I’ve been playing games for as long as I can remember, and over time they’ve shaped the way I think about design and storytelling. Not in a textbook way, but in those little moments where something clicks and I carry it with me into other projects.

With Metal Gear Solid, it wasn’t just the stealth that stuck with me. It was how the game blurred the line between mechanics and story. A boss fight could be a puzzle, or the game could break the fourth wall just to make you feel something. That gave me an early sense that rules aren’t just rules. They’re part of the story itself.

Death Stranding hit me completely differently. I didn’t expect walking with a package on my back to feel so meaningful, but it did. The pacing, the strange beauty of the world, and the quiet sense of connection with other players showed me how much weight atmosphere and intention can carry, even in simple systems.

_{Screenshot from the game FTL: Faster Than Light}

Games like Super Metroid and Elden Ring pulled me in through exploration. I love that feeling of not being told everything, of piecing things together, of realizing the map is bigger than you thought. That sense of discovery is something I try to bring into my own projects. I like the idea of not giving everything away at once, but letting people uncover things over time.

On the fast-paced side, games like Apex Legends and Battlefield taught me how much feedback matters. In the middle of a firefight it’s the small signals, like a hit marker or a teammate ping, that keep the chaos manageable. That same lesson shows up in coding and design for me. Clear feedback makes everything smoother, whether it’s for a player or a user.

Then there’s Minecraft and Terraria. Those games are basically playgrounds, and I’ve spent more hours than I want to admit just building, experimenting, and seeing what happens. They remind me that the best tools don’t tell you what to do. They just give you the freedom to surprise yourself.

I guess that’s what keeps me so hooked on games. They’ve been teachers in their own way, showing me how mechanics, atmosphere, and community all play together. And every time I build something, whether it’s code, a model in Blender, or a new TTRPG mechanic, I can see little traces of those lessons showing up.

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Press Start. 🎮