Lawmage Academy: A magic school RPG created by a Pinoy lawyer

For many gamers, game development is a dream. Many of us have grand ideas of what kind of world and lore we would build, and what characters and monsters we’d like to play with. While some would prefer to sit on their amazing ideas, some take the big and brave step to bringing their dreams to reality. One of these brave souls is Gian Miko “Jin” Arabejo.

- JOVI FIGUEROA

Offline, Jin is a lawyer working with various non-government organizations to provide legal support to human rights advocates. Online, he is known as Verinius, the one-man team who created the magic school RPG Lawmage Academy.

While lawyering and game developing seem like two very opposite worlds, Jin represents the many multifaceted gamers who love taking a break from the stresses of real-life through the beautiful world of games.

“Back [in the day], I used to play a lot of DotA, but I also enjoyed RPGs like Mana Khemia and Persona. Now, I play a lot of JRPGs like Octopath Traveler, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and some online board games like Dominion Online,” Jin tells Speed. “The game that really changed the way I viewed RPGs was Persona 4. I wanted to play a game like that but in a magic school setting and with more player agency.”

“What got me into game development was the free trial of RPG Maker MV back in 2018. I’ve had this rough idea for Lawmage Academy since I was in law school, so when I tried RPG Maker MV I felt that it was a good medium to turn that idea into something concrete,” Jin shares.

What it takes to create a game

We now, fortunately, live in a world where opportunities that were once so scarce—such as game development, music and album creation, and independent book production—are already being democratized.