#WeArePlay celebrates the inspiring journeys of people behind apps and games on Google Play. In honor of Pride Month, we are highlighting founders who have built tools to empower the LGBTQIA+ community. From dating apps to mental health tools, to storytelling platforms - these founders are paving the way for more inclusive technology.

npckc is a game creator from Kanto, Japan whose stories portray the trans experience

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada, npckc is a trilingual translator based in Japan. A self-taught programmer, they create games that feature stories and characters which are often from marginalized communities. One such game is "one night, hot springs" where players follow Haru, a trans woman, as she embarks on a visit to the hot springs. Players have praised the game's realistic portrayal of trans experiences and the relaxing music composed by npckc's partner, sdhizumi. As a finalist in Google Play's Indie Games Festival in Japan, they hope to attend more gaming conventions to connect with fellow developers in person.

Anshul and Rohan from Mumbai, India built a mental health support app geared to the LGBTQIA+ community’s needs

After Anshul returned to India from London, he met Rohan and the pair bonded over their mental health struggles. Together they shared a dream; to create something in the wellness space. This became Evolve, an app with guided meditations, breathing exercises, and daily affirmations. When the pandemic hit, the pair saw first-hand how underserved the LGBTQIA+ community was in mental health support. For Rohan, who identifies as a gay man, this realization hit close to home. Together, Anshul and Rohan redeveloped Evolve towards the LGBTQIA+ community’s specific needs - building a safe space where users can share their experiences, seek mentorship, and build a supportive community.

BáiYù from Indiana, U.S. created a platform to publish authentic, queer visual novels and indie games

Queer developer BáiYù loves writing stories, and started making games at age 16. Part of a game-development community, BáiYù wanted an affordable way to help get their creations out. So they set up Project Ensō, publishing queer visual novels and narrative indie games. With 10 titles on Google Play, BáiYù supports other developers from under-represented groups to share their own authentic stories on Project Ensō, even polishing their games before release. The most popular title on Project Ensō is “Yearning: A Gay Story”, in which gamers play a newly-out gay man navigating his freshman year of college. BáiYù's efforts have had a profound impact on players, with many sharing how these games have positively transformed their lives.

Alex and Jake from Nevada, U.S. built an inclusive dating app and social community for everyone

Alex and Jake grew up in an environment that didn’t accept the LGBTQIA+ community. They started building apps together after a mutual friend introduced them. When they realized that queer people were looking for a platform that offered support and meaningful connections, they created Taimi. Taimi is not just a dating app for LGBTQIA+ people; it's also a social network where they can bond, build community, and feel safe. Alex and Jake are also proud to partner with NGOs that provide mental health support for the community.

Discover more stories of app and game creators in #WeArePlay.

Last year #WeArePlay went on a virtual tour of India, Europe and Japan to spotlight the stories of app and game founders. Today, we’re continuing our tour across the world with our next stop: Australia

From an app helping people during natural disasters to a game promoting wellbeing through houseplants, meet the 50 apps and games companies building growing businesses on Google Play.

Let’s take a quick road trip across the territories.

Tristen's app gives accurate information to people during natural disasters

Meet Tristen from Canberra, founder of Disaster Science. When Tristen was stranded by a bushfire with friends during a holiday, he realized the need to have accurate information in a crisis situation. Moved to help others, he leveraged his software development skills to create his app, Bushfire.io. It collects data from multiple sources to give people an overview of fires, floods, road closures, and vital weather updates.

He has recently added real-time satellite imagery and has plans to expand further internationally, with coverage of region-specific events like cyclones, earthquakes, evacuations and heat warnings.

Christine and Lauren's promotes wellbeing through houseplants

Friends Christine and Lauren from Melbourne co-founded gaming company Kinder World. As a child, Lauren used video games to soothe the pain of her chronic ear infections. That was how she discovered they could be a healing experience for people—a sentiment she dedicated her career to. She partnered with engineer Christina to make Kinder World: Cozy Plants.

In the game, players enter the comforting, botanical world of houseplants, home decoration, steaming hot coffee, and freshly baked cookies. Since going viral on several social media platforms, the app has seen huge growth.

Kathryn's app helps reduce stress and anxiety in children

Kathryn from Melbourne is the founder of Courageous Kids. When Kathryn's son was anxious and fearful whenever she dropped him off at school, as a doctor, her instincts for early intervention kicked in. She sought advice from pediatric colleagues to create stories to explain his day, making him the main character. Friends in a similar situation began to ask her for advice and use the stories for their own children so she created Courageous Kids.

A library of real-world stories for parents to personalize, Courageous Kids helps children to visualize their day and manage their expectations. Her app has become popular among families of sensitive and autistic children, and Kathryn is now working with preschools to give even more kids the tools to feel confident.

Discover more #WeArePlay stories from Australia, and stories from across the globe.

Born in Istanbul, Türkiye with limited sight, Zülal has been a power-user of visual assistive technologies since the age of 4. When she lost her sight completely at 10 years old, she found herself reliant on technology to help her see and experience the world around her.

Today, Zülal is the founder of FYE, her solution to the issues she found with other visual assistive technologies. The app empowers people with low vision to be inspired by the world around them. Employing a team of 4, she heads up technological development and user experience for the app.

Zülal shared her story in our latest film for #WeArePlay, which celebrates people around the world building apps and games. She shared her journey from uploading pictures of her parents to a computer to get descriptions of them as a child, to developing her own visual assistive app. Find out what’s next for Zülal and how she is using AI to help people like herself.

Tell us more about the inspiration behind FYE.

Today, there are around 330 million people with severe to moderate visual impairment. Visual assistive technology is life-changing for these people, giving them back a sense of independence and a connection to the world around them. I’m a poet and composer, and in order to create I needed this tech so that I could see and describe the world around me. Before developing FYE, the visual assistive technology I was relying on was falling short. I wanted to take back control. I didn’t want to sit back, wait and see what technology could do for me - I wanted to harness its power. So I did.

Why was it important for you to build FYE?

I never wanted to be limited by having low vision. I’ve always thought, how can I make this better? How can I make my life better? I want to do everything, because I can. I really believe that there’s nothing I can’t do. There’s nothing WE can’t do. Having a founder like me lead the way in visual assistive technology illustrates just that. We’re taking back control of how we experience the world around us.

What’s different about FYE?

With our app, I believe our audience can really see the world again. It uses a combination of AI and human input to describe the world around them to our users. It incorporates an AI model trained on a dataset of over 15 million data points, so it really encompasses all the varying factors that make up the world of everyday visual experiences. The aim was to have descriptions as vivid as if I was describing my surroundings myself. It’s the small details that make a big difference.

What’s next for your app?

We already have personalized AI outputs so the user can create different AI assistants to suit different situations. You can use it to work across the internet as you’re browsing or shopping. I use it a lot for cooking - where the AI can adapt and learn to suit any situation. We are also collaborating with places where people with low vision might struggle, like the metro and the airport. We’ve built in AI outputs in collaboration with these spaces so that anyone using our app will be able to navigate those spaces with confidence. I’m currently working on evolving From Your Eyes as an organization, reimagining the app as one element of the organization under the new name FYE. Next, we’re exploring integrations with smart glasses and watches to bring our app to wearables.

Discover more #WeArePlay stories and share your favorites.

In celebration of Women’s History month, we’re celebrating the founders behind groundbreaking apps and games from around the world - made by women or for women. Let's discover four of my favorites in this latest batch of nine #WeArePlay stories.

Múkami Kinoti Kimotho

Royelles Revolution / Royelles Revolution: Gaming For Girls (USA)

Múkami's journey began when she noticed the lack of representation for girls in the gaming industry. Determined to change this narrative, she created Royelles, a game designed to inspire girls and non-binary people to pursue careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) fields. The game is anchored in fierce female avatars like the real life NASA scientist Mara who voices a character. Royelles is revolutionizing the gaming landscape and empowering the next generation of innovators. Múkami's excited to release more gamified stories and learning modules, and a range of extended reality and AI-powered avatars based on the game’s characters.

"If we're going to effectively educate Gen Z and Gen Alpha, we have to meet them in the metaverse and leverage gamified play as a means of driving education, awareness, inspiration and empowerment.” 

- Múkami

Leonika Sari Njoto Boedioetomo

Reblood: Blood Services App (Indonesia)

When her university friend needed an urgent blood transfusion but discovered there was none available in the blood bank, Leonika became aware of the blood donation shortage in Indonesia. Her mission to address this led her to create Reblood, an app connecting blood donors with those in need. With over 140,000 blood donations facilitated to date, Reblood is not only saving lives but also promoting healthier lifestyles with a recently added feature that allows people to find the most affordable medical checkups.

“Our goal is to save more lives by raising awareness of blood donation in Indonesia and promoting healthier lifestyles for blood donors.” 

- Leonika

Luciane Antunes dos Santos and Renato Hélio Rauber

CARSUL / Car Sul: Urban Mobility App (Brazil)

Luciane was devastated when she lost her son in a car accident. Her and her husband Renato's loss led them to develop Carsul, an urban mobility app prioritizing safety and security. By providing safe transportation options and partnering with government health programs to chauffeur patients long distances to larger hospitals, Carsul is not only preventing accidents but also saving lives. Luciane and Renato's dedication to protecting others from the pain they've experienced is ongoing and they plan to expand to more cities in Brazil.

“Carsul was born from this story of loss, inspiring me to protect other lives. Redefining myself in this way is very rewarding.” 

- Luciane

Diariata (Diata) N'Diaye

Resonantes / App-Elles: Safety App for Women (France)

After hearing the stories of young people who had experienced abuse that was similar to her own, Spoken word artist Diata developed App-Elles – an app that allows women to send alerts when they're in danger. By connecting users with support networks and professional services, App-Elles is empowering women to reclaim their safety and seek help when needed.Diata also runs writing and recording workshops to help victims overcome their experiences with violence and has plans to expand her app with the introduction of a discreet wearable that sends out alerts.

“I realized from my work on the ground that there were victims of violence who needed help and support systems. This was my inspiration to create App-Elles." 

- Diata

Discover more #WeArePlay stories and share your favorites.