Core Memory: A memory that keeps coming back to me was raiding in Everquest, the collaboration, the competition between guilds, achieving something not many others could, discovering strategies for boss fights without the vast knowledge available online back then. 

Core Memory: One of my friends in high-school challenged me and another good friend of ours to an Unreal Tournament match, the two of us against him. The challenge was to see if we could kill him once in 15 minutes, just once. I thought he was out of his mind, I had played every single game you could think of and I was darn good at playing games! Sure, I had never played Unreal Tournament but how hard could it be to kill him just once? Turns out he was ranked 5th in Spain… we never managed to kill him once, in fact we ended up with a negative score because we accidentally killed ourselves multiple times in an attempt to catch him. I could not believe how someone could become so good at it, I had never seen anything like it. Years later and after many hours of practice, my competitive spirit led me to be ranked top 10!

Core Memory:  Playing Diablo 1 as a 10-year old kid alone on my uncle’s PC. I encountered the Butcher who proceeded to yell “Ahhhhhhhh, fresh meat!” and frantically chased me around the dungeon for 10 minutes. I finally beat him by closing a gate behind me and firing countless arrows into him. Good times!

Core Memory: As a kid I was only allowed to play games that provided educational value, so my childhood is filled with memories of grinding The Oregon Trail, Gizmos & Gadgets, and Treasure Mountain!. Then, in 2003, Rise of Nations came out, and I was able to convince my parents that there was an educational component. Suddenly, I was thrown into the world of RTS and Nation Builders, spending countless hours developing my civilization and trying to steer clear of nuclear armageddon.

Core Memory: I was watching my Dad play the Campaign of ‘Dirt Track Racing’ for weeks, occasionally interrupted by my Mom calling for him. Every time he would press the Escape key to pause his race. Eventually he started racing in Online lobbies against other people and inevitably my Mom called out. This time my Dad didn’t reach for the Escape key, so I did. “No!” he let out, but it was too late. We were staring at the Lobby screen. While he stood up, I sat — thinking about why multiplayer games don’t pause.

Core Memory:  When I was 12, I attended a Magic: the Gathering event with a prebuilt deck. My first opponent noticed I was new and taught me how to actually play the game, then gave me some cards to improve my deck. I’ve wanted to be that warm welcome to the community for others ever since.

Core Memory: My parents insisted I go to computer camp to “learn programming.” But for me, it became something else entirely: my introduction to Quake, to the addictive chaos of deathmatches, and to the unforgettable energy of a LAN party. By the end, I’d gone from complete noob to top fragger, and I came home with a lifelong passion for games and the friendships they create.

Core Memory: The Long Dark was the first single-player, story-driven game I ever played. In it, you take on the role of a pilot who crash-lands in a remote, frozen wilderness, tasked with surviving its harsh conditions and finding your way home. I’ve never finished the game—not even close—yet I’ve racked up over 50 hours just roaming abandoned towns, hunting deer, and exploring the vast, snowy landscapes. It was one of the first games that showed me the emotional depth games can have on players and how powerful of a storytelling medium it is. I had never experienced such an intense sense of immersion in any game before, and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.

Core Memory:  I didn’t grow up owning video games and could only play them in short bursts at friends’ houses.

My understanding of games was limited to fun moment to moment gameplay like Mario and Crash Bandicoot. I still remember clearly the day I played at a friend’s house Final Fantasy IX for the first time. I felt transported to another world where gameplay, story and presentation threw me through a whirlwind of emotions. This made me understand that games can be a vector for strong personal emotions and I now work everyday in the hopes of providing that feeling to new players.

Core Memory: Playing Secret of Mana with one of my brothers opened up a new way to experience adventure—one that felt vast, full of possibility, and shared with someone I trusted… well, kind of. Brothers by birth, but gaming partners by choice. In the moment, we were locked in desperate battle with Kilroy, the desert-ship’s formidable boss. Could I heal Michael at the last second, just in time for him to land that final blow? It was our ump-teenth attempt, and the stakes felt immense.

If we succeeded, where would the story take us next? We had started in the familiar, pastoral hills that felt like the backyard of our small town, drawn forward by a fated sword. But now, the horizon stretched wide and wild, much like our evolving bond. Would we set foot in an undiscovered kingdom? Uncover hidden power in a sacred temple? Journey to the moon? Kilroy fell, and whatever was next—we were going there.

Core Memory: In 1997, heartbroken and weeping, I lay Aerith’s body to rest in the waters under the Forgotten City.

In 2020, two decades later, I met her once more, in an achingly beautiful church in the Slums of Sector 5. I wept again.

Core Memory: Playing Star Wars Galaxies and seeing a rare and powerful Jedi show up in Mos Eisley for the first time. The Jedi was then hunted by everyone in the town trying to take him down. I’m still seeking that thrill of immersion and emergent storytelling to this day.

Core Memory: When I was a kid, my best friend and I would squeeze into a singular computer chair every sleepover to co-op and speedrun King’s Quest VII for the millionth time. Co-op wasn’t really a thing back then, but we would play games all day like that, taking turns each chapter until we knew every secret and easter egg – from games like Super Bubsy to Myst.

When we finally got consoles, the tradition continued. We’d pass the controller back and forth and take turns completing each level and cheering each other on. These were some of the best memories I had when I was younger. Spending time with my best friends enjoying stories through games that felt like only we could write. Experiencing worlds that felt so beautiful and impossible and thinking, games must truly be magic.

Core Memory: A sweeping update mutated my favorite swords-and-magic indie MMORPG beyond recognition, beginning my life-long quest to build meaningful games. While my brother and I quit Xenimus in disappointment, we refused to let our favorite experience go quietly: the original was made by one person, so we set out to learn what was necessary to resurrect it ourselves.

Core Memory: Spending hours farming materials in Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite to forge the Wailing Cleaver. After many attempts to slay Green Plesioth and running out of time being too defensive with a ranged approach, I finally slew the fish with that rad sword.

Core Memory: I’ve always loved simulation games where you can play out alternate histories, imagining what world might exist if things had unfolded differently, like when I gathered my Viking warriors, sailing to Rome, kidnapping the Pope, and sacrificing him to the All-Father in Crusader Kings 2. For Odin!

Core Memory: At summer camp I would use an Action Replay to hack everyone’s favorite Pokemon into their save. While trading over a fresh Lugia, I was showing off and used a cheat to go behind the counter in the Pokemon center which had a different location header called the “Mystery Zone”. I started the trade process beside the nurse, which saved my game there. After the trade, I found myself stuck in the Mystery Zone! Without any means to flash more tricks into the cheat device, I had to abandon my hacked living dex but got to spend the summer replaying Pearl with the other campers.

Core Memory: AQ40 in vanilla World of Warcraft. I was in a friends & family guild that was progression-minded, but more there to have fun and hang out within our social circles. One of my friends, a guild officer, was on record that we would not beat it, so when we took down C’Thun for the first time it felt amazing.

Core Memory:  I discovered my love of gaming when I was young, thanks to my dad and his work computer. As he interacted with customers, I sat in his office, engrossed in action/platform video games, immersing myself in different worlds. Whenever he had a break, he’d hurry in, and I’d enthusiastically tell him about my advancements and any new in-game discoveries. Playing alone was fun, but sharing the experience was magical. Now I love the opportunity to utilize video games as a means of connecting with those I care about.

Core Memory: Playing Shadow of the Colossus in college and after every boss imagining what would be the next coolest boss to fight that I thought they’d never do or be able to do. No way there’d be a flying boss, a water boss, a skyscraper sized boss. And every time being blown away that I was going to get to figure out how to take on what I thought wasn’t possible.

Core Memory: It was well past midnight, playing Final Fantasy VII with my best friend in elementary school. We were fighting the boss at the giant Junon Cannon. We just kept losing. Our frustration peaked and we rage quit, turning the TV off and throwing down the remote. A minute later we cooled, turned the TV back on to see the victory screen! Elated and confused we had to celebrate quietly, and I still remember the rush of it, made all the better by it being shared.

Core Memory: In the world of Everquest, on our Xegony server, I led a rag-tag team of players. We united for the Test of Tactics, a competitive 6v6 PvP event. Despite our varied backgrounds and limited gear, we were committed and trained tirelessly for the competition.

Our final match in the server’s tournament was against the uber guild of our server, boasting best in slot gear across the board. Against the odds, our teamwork and strategy saw us triumph, allowing us to represent Xegony against other server winners.

Our first inter-server match was against the renowned guild, Fires of Heaven. The victory we earned over them, against expectations, was one of our proudest moments. Although we didn’t win the overall championship, our achievements were remarkable, especially given our initial circumstances.

The memory of defeating two prestigious guilds with our modest resources has remained one of my fondest and proudest gaming experiences.

Core Memory: Back when I was a kid, my dad and I had an intense rivalry in Pole Position on the family computer. After weeks of him keeping the top score, I finally managed to get a time that neither of us would ever beat again — but, devastatingly, at the high score screen I was distracted by the name next to his number two score, and accidentally entered “DAD” instead of my own initials. Nobody would ever believe that the top score with his name was truly mine. 

Core Memory: One of my most memorable gaming experiences is from my favorite game of all time – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  The ending of this epic adventure was a true celebration of your accomplishments and it was clearly executed with love and consideration. 

SPOILER ALERT: Whilst the credits rolled, the camera journeys across many of the locations your adventures took you, culminating with a bonfire party on Hyrule plains and Link returning the Master Sword (a super powerful moment).  All accompanied by the magnificent orchestral score that continues to pull at my heart strings, to this day.  

Then just when you think you’ve witnessed the most awesome ending to any video-game, ever…  you witness Link meeting Princess Zelda again, as a boy.  The moment is then paused whilst the image transitions to sepia.  GOLD DUST! 

Core Memory: When I was six, I borrowed a friend’s copy of Donkey Kong ’94 (GB) for the weekend because he had already beat the only four levels. By accident I discovered that if you remove all the boxes in level 0-4, you unlock the rest of the whopping 97 levels! As you can imagine, he was shocked and immediately wanted his cartridge back. This small discovery opened my eyes to the hidden secrets and ability to playfully discover new worlds in video games. Also shout out to my parents who scoured Los Angeles for a copy of my own. 

Core Memory: I love stories. Growing up, I was always drawn to books and the fantastical worlds they created. It wasn’t until I discovered Dungeons and Dragons that I truly realized the power of interactive storytelling.  As a Moon Elf ranger, I fought alongside my friends against a half-dragon that threatened to destroy a small village. As I lay on the ground, singed and bleeding, I started plotting my revenge. I barely escaped, but the thrill of having direct control over the story and to shape the world I was exploring was unparalleled. It was then that I knew I was hooked on games, and the incredible stories and friendships they could help me create.

Core Memory:  I’ve spent my lifetime learning how to play games. Early on I spent my time putting quarters into game machines. I learned to stretch those quarters into hours. Later I started renting games and playing at home. The challenge became fighting sleep and distraction, to get as much playtime in before the rental was due back. When my daughter came along,  I was taught how to play fast and save often. As she grew older and started gaming I learned to enjoy games I would’ve never picked up otherwise. 10/10, I hope they always keep teaching me.

Core Memory: At a very young age I taught myself binary and hexadecimal so I could crack open games and figure out how they worked… and to hand edit my RPG characters. When I figured out endianness sitting in a room all by myself, I thought I had decoded some deep mystery of the universe. Of course I didn’t know until many years later that’s what it was called. I was equally excited when my characters emerged invincible with maximum XP (after about 100 tries).

Core Memory: Playing Minecraft with my son when he was just a little kid. He’d sit on my lap and could only use the arrow keys to move or press the spacebar to jump, not both. As we played, we’d talk about what we saw in the world and wanted to build. The world held so much joy and potential for him. His perspective is always with me now.

Core Memory: Watching the original TRON movie in the theater with my brothers and when Jeff Bridges, playing Kevin Flynn, talks about being a Software Engineer making video games, some light bulb went off in my head that has yet to turn off.

Core Memory: The realization that hours of playing JRPGs as a kid had now warped my English as a teenager!

Core Memory: Getting carried all the way to the championship in Riot Rumble, the internal company tournament, on three separate occasions. Morgana mid for life.

Core Memory: Hard to pick. Strongest memory is probably my first time playing a DikuMUD (Silicon Realms out of Florida). It was my first real “large” multiplayer RPG experience where the players were also the developers of the game. Working with a group on a game I played together with them changed how I thought about gaming forever.

Core Memory: In the days before Nintendo Power we had my mom and her 50 pages of typewriter paper all taped together on the living room floor, mapping out Hyrule and it’s various bombwall locations. It’s dangerous to go alone… but Mom’s map sure helped 🙂

Core Memory: Mario Party 6 on the GameCube had this wild microphone attachment, and there was a minigame where someone would call out fruit names using the mic. I remember staying at a friend’s house overnight and playing until 2am, but we were trying to not wake anyone up so we had to whisper – “orange… orange… banana… apple”. It was so ridiculous. 

Core Memory: L.A.N. PARTIES in the dial up era — My friends and I would take turns hosting in high school. Imagine 10-15 TOTALLY COOL KIDS dragging their gaming rigs, all the cables, LIGHT WEIGHT(~20lbs) top of the line CRT monitors across the neighborhood to hook them up and blast each other for a solid, caffeine fueled, 48 hours of gaming over weekends! Naps in 9am physics class on Monday morning allowed.

Core Memory: I remember, at the ripe old age of 7, visiting my nextdoor neighbour’s home and playing on this magic box that used a clicking thing and a typing thing. There was one program where I could click around to bucket fill “Paint” into my crude drawings; and another where I could click different parts of the screen to make a character walk around. I could even type different things like “climb tree” and “get ring” to make my Hero do all sorts of things on his Quest. It’d be a whole year of pestering my neighbour before my parents broke down and got a computer of our very own. Boy howdy, did I spend a lot of time honing my typing skills with those Sierra text parsing games…