From Games to Programs

From Games to Programs

A Memoir to Geekiness

I remember as if it were yesterday. I was 5 years old and going to play at my neighbor Joe's house. This wasn't anything unusual, but what happened changed my life forever. His family had just gotten a Nintendo Entertainment System, and they were playing Super Mario Brothers. I was fascinated with the idea of being able to control a character on the TV. I played, and simply could not get enough. I remember holding the controller just like my friend did, the wrong way. I would hold the controller vertically, rather than horizontally; a habit that would remain until I was a teenager.

The next details are somewhat of a blur, but I guess I bugged my parents enough, or convinced them some other way, but I remember my family getting a system from Santa Claus that same Christmas. I no longer had to go to Joe's house to play. I remember watching my parents play and having fun. Coming home from work and surprising me and my siblings with a new game. My life at that moment was complete, and full.

A few years later, I remember my cousin, Matt, giving me his old Atari system, because he had gotten a new one. He was showing me his game collection, including one that he said he made. I was blown away that someone could actually make games. Up until then, that idea was something I had never considered. The next day I went to my school's library and found every book I could for programming for the Atari. I was able to make the screen say whatever I wanted. I had learned the fundamentals of BASIC, Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, a very simple programming language. I never did anything anyone could be serious on any level, but I didn't care, it was fun. It was a natural step I went from making a character on the screen do something I wanted to teaching a machine to do whatever I wanted.

When I entered junior high I was required to bring my own calculator to class. The teacher would showcase  the spiffy TI-82 from Texas Instruments. A few kids I knew had them, and much to my surprise, they could be programmed to play games, and do their homework!  The idea of making a program, one that could be useful, or just plain entertaining was paradise. For the next year and a half I continuously and unrelentingly pleaded with my parents to buy me one. Finally, my wish came true, and Christmas 1996, a secret Santa had given me a TI-83, a suped up and newer version of the TI-82! I immediately ran to my friends house to get whatever games from him I could, and devoured the 200 page manual that came with the calculator to learn how to program my own stuff on it. I was soon designing my own games, and my own programs to do my homework. 

Sadly, as I grew up, my dreams were delayed.  Finances, deployment in the Army, and work all contributed to slow me down.  It would be nearly ten years until I was able to realize my dream.  I attended SLCC and started working towards a degree in Computer Information Systems.  I will graduate in December!  I have learned more about how computers work, and how to make them do whatever I want.  I have gone from seeing Mario on the screen and making him jump, learning how Nintendo made him jump on my command!

 While not directly related to programming, video games have always been my motivation in this field.  This video is from my favorite creator,

Christ Metzen.  The speech was given in 2010 and is titled what means to be a geek.