Why I Am a Programmer

There they sit, the preschooler class encircling their mentor, the substitute teacher. "Now class, today we will talk about what you want to be when you grow up. Isn't that fun?" The teacher looks around and spots the child, silent, apart from the others and deep in thought. "Jonny, why don't you start?" she encourages him. Jonny looks around, confused, his train of thought disrupted. He collects himself, and stares at the teacher with a steady eye. "I want to code demos," he says, his words becoming stronger and more confidant as he speaks. "I want to write something that will change peoples perception of reality. I want them to walk away from the computer dazed, unsure of their footing and eyesight. I want to write something that will reach out of the screen and grab them, making heartbeats and breathing slow to almost a halt. I want to write something that, when it is finished, they are reluctant to leave, knowing that nothing they experience that day will be quite as real, as insightful, as good. I want to write demos." Silence. The class and the teacher stare at Jonny, stunned. It is the teachers turn to be confused. Jonny blushes, feeling that something more is required. "Either that or I want to be a fireman."   -- Denthor of ASPHYXIA (aka Grant Smith), TUT7.TXT (1993) In the Beginning... I grew up in a pre-mainstream Internet world. A time when only a handful of kids at my primary school had a computer. We lived in a rough neighbourhood and so having a computer meant that you were a target for robbery. As we all knew somebody who had their computer stolen at least once, having a computer was kept on the low down. But we still found each other. Each time word got out that some kid got a new computer, they was suspiciously quizzed before being let into our digital posse. A lot of my childhood was spend living indoors behind a buzzing 14" CRT, pirating games with other kids via 3.5" single-density floppies with their corners drilled out, and once in a while even playing them. But I was more of a collector than gamer. Like Ash from Pokemon - got to catch them all. And the people who created computer games were my idols. I was always in awe of what they could do with that big, heavy, beige box under the table. One day word spread that there was a way to edit saved game files via XTreeGold's Hex View that gave you unlimited lives and allowed you to skip stages. With each new game that came out, the race was on to see who could be the first to flip the …