Emmanuel Omene is a talented individual who found his passion for coding and web development at a young age and turned it into a full-time career. His path was often beset with roadblocks, challenges and difficult choices, but the setbacks he faced along the way only served to fuel his motivation. Omene went on to become one of the top freelancers on Upwork, a site dedicated to connecting talented individuals with people and companies that need their services. Over the past few years, Upwork has detected a massive increase in the demand for jobs related to programming and information technology.
Early Life
Although Omene’s first goal was to study medicine and become a doctor, his life took a few turns along the way. His desire to become a doctor came from his mission to earn a comfortable wage, but he also enjoyed helping those in need. The moment that planted the seeds of change in Omene occurred when he watched his older brother write computer programs on the family computer. Captivated by the thought of creating his own code one day, he watched his brother for hours at a time. Omene jumped onto the chair behind the desk the second his brother finished the project on which he was working. It was not always easy, but he learned basic web programming and continued to pursue his passion.
Time at the University of Benin
In 2010, Omene began attending the University of Benin to study medical physiology. Wanting to be as successful as fate would allow, he spent most of his time reviewing chapters and studying for tests. During his years at the university, he still maintained his interest in web development but did not have time to do it. Rather than abandoning his freelance business, Omene outsourced his jobs to other web developers for a cut of the profit.
It did not take long for Omene to become curious about game development, and he quickly explored his new interest. He was, however, disappointed to learn that coding a game required a range of skills and abilities he did not have, prompting him to give up. He later uncovered an article about a platform called Unity, which is software that makes it a lot easier to learn game development. Even though he was still taking medical classes at the time, he opted again to explore the world of game development, hoping to turn it into his main source of income.
Exploring a Passion
As he took a closer look at what he would need to do to become a game developer, he quickly learned that the path demanded a variety of skills. He would, for example, need to understand graphics and how to create digital animations that respond to user input. Omene realized he had a lot of work to do but never let that fact discourage him from chasing his new dream of creating his first game.
Instead of buying tons of books or taking programming classes, Omene watched videos on YouTube to get his new passion moving in the proper direction. He spent most of his free time searching for ways to craft games that would provide fun and entertainment to those who played them.
A Fork in the Road
Omene’s passion and interest in game development took up so much of his time that he had to make a critical choice: Will he continue going to school to learn medicine or quit university to enhance his coding skills? The choice was not easy to make, and he put the decision off for as long as he could. But after careful consideration, he chose to pursue his goal of becoming a game developer.
First Game
The first game Omene developed on his own is Sango Run, an Android game allowing players to assume the role of a god trying to defend innocent villagers from evil forces. Omene is still proud of the first game he released to the public, but he also turned his attention to even higher goals.
Gamsole and Beyond
In his search to find work as a game developer, Omene reached out to a company called Gamsole and got a response. He began working for the company immediately after getting his reply and knew his life was on the right track. After working for Gamsole for a period, Omene moved on to work for another development company called Vericore Technologies.
Branching Out
Thrilled at the chance to work for reputable companies as a developer, Omene was proud of the direction in which his life was moving, but something was still missing. His next goal was to branch out on his own and create a gaming studio, and that is how Gamfari was born. Omene quickly discovered he did not have enough money to launch the company and turned to freelance to raise the funds, which sparked his career on the web-based platform Upwork.
During his early days on the freelance site, Omene found getting people to hire him difficult, but his persistence paid off. He eventually became one of the most top-rated freelancers on the site, which earned him an impressive income. As of 2018, Omene still works as a freelancer in his quest to raise enough capital to launch a business of his own.
