For Reann Ubungen, gaming is everything. A way to connect with family and friends. A creative outlet. And someday, she plans to make a career out of it, too.
Ubungen moved around a lot growing up because her father was in the military. When she started high school in Alaska, she had left a lot of friends behind. To make matters worse, a global pandemic made making and maintaining friendships even harder. It was during this period of quarantine that she began playing games more, both online with her friends and at home with her father.
“Gaming kept that connection with my old friends going, despite the distance, and it brought my dad and I closer,” she said. “Games have a special role in my life. They’ve always been there for me. I just thought, ‘How cool would it be to be part of the people who are behind them and to create that kind of experience for someone else?’”
Now, as a sophomore majoring in Computer Science & Software Engineering at the University of Washington Bothell, Ubungen is taking strides to reach her goal of becoming a game developer through her experiences both on and off campus.
A career path
Ubungen always knew she wanted to go to college someday, but it wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she realized her love of gaming could also be a career. When she took her first computer-science related course that year, learning the basics of coding and programming, she found she enjoyed that side of the work.
“It wasn’t just the process but also the level of collaboration and the amount of effort that people put into their work to create these games that really inspired me to follow that path,” she said.
She then moved to Washington — a place she had always enjoyed and where her family had first immigrated after leaving the Philippines — and enrolled at UW Bothell. Looking to immerse herself in the campus experience, she became a peer coach to support fellow students with their overall transition to college.
She learned a lot herself as well, she said, including soft skills, such as what makes a great resume and how to go after career opportunities.
“The transition program manager, Emily Leonard, really pushed the whole team to reflect over our experiences and to always have a growth mindset,” Ubungen said. “The fact that she saw us as leaders changed how I viewed myself and encouraged me to push myself and to put my foot forward when it comes to my own career.”
Emboldened to take on her next challenge, she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw an opportunity to be a game development intern for a nonprofit organization in Lynnwood, Washington. She applied and was overjoyed to take on her first real-world experience at the job of her dreams.
The love of gaming
In August 2024, Ubungen began her internship with Games for Love, which creates games designed for sick children to heal through play during long-term illness and to raise money to support their other needs.
“I was drawn to their mission, their unique work and their values,” Ubungen said. “I was blown away that something like this could exist. It was cool to see how they kind of took all the same things I love about gaming and embodied it through their work. I really wanted to be a part of that.”
For her internship, Ubungen works with a team of other interns to create new games every month. As many of the games are for young children, they’re less complex than mainstream games and can be turned around much quicker. It’s just the kind of fast-paced hands-on experience she was looking for.
“I really appreciate the internship because it allows a lot of college students like me to push ourselves to learn new things and to work with others who are passionate about game development,” she said. “It’s really fulfilling to work with them and exchange ideas and accomplish a lot together.
It gives me a sense of pride to create something that I can actually show to people and to get feedback from people who are experienced in the work I want to do.
Reann Ubungen, sophomore, Computer Science & Software Engineering
Ubungen is also able to engage in multiple aspects of game design and development — from the artwork and storytelling to the coding and marketing. One of the most valuable lessons she’s learned, she said, is that even the simplest games can be enjoyable and beautifully rendered.
She took this lesson to heart when crafting one of her favorite contributions as an intern — a game where a young boy wakes up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. The user can control the amount of light, and this causes objects in the room to shrink or grow. She said she particularly enjoyed the simple artistry of creating this effect.
New games and friendships
When she’s not creating games for her internship, Ubungen gets together with friends to collaborate on games. She made connections with fellow gamers and found community in the Husky Game Development Club.
“The club was my first experience making games as a whole, and it was really nice to meet people who are really passionate about games and who want to learn,” she said. “I’ve also met two of my closest friends there — and it’s also amazing to meet other women who are interested in entering a male-dominated industry. We can depend on one other and push each other to make a game together.”
Kaitlin Nguyen and Elaine Hoang, fellow sophomores majoring in CSSE, have found a similar motivation working as a team to create games.
“Something I have enjoyed the most about being in the club with Reann is how much I feel like we’ve grown and accomplished together. She is driven and a good leader, someone who pushes our team to meet our goals in the face of obstacles,” Nguyen said. “Through working together in the club, we have learned new game development skills, created multiple games and become more confident in our ideas. It’s been really inspiring to see Reann work towards her goals through the club and her internship, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.”
Every quarter, the club hosts a game jam where members try to quickly create a game in a short period of time. They bond over this shared experience and find inspiration in the skills and ideas they each bring to the table.
“The thing that I enjoy most about being in a club with Reann is being able to create games and participate in game jams with her,” Hoang said. “Being able to plan and create something that all three of us can be proud of is something that I love doing with her. Whenever we brainstorm on a storyline for our game, she’s always one of the first to bring an idea. Not only does she bring this creative talent with her to the club, her skills on art also shine through.”
Eager for the next step
While only in her second year of college, Ubungen is amazed by how much hands-on experience she’s already gotten through her classes, her club involvement and her internship. Each serves as a stepping stone toward her ultimate goal of becoming a game developer and designer, she said.
Ubungen is eager to continue her education both in and out of the classroom and plans to seek out more real-world experience after her internship.
“My experiences so far have made me more confident in myself to create games and to know that I can do it in my career moving forward,” she said.
“I hope to someday work for a company that creates games that embody the story-driven games that inspired me when I was growing up.”
