Unlocking the Power of Purposeful Gaming: Serenity Forge's Transformative JourneyZhenghua "Z" Yang, the Founder and CEO of Serenity Forge, a values-driven video game development company based in Boulder, has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020. His games have made a profound impact, saving lives, teaching rocket science to kids, and inspiring gamers to turn enemies into friends. In this interview, Z shares how his time at the Leeds School of Business and the SRE (Social Responsibility and Ethics) Certificate program shaped his career trajectory and the guiding principles behind Serenity Forge's mission to create meaningful and emotionally impactful gaming experiences that challenge and inspire.
Forging a Path of Purpose: How Leeds and the SRE Certificate Shaped a Visionary Entrepreneur
Embracing Responsible Leadership and Ethical Decision-Making
Zhenghua "Z" Yang credits his time at the Leeds School of Business and the SRE Certificate program as the driving force behind the creation of Serenity Forge. The classes he took, particularly those focused on responsible accounting, communication, and leadership, challenged him to think outside the box and consider the ethical implications of business practices. "The most impactful classes for me talked about responsible accounting, communication and leadership," Yang explains. "We learned about how companies greenwash and that's bad, but there are ethical ways to talk about your work in sustainability. We learned how to tell what is being done just for marketing purposes or to drive up share price, versus what is truly giving back."The Leadership Challenges class was a pivotal experience, allowing Yang to engage with seasoned business leaders and learn from their insights and experiences. "Being able to speak with these business leaders, learn from their insights, learn from the traumatizing experiences that they've had and how they've had to deal with them, was very eye-opening for me," he says.These lessons have become the foundation for Yang's decision-making process at Serenity Forge. "Very often I think back to what I learned then when I'm making decisions about how to drive the company forward, and how to do the right thing by the stakeholders within the company and outside the company," he reflects.Harnessing the Transformative Power of Video Games
Yang's personal journey with video games has been a profound one, shaping his vision for Serenity Forge. As a first-generation immigrant from China, he found solace and connection in gaming during his formative years, when he struggled to adapt to American culture and faced significant health challenges."When I was in middle school and high school, I was a big gamer. I didn't really have a lot of friends. I didn't really speak English. It was pretty difficult for me to get into American culture. Video games caused a lot of detriment to my life at that time because I was so addicted to them and playing them in an unhealthy way," Yang recalls.However, during a particularly difficult period in his life, when he was hospitalized for two years due to a severe illness, video games once again became a lifeline. "I was playing all sorts of games. I was playing single-player games that made me feel like a hero, going out there saving the world, and that made me feel good. I was playing multi-player games where I was able to connect with people from all around the world. I was able to build these friendships where they would check in with me. They would ask how I was doing that day, had I taken my meds, was I getting proper rest, because they cared about my wellbeing."It was during this time that Yang had a profound realization: "I started thinking, games like League of Legends, they aren't designed to help me, but in the end, they saved my life. What if I created video games with the intention to help people, what kind of power could I unlock?"Serenity Forge: Crafting Meaningful Gaming Experiences
Driven by this epiphany, Yang set out to create Serenity Forge, a company dedicated to developing video games that not only entertain but also inspire positive change. From his humble beginnings as a self-taught programmer and artist, Yang has grown Serenity Forge into a thriving enterprise with 40 employees, a new office in Budapest, Hungary, and a steadfast commitment to values-driven game development."The game industry is very much a money-driven space. It is a gigantic industry with big players out there designing games for your phone that will trick you into spending more and more money for another turn or whatever it is. However, we came out of the gate saying that's not how we do things. We're going to do things very differently. We think about sustainability and social impact. We think about games that are going to be able to change people and make the world a better place," Yang explains.Serenity Forge's games have tackled complex and impactful themes, raising awareness for mental health, war, trauma, and social issues such as family and child abuse. "These are topics that we're talking about constantly, and our games are showing people through real and fictional stories how the world can be bad, but also how it can be better. A lot of the things I learned in school really resonate through Serenity Forge," Yang says.Navigating the Challenges of Values-Driven Entrepreneurship
As Serenity Forge has grown over the past decade, Yang has faced the challenge of maintaining the company's values-driven approach in the face of a rapidly evolving industry. "Now that we're 10 years into the business, one of the things I'm noticing is really difficult is sticking with your values. The world is changing so fast nowadays. In this industry, you see technology pop up left and right and with each new technology you have to decide if you want to capitalize on it or not. Every step of the way it's almost like the forces of the universe are testing you to see, 'Are you sticking by your guns, or are you just here to make a quick buck?'"Yang's guiding principle is to ensure that any new technology or opportunity aligns with Serenity Forge's mission of creating meaningful, emotionally impactful experiences that challenge and inspire. "We look at whether any new technology fits with our goals of creating meaningful, emotionally impactful experiences and making the world a better place, and that's how we decide whether or not to invest," he says.Advice for Aspiring Changemakers: Embrace Your Privilege and Make a Difference
Drawing from his own experiences and the wisdom he gained from mentors like former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Yang offers powerful advice for college students and young professionals seeking to make a meaningful impact."If you think about it, a lot of people in the world are really unfortunate. People in rural Africa and China, these are people who have to spend hours every day just trying to get water and food for their families to survive. If you are one of the few people in the world who is able to choose what you want to do with your time, rather than be forced to do what you have to do to survive, then you have the ability to make a difference. That freedom of choice is what you need to find true happiness, and to change the world," Yang emphasizes.He encourages students to look beyond the traditional career paths and instead focus on aligning their work with their values and passions. "Why not take some of the things that you learn from the SRE Certificate about values-driven decision making and apply them to yourself? What are the things that you care about, that really define who you are? And then think about what you are doing every day to achieve those goals."Yang's final words of wisdom are a powerful call to action: "Don't be afraid to think big. Don't be afraid to think about doing good for society, because you are already in the position to be able to do it, way more than 99% of the people out there in the world."
