I have been a gamer since I was eight years old and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the cutting edge of technology back in the 1980’s. I was amazed by the 8 bit graphics and how truly addicting playing these games turned out to be.

The first car I received was a 1986 Monte Carlo. I was always proud of how well I took care of it. Here I am standing next to the car in my grandmother's driveway.

At first, I never wanted to play the games, being content just to watch others, but then I decided to pick up the controller to see what all the hype was all about. I soon found myself immersed in this alternate world and actively thinking about my own game ideas. I began to draw out my ideas on paper, creating monsters and heroes alike. Artistic ability seemed to come naturally as I was able to sketch out these imaginary beasts without too much effort. Little did I know that this was one of the many skills which would be valued in the game industry. The game world seemed to become my major source of entertainment. I conducted contests with my friends to see who could complete the most games. I still remember balancing myself on a chair to hang a scroll containing over two hundred titles that I completed. This activity kept me in touch with my friends and playing games until the early morning hours. I was very proud over how proficient I had become at playing these games.

Nintendo Power magazine held contests of envelope art, where readers would send in decorated envelopes, which would be judged by the staff with the most impressive ones being displayed in the “fan letter” section. I often sent in decorated envelopes to Nintendo Power Magazine in hopes of getting mine accepted into the envelope art section. You would be amazed what you could fit on a normal sized envelope with freshly sharpen colored pencils.

Throughout the years the technology and the systems changed but I still retained the desire to play the games. My ideas for games became more involved as I conjured up the moves and rules for the player. I even wrote scripts about how my characters would interact with each other in an environment. I even thought up and elaborated on many spells and attacks for the characters. I completely filled a couple notebooks describing certain abilities and attributes for the characters. The desire for games never died and neither did my knack for drawing the imaginary.