Over the years I have had many people tell me that playing video games will get me nowhere, that it is a dead end. I would simply just nod my head and say, “Ok man, whatever you say.” See, they don't understand the joy and escape that I get from playing them. Not only have they given me hours upon hours of fun, but they have helped me progress into being a nerd. Yes, I am a proud nerd. Nobody can change that fact about me, and I love it.
It all started when my parents bought me my first console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. I played the life out of that thing, I was so fascinated by it. Words cannot truly describe the joy that it brought me. I played Duck Hunt and Zelda till my eyes bled(Not literally but you know what I am getting at). As the years passed, newer systems came out and kept up to date on those. Always getting new games and nerding out to my hearts content.
Around the age of 10 I started tinkering with computers. I had no idea what I was doing at first, but having an analytical mind allowed me to understand them at a phenomenal speed. Just 1 month after I began learning how computers work, I was dismantling and rebuilding them completely. I built my first computer at the age of eleven, and started into the world of online PC games. My first PC game obsession came from Half-Life. This game unlocked so many doors for me. I cannot even recall everything it did for me. I even got quite a few of my friends into the game. We would set up our computers almost every weekend at someone's house, networking 10+ computers together to play this game together. Bam, basic networking learned.
Many modifications were released for this game, one of which was Counter-Strike. I designed and built over 30 maps for this game, half of which became quite popular. This lead me to get into graphics arts, due to the custom textures needed for a lot of the level designs. Just 2 years after that, I was creating custom graphics and websites for various Counter-Strike clans, making around $2,000 per month. That's pretty good for a 13 year old, if you ask me. I combined my knowledge of networking and web design and started creating local intranet sites for big LAN parties, my biggest one being over 250 people. It ran flawlessly as everyone mashed F5 to refresh the tournament ladders for the various games we played. I was loving it.
As my knowledge increased, I became more and more obsessed with how computers and video games worked. It was a thirst that could never be quenched. New technology was being developed at a rate that I could not almost keep up with. I know do freelance web design and graphics for people, and I made a pretty good living from it.
At the age of 21, in hindsight, playing video games was probably one of the best things I have done in my life. It has giving me infinite opportunities in life, and I imagine many more to come. Hopefully in the next 5-10 years I'll be designing the games themselves!
