GREENWICH, CT — One of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the early days when more people were at home and social distancing was prevalent, was that it allowed people to focus on their passions and hobbies.

Jacob Korff, now a 16-year-old junior at Greenwich High School, had been going to school remotely in the winter of 2020-2021 as a 14-year-old freshman. Like most teenagers his age, Korff spent his free time playing video games.

But one day around winter break in late December of 2020, Korff decided he wanted to create his own game. He texted a friend who is well-versed in game coding on Dec. 19, 2020.

"I'm super bored," Korff said in the text message. "I want to make a game because I'm really bored."

The decision ended up generating $17,000.

With the help of his friend, Korff designed and created a game titled "Aio's Wraparound Difficulty Chart," on Roblox, a global platform that allows users to program their own games and play games created by other users. Roblox games are often geared towards younger audiences.

In Korff's game, users control a character and have to traverse different obstacle courses. There are 300 levels of increasing difficulty, and the style of the game keeps users coming back for more, Korff said.

"I got to work immediately," Korff recalled, noting that he stayed up until 4 a.m., the first night putting together components of the game.

Korff had built another game on Roblox in the year prior, so he was familiar with the platform already. He studied trends and how other games exploded in popularity on Roblox to prepare for his game's launch.

"With Roblox, kids are surprisingly picky in what they play," Korff said. "If you want to market your game, you have to do the studying on Roblox for Roblox. Kids are not just going to play any random game."

He found that he needed 75,000 visits and anywhere from 40 to 140 concurrent players to get popular, as well as hitting 75,000 visits during the 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST timeframe.

After a few days, the game was up and running, and it took about a week or two for the game to pick up steam. Korff said it took several months to ultimately fine-tune the game and get everything finalized to where it is today.

Korff advertised for the game on social media and through ads on Roblox, and the amount of users increased at the beginning of January 2021.

"That's when I realized, 'Oh, wow, I've actually got something here,'" Korff said.

Korff said eventually his game went from 80 concurrent players and generating $15 per day, to 1,500 concurrent players and $200 per day.

Roblox has its own in-game currency called Robux, which allows users to purchase things like in-game upgrades to help them succeed.

Korff's game allows users to skip a stage and advance for a small price. There are also other in-game products users can spend currency on.

Game developers can then exchange earned Robux for real money. For example, 100,000 in Robux equals $350 USD.

Korff said his parents were "over the moon" when he told them about the game's success.

"They were very happy and ecstatic," Korff added, saying that his family celebrated with a steak dinner in spring of 2021.

To date, the game has generated $17,000 in revenue and 11 million visits, and still makes money today.

But Korff has eyes on the future. He's saved up some of his money for future games, and said game development will continue to be a hobby of his.

He offered some advice to other young people who want to develop their own games.

"You need a lot of patience and a lot of time. You can't go into this thinking you're going to do it. Roblox and its market is truly a unique audience," Korff said.

He noted that aspiring game developers should be competent in either 3D modeling, scripting/programming and coding. He also warned developers to be skeptical about who they meet online that want to offer help with a game idea.

For Korff, the time spent on "Aio's Wraparound Difficulty Chart" at the end of 2020 will always be special.

"Getting popular is good, but the only thing I really look at at this point is the amount of likes and favorites the game has. It puts a smile on my face that I managed to put a smile on other people's faces," Korff said. "The pandemic has been a tough time for a lot of people. It's ruined some people's lives. But if I can be the silver lining of their day, then that's all that counts."

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