How Gaming Shaped Me as a Person and Software Engineer
My relationship with gaming has been a huge part of who I am today. From shoot-em-ups to League of Legends to board games, each gaming experience taught me something that I now use in software engineering.
The Early Days: Platypus and My First PC
I started with games like Platypus, a shoot-em-up that got me interested in gaming. The big change happened between my first and second year of high school when I worked at my dad's computer repair shop to save for my first PC.
I named that computer Theseus because of the Ship of Theseus reference - it's technically still the same PC I have now, even though I've replaced almost every part over the years. Building it myself taught me about hardware and created my love for tinkering with technology.
The League Years: 10,000+ Hours
Then came League of Legends - a dark period of my life that somehow lasted over 10,000 hours. What I took away from this obsession was min-maxing everything - hotkeys, setup, overall experience. This translated well to other games like StarCraft where hotkeys, APM, multitasking, and quickly switching views became instinct.
Strategy Games and MTG
I've always been fascinated by strategy games like Sid Meier's Civilization V. I also played a lot of Magic: The Gathering, even touring Europe for Grand Prix tournaments. I made friends through MTG and later learned that the game's origins are actually in Computer Science - stacks, interrupts, and other CS concepts.
I played other strategy games too, like TFT, and various board games that pushed my strategic thinking.
FPS Games and Aim Theory
I got into shooter games and became obsessed with aim training in Kovaaks. I read quasi-research articles about aim theory and followed training schedules to improve. I even started exercising again just to improve my FPS skills - the mind-body connection was real.
Souls Games and RPGs
I love souls games, story RPGs from Undertale to Baldur's Gate 3. One of my favorite games is Salt and Sanctuary, a 2D souls-like that's just a blast to play.
Guild Wars 2 was another huge part of my gaming life. I frequently led squads, making shotcalls for groups of around 40 people. Commanding the team in this immersive RPG was both challenging and rewarding - I developed leadership skills while having a great time in the game's rich world.
Current Gaming Life
My competitive gaming days are mostly behind me now. I still play games occasionally, but I more consistently play board games with family and friends. These aren't your basic Catan games - I like Dune Imperium, 18XX (railroads, trains, and stocks), and Thunderstone.
What I enjoy more now is building stuff - websites, servers, ricing and optimizing my workflows on Linux. I get excited that Proton & Steam have made Linux gaming really good. I'm even working on creating and publishing my own game, but more on that soon.
What Gaming Taught Me
Looking back, gaming gave me:
- A drive to optimize everything
- Strategic thinking and resource management
- The ability to learn quickly from failure
- Focus on long-term improvement
- Community collaboration skills
- Technical curiosity
Gaming wasn't just entertainment - it was training for the mindset I use every day as a software engineer.