You reach the final level; jump across the fiery pit; dispatch the hordes of enemies that block your path; confront the boss; defeat him with a slither of health; save the princess; save the world; “The End”; that mixed feeling of accomplishment but sincere emptiness. This is the experience I have encountered many a time, but is the experience I still to this day yearn. Why?

As blogs go, this is my first. Always eager to record my thoughts, but never sure how to present the nonsense that treks around the alcoves of my head. After, however, a period of aimless pondering, I think I may have found the perfect subject point; it’s finally hit me:

Games.

They’re a medium I've loved since childhood (as have many others), but one that has clearly taken profound prominence in my life. Why am I so passionate for them? Why do I still get excited when a remake of a nostalgic classic gets announced at a big convention? Why was I willing to leave a perfectly stable job so that I could fulfil my life-long dream of one day creating a masterpiece of my own?

Honestly, I think it’s because it’s one of the few entertainment mediums that has it all! I think this sums it up quite nicely, actually:

For me, even the development of a game paints a compelling story. From the brainstorming of a concept, to the building of a prototype, to the designs of the characters, to that all-important first line of releasable code; this is what ultimately excites me about its development process, and is why I have strongly wanted to become a part of it. You could very easily argue great (or even good) films give you equally the same experience and follow the same process, and to be honest, I would struggle to disagree! But why watch an actor when you could be the actor? Controlling where a character goes or how a character behaves? The freedom is key!

This is where immersion rears its glorious head. There must be something incredibly satisfying about creating worlds that allow players to feel as though they’re a part of an environment where they belong. That’s not to say all games give players a true immersive experience, and with everything, there has to be just the right balance to make a player feel comfortable. No Man’s Sky is a great example of how powerful a truly immersive galaxy could be formed, but also how daunting it could be to play something with near-infinite possibilities. Only time will tell how well-received NMS becomes.

Game development has always been something that I've dabbled with whenever time permits, and I’ve proudly created very simple games during that time (BOOP being the most recent), but it’s never something I’ve been able to apply my full unadulterated dedication towards.

So when an opportunity arose — to reach that goal of becoming the *Greatest Game Developer of All Time — would I grab it? Bloody hell, yes.

This is where my journey begins.

*A “decent” game developer would be good enough, to be honest. For now…