Faisal A.

Community Server & Modding Work

Aug 2026 - Present • 1 mo

Before moving into paid freelance work, I spent time running and maintaining Minecraft servers for gaming communities and Discord groups, which is where most of the hands-on skill in this field actually gets built. I managed day-to-day server operations — restarts, backups, plugin updates, and player support — on Spigot and Paper instances with anywhere from a handful to a few hundred concurrent players, and learned to diagnose lag spikes by reading TPS graphs and tracking down which plugin or chunk-loading issue was actually responsible instead of guessing. I got comfortable with Forge modding by building and iterating on modpacks for community events, learning through trial and error which mod combinations broke on load and how to fix dependency conflicts in config files. I also picked up Roblox scripting during this period, building small game modes in Lua for a community group and learning Roblox Studio's UI, event, and DataStore systems well enough to ship playable, bug-free experiences rather than just prototypes. On the creative side, I started using Blockbench to make custom skins and Minecraft-style PFPs for community members, which is what eventually led to offering that as a standalone service. This period is where the technical foundation for the current freelance work came from — less formal training, more running real servers under real player load and fixing what actually broke.

Freelance Minecraft & Roblox Developer

Jul 2026 - Present • 2 mos

I handle end-to-end Minecraft server builds on Spigot, Paper, and Forge, starting with VPS/hardware sizing based on expected player count and plugin load, then core configuration: server.properties tuning, JVM flag selection (Aikar's flags) for garbage collection stability, and TPS monitoring to catch lag sources before players do. For Cobblemon servers specifically, I configure species spawn tables, biome-based encounter rates, and battle/trade balancing, then layer in permission tiers with LuckPerms so staff, VIP, and regular players each get the right access. World-building is a core part of the job: I design custom spawn hubs with NPC vendors and warp points, and build out village and town layouts by hand or with WorldEdit/WorldPainter for servers that want a lived-in feel instead of default terrain. On the modding side, I build custom modpacks from a client's request list, resolving mod conflicts, adjusting config files for balance, and testing multiplayer stability across a full session before handoff; when a client's existing pack is stuck on Forge and needs to move to Fabric, I map each mod to its Fabric equivalent (or a close substitute where no direct port exists) and rebuild the pack so it launches clean. For Roblox clients, I script core game mechanics in Lua — inventory systems, round-based gameplay loops, leaderboard/DataStore persistence, and UI that holds up under concurrent players — inside Roblox Studio. I also design Minecraft PFPs, banners, and custom skins in Blockbench, exporting clean, game-ready files sized for Discord, YouTube thumbnails, or in-game display. Every project ends with a short handoff document covering configs changed, plugins installed, and how to restart or roll back safely, so clients aren't locked into needing me for every small change afterward.