Biography

Who am I? Well hi! My name is Mert Atakan Kaya. I'm a Game Developer who graduated from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA).

What is my background? Both my parents are from a small village in the mountains of Turkey, while I was born in the Netherlands this still does give me the Turkish Nationality. However as I went to a Christian Primary School for 8 years, I never really learned a lot about Islam or anything Muslim related. On the other hand, since I was 13, I was really interested in Japanese culture and this really became a huge part of my lifestyle since.

What am I interested in? [Chapter 1 - 1996~2020] When it comes to games; I am a Nintendo fan, but I truly love nearly everything that is being published by SQUARE ENIX. That's also why it is my dream to one day get a job there as a Game Developer. My favorite game genres are "Hack 'n Slash" & "Adventure", but I always have a special place in my heart for Story-driven games.
When we're talking about music; I am a Rock/Punk lover (nowadays mostly from Japanese bands), but being a musician... I find classical music and video game OST's extremely lovely to listen to and sometimes even play along.
Except for that I also love to skate on my long-board, may it be for travel purposes or just to have fun with friends.

[Chapter 2 - 2020~Present] Having lived in Japan for 2 years now, of which 1 year I had a job at a Japanese company. I have changed my focus in life. When it comes to games; I still love story-driven games, and listen to Japanese songs daily. But, except for my profession in design & IT, I have also discovered my passion for teaching and helping people out. So now I hope to work for a company here in the Netherlands where I can create software that contributes to society. While I also have a part-time job teaching people Japanese, so they can also accomplish their dreams of going to Japan.