Consumer Tech & Video Games

I have been playing video games and following consumer tech since I was very young, starting in the late 1990s with Rayman on the PlayStation1. My adoration for them often goes hand in hand, and both have largely influenced me to pursue Software Engineering as my career path.

One of the key technical aspects of video games that I latched on to immediately was the graphics. I remember spending hours on YouTube looking up videos of Crysis, a popular PC game in the late 2000's, running on the highest possible graphics settings to marvel at its visual fidelity. Even when I was able to play the game for myself, I'd often spend time just roaming around the levels of the game rather than finishing objectives so I could enjoy its beauty! Naturally then, I became interested in both the hardware and software behind how these graphics are formed. Fast forwarding to today, I follow many YouTube channels to get the latest trends on GPUs and CPUs and to learn about how game engines are used to render the most exciting scenes in gaming! Some of my favorite channels to watch are LinusTechTips, MKBHD, JayzTwoCents, and DigitalFoundry. Additionally, these channels have inspired me to invest in building my own PC and branching out into areas of consumer tech like TVs, smartphones, speakers and more. It has become quite a hobby of mine to find the next piece of innovative tech to level-up my home entertainment center.

DigitalFoundry video covering Crysis graphics

One of the more artistic aspects of video games that I've been drawn to is level design. I've always liked expressing my creativity by making things, stemming from being in art classes and building with legos at an early age. Through video games, this interest was allowed to flourish through admiration of some of the awesome maps developers have built and even being able to build my own levels in games like Minecraft and Halo! These games were unique in that they provided in-game map editors at your disposal for making new worlds and game modes for other players to experience. I really enjoyed seeing what kinds of crazy things I could come up with and share with friends, and the thrill I got from doing it is what first inspired me to start learning how to code. Now that I have finished earning my degrees in Computer Science, I have more knowledge of the work that goes into developing a video game and I appreciate games more than I ever have. I've realized how much effort and dedication and care it takes to create even the smallest of features, and it's eye-opening to think about the different ways developers could have implemented features and how I might even suggest improving them. This admiration I have for game developers also carries over to the developers who have built the software powering consumer technology! My hope is that in the future, I'll have the opportunity to work on software that involves consumer tech and/or video games.

As a side note, one of my dream jobs if I was not a Software Engineer is actually becoming a consumer tech YouTuber/video game streamer! I actually was able to achieve Affiliate status on Twitch back in Spring 2018, and it's something I hope to do for fun again soon.

Streaming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on Twitch