It was the year 1999, Apple’s Steve Jobs, about to introduce a brand new game hands of the stage to a nervous Jason Jones. After shaking his hand he turns to the audience and begins simply: “So, our game is called Halo”
No one really knew it at the time, but this new game would shape the gaming world for years to come. Running in real time, in OpenGL, on a Macintosh the demo while a technical feat wasn’t that interesting. The frame rates were horrible, the animation jarring and the idea – bland. No one expected it to amount to anything, it was just another sci-fi opera that would be forgotten in a matter of months. Eleven years later and Halo is a million dollar franchise with 7 titles and and spin-offs. It changed the world, but most importantly it changed me. Halo was my first true gaming experience, from the very beginning I was hooked. The universe it had created around me was intriguing, the music gorgeous, the gameplay amazing. Ever since that day my dream job has been to work at Bungie. To be there where the magic happens and help craft it into the best it could possibly be.
Bungie was the company that got me interested in gaming, I love them and their culture. It shifted my life onto a whole new track. While I had always been interested in making games as a child it was only out of boredom. The games I made and played were nothing more than an elaborate way to kill time. Within 10 minutes of playing, I was hooked on the story alone, within the next 50 I was completely absorbed in the universe. Not so long after that I was drawing up my own levels and creating my own side stories. I wanted to make games like Halo. I wanted to create magic, like Bungie creates masterpieces.
Ten years later, here I am; A game design major climbing through the ranks, getting closer and closer to my dream job.