The first time I picked up a NES controller and started playing Super Mario Bros, I was entranced by the glowing pixels that came to life at the press of my fingertips.  The characters.  The challenges to overcome. The experiences.

It was MAGICAL!!

From a young age, I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up.  I wanted to MAKE GAMES!

Over the years I built all sorts of little games.  Board games, card games, point-and-click adventures built in HyperCard.  Eventually I was able to dabble in real programming and some 3D applications.  I was going to do this.  I was going to be a game developer....

But then reality hit me in the face like the unforgiving fist of an 8-bit era Mike Tyson.

Nobody was making money, making games, in rural Idaho.  The internet was in its infancy.  I couldn't afford to move, or get the degree I thought I would need to get hired in the industry.  I was becoming an "adult" now, and my dreams felt impossible to realize.

"Some day..." I promised myself….