Helen Barrett Bright Ideas: Sam’s game

When I was younger CF didn’t affect me much. I was very active – I loved skating. When I was 15, I had a collapsed lung that seriously affected my lung function. I still try to be as active as I can, but it’s much more of a struggle. After starting Kaftrio in April 2021, I’ve seen such an insane improvement and I’m now able to start thinking more long-term, and what I want to do with myself in the future.

I started to learn how to develop games a few years ago, when I left university and moved back in with my parents. I was pretty unwell at this point, so going into employment wasn’t really an option. I thought it was quite important to me to have something where I’m still exercising my brain, and came up with the idea to learn various aspects of game development. After learning some of the basics I decided I wanted to create a shop-keeping game set in a fantasy world. This will be a fairly small game in scale, but it will still give me a lot of room to be creative and potentially add more content and features later. I’m writing and producing my own music for the game, as well.

I was over the moon when I found out I was chosen as a winner. I found out about the Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Awards at clinic quite a while ago, but I saw an ad on social media that made me consider applying. I’m going to use the money from the award to buy some more equipment, including a new laptop, which will help speed up the process. It’s really motivational to be noticed for your work.

A huge inspiration for me is the game Stardew Valley, created by ConcernedApe. He created a game on his own that is loved by millions and I definitely aspire to that! I hope that my games will bring people some happiness, and that I will have the opportunity to continue doing this as a career.

To me, a life unlimited means that we get the same opportunities and experiences that everyone else does. That’s something I will always be fighting for!

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition which causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. It affects more than 10,800 people in the UK. One in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing. 

The Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Awards are available for anyone with CF over the age of 18 to help support your dream career or hobby. Whatever you need to make your lightbulb moment a reality, a Helen Barrett Bright Ideas Award can help you on your way.

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