I have been a gamer all my life. I can remember growing up and having tournaments with my family. In 2009, however, the industry of gaming came alive. Real people replaced my vague idea that games were created by Gods who made little worlds.
In 2009, I was sixteen years old and dying of heart failure. I couldn’t do much of anything. I couldn’t go to school. I couldn’t go to work. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t jump. I could, however, sit in front of my computer and do all those things online. Not only could I sprint around and explore a whole world, but I was able to vent all of my frustration by kicking some baddies in the teeth with large weapons. There were weeks at a time that I logged 10+ hours every day.
I had a heart transplant so I was completely isolated for two or three months. I saw and spoke to only my parents and my doctors. I got depressed even with games. I can’t imagine what would have happened without them. I was so grateful that I was able to talk to people. I was even more grateful that I got to learn the stories of the NPCs. I’ve read every quest dialog and I’ve watched every cinematic from my favorite games. I know everyone’s story. I just had to talk to someone and only the NPCs would tell me everything.
There are a lot of hard things about a transplant. The nurses told me some people just don’t want to do it. They don’t want to sit up because it hurts. They don’t want to take their medicine because it makes you nauseous. I might have had those problems, but I didn’t give up because I knew that once I was better I would receive a Make a Wish. I chose to meet the developers of my favorite game, Guild Wars. I decided I was going to be healthy for my trip to ArenaNet as soon as I knew it was going to happen. That is what let me walk out of the ICU three days after my heart transplant even though recovery supposedly took twice that amount of time.
On my wish I learned that there are writing jobs in the gaming industry. I blog about my day-to-day experience sometimes and I’m majoring in English at college, but I’d never imagined that I could actually be a writer until I met the Loremasters at ArenaNet. Now I know that I want to learn how to write about games and I think my passion will come through as I bring you news and impressions from the industry.
Talk to you soon.
