Virtually True [A Game Programmer's Slice of Life]

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Virtually True [A Game Programmer's Slice of Life]

作者: MeAlive

章節 1: Prologue

Dreams are a strange thing. They appear when we are least aware, sleeping, peaceful. And then they either make that sleep more pleasant, or make us restless, and become a nightmare. But these are not the only dreams that exist. There is another kind of dreaming people do, and they do it when awake; and present. It's often times a vision of the things they most want in their life, the moments they want to live, and imagine themselves living. And many, many people dedicate all their living moments to make a dream, such as, a reality. But more, way more fail, or quit, or their dreams keep changing, and they too, keep changing their paths to a new one, in the hopes that where they are going is the right way to where they wish to go.

I, too, had a dream when I was a child. I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but as time passed, and I lived through a rough high school, my love for the celestial bodies and their wonderosities started waning. And so, I chose to not study physics in university any more, though if I were to be more honest, I could not. My academically disinclined self did not perform well enough in high school to be worthy of studying in a physics program at any good university. And so, in the end, like any other rejected physics major, I chose to study computer science.

But that was just the beginning of my life in this world. Because computer science brought me close to the thing I loved most in this world. Games.

At the age of 6, when my uncle bought me an off brand retro gaming console that used cartridges, I was introduced to video games. Super Mario Bros, Hyper Olympics, Galaga, or Contra, that was the beginning of everything. Since the day, games had been my escapism, whether it was from the silent passing of my uncle on an expedition to Annapurna, or the loud arguing of my parents outside my room. I would just run back to my room, boot up the console, and get playing, trying to forget everything happening in the world.

I don't think I've had anyone in this world, let alone a parent or friend, who consoled me, loved me, and taught me as much as the games I spent my days and nights with. So, when I had to major in computer science in university, I only had one goal, one dream. To make games, games that I would love, and games that those like me would love. I did not believe there is any other way I could better give back to this world the love I received from it.

But I seemed to have underestimated my own heart's instability, it's desire to seek out anything new and intriguing, and it's dislike to singular subjective focus.