Games, education, inspiration: Trip Hawkins on creative potential and collaboration in Kazakhstan

My first question is related to your startup, If You Can Company, which developed a very interesting game called If. It addresses anti-bullying issues and is designed for classroom and teacher–student interaction. How can this game be adapted for use in Kazakh classrooms? Could you potentially partner with the Ministry of Education to introduce it in Kazakhstani schools?

— I think that would be a great idea. The game was developed about ten years ago. It struggled to find an audience willing to pay for it, so it was difficult to get consumers to spend money on that sort of thing, and schools weren’t quite ready for it.

At this point, the game hasn’t been available for almost a decade, so to make it useful again, it would need to be refreshed and updated for modern operating systems and platforms. That’s possible with some financial support.

Kazakhstan is actively taking steps to address bullying in schools. How successful would you say the game has been in targeting this issue?

— I think it’s very effective, but we never had the opportunity to conduct a well-planned research phase to test children before and after using it and measure improvement.

You also want to track them over time — to see whether the habits they’ve formed and the knowledge they’ve gained actually stick. You need to survey them periodically to make sure it works, right?

I’ve been looking for years for the right government or school system willing to help fund and execute that kind of testing to prove its effectiveness. But I have no doubt that it works.

We worked with one of the leading experts in the field for three years, using 50 lesson plans that had been applied for decades in the school best known for teaching emotional intelligence. It was the same school featured in Daniel Goleman’s 1993 bestseller Emotional Intelligence.

The woman interviewed for that book — who was my partner in creating the game — also taught my children. All four of them attended that school. So I had three decades of experience observing how these lessons shaped them, and I can personally attest to their impact, although, of course, it’s a small sample size — just my four kids.

So this project could be implemented in Kazakhstan?

— That could definitely happen. It’s been a long time since we made the game. When we did, we spent about $8 million on development. Doing the same today would probably cost closer to $12 million. But no one in the past decade has invested that level of funding and effort into a product like this — and it remains highly relevant.

The people who used it — therapists and educators — gave us a lot of praise. Many used it with patients facing mental health issues such as bipolar disorder and depression, and they found it remarkably effective, even though that wasn’t the game’s original intent.

There were also parents of autistic children who reported great results. But again, this is anecdotal — we still need rigorous testing to scientifically prove it works.

As you may know, Kazakhstan is rapidly digitizing its government programs and services, as well as various non-governmental platforms used daily. AI implementation is also progressing quickly — we recently launched AlemAI. However, game development has not yet reached the same level. How would you assess the gaming industry in Kazakhstan, and what steps are needed to help it grow? How can we nurture more creative programmers and game developers rather than just technical programmers?

— First of all, you have to start with what universities are already doing and figure out how to make it even better. I’ve seen many regions around the world go through the same evolution.

Some areas may have developed strong manufacturing sectors with universities training specialists for industrial work. Over time, those same universities begin adding computer science — both hardware and software — and gradually transition into high-tech fields.

I’ve seen cities in Mexico, for instance, where the economy was struggling, yet through this model they became strong in manufacturing and later in software development. So I would start by looking at Kazakhstan’s major cities and universities — examining the status of their computer science programs. How can they be strengthened, and what elements could focus more on the video game industry?

It’s an enormous field, and universities should prepare students for it. There are over 100 colleges around the world offering game design curricula. If Kazakhstani universities don’t yet have such programs, they could look up that list online, explore what those schools offer, and even reach out to learn which practices proved most valuable.

Would you consider offering local universities and students internship opportunities within your companies as part of that educational process?

— Absolutely. I often advise companies to hire college interns — it’s a win–win situation. For students, it can be hard to get a well-paid job without experience.

In many cases, it makes sense to work as an unpaid intern initially to build your resume and prove your skills. If you perform well, within a few weeks the company will recognize your value and likely offer more meaningful work — and pay.

Based on what you’ve seen of Kazakh and Central Asian nomadic culture, would you consider creating a game with a storyline inspired by Kazakhstan?

— I think it’s a really cool idea. It’s fascinating that this is the part of the world where the horse was first domesticated — that alone tells a powerful story about your people and history.

The bond between humans and horses is special. I saw a film last year exploring that connection — I forget the title, but it was profound. In it, horses were used for therapy — people would simply stand beside them, and that was therapeutic. You can probably relate to that — horses have an incredible vibe. They’re calm, intuitive, and comfortable around humans.

This is my first time in Kazakhstan, and what stands out to me is how warm and friendly people are. When that’s part of your cultural DNA, collaboration, teamwork, and results come much more naturally. That’s a real strength to build on.

So that would be the inspiration for the game?

— There are countless possibilities. You could create any kind of game here. You’ve got these magnificent mountains — I’m a former mountain climber, and I’ve never seen a great video game about mountain climbing.

And of course, there are fairy tales everywhere in the world. You could explore Kazakh folklore — look at the most beloved stories still told to children and see if there’s a narrative that allows a player to become a hero within it.