQ Games, I had a background in science, but apart from my love of video games, I didn’t have any experience in actually creating them. Despite this, I was accepted into the Games London Accelerator programme, which led to UnifiQ being featured in the London Games Festival, and later into the Tentacle Zone Incubator.
All of these opportunities helped me immensely to connect with many different people; I cannot emphasise how important personal connections are in this industry, and I could not have made it this far without my mentors’ guidance. Whether it is my brother Mahdi whom I run UnifiQ alongside, a fellow video game developer, or suppliers I work with on different aspects of the game, I feel very lucky to have so many great people in my network.
Click here for more scientists who are Smashing Stereotypes.
*STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and maths.
Thank you to the Science Museum for supporting the photography in Seyed’s Smashing Stereotypes profile.