I have been developing games as long as I can remember, using whatever I could find around the house to construct creative games.  I created variations of existing miniature golf, soccer, tennis, and marble games and would often entertain my younger sister with matchbox car, sledding, marker (the kind that write), and homemade board game inventions.  While all of my ideas were imaginative and engaging, none of my ideas involved video games until after I had played Mario Brothers for the first time.

In all honesty, video games began as an obsession.  I was quick to find best friends with game consoles.  With some clever convincing and malleable parents, I was able to purchase my first gaming console, a Nintendo Entertainment System.  Before long, I was mastering Killer Instinct combos and Mortal Kombat fatalities in arcades and Mario Kart in my living room.  My creative design and video game appeal initially merged on paper, as I would present new video game ideas at dinner, on the way to school, or before bed to anyone who would listen to them.

I started programming video games on my calculator.  And from there, perseverance got me here.  I tried some programming classes in high school and found that I had a knack for the languages and algorithms.  It was only a matter of time before I was applying to colleges and surrounded by other programmers passionate about developing video games.