I’ve had an interest in game development since I was a kid. My brother introduced me to RPG Maker 2003 at a young age, and at around 10 years old I was already making small games in RPG Maker and Pokemon Emerald edits with a Pokemon map editing tool.
When I grew up I got more into art, spending most of my free time drawing, and for most of my teen years I wanted to be a digital artist or 3D modeler for games. But when our school gave us an assignment to make a small shooter game in Scratch in 2017, my interest for game programming was sparked once more.
I started self-learning C# and followed beginner Unity tutorials until I knew enough to be able to make games completely by myself.
I almost ended up applying to an art course, but I spontaneously switched to a programming course last minute, and it was the best decision I ever made. I’m still very glad I got into art and 3D modeling, though. I feel like having a good grasp on different aspects of game development is very helpful, when developing solo of course, but also in group projects as it can improve communication and understanding between disciplines.
Game programming definitely feels like what I am meant to do with my life - I have found my place.
To this day, I have participated in 6 official jams, made 5 miscellaneous small solo games, 8 group projects at TGA, and worked on one large solo project.