I just read the whole thing and it was definitely worth it! If you like these kind of coder memoirs (especially if you like Masters of Doom) then this will be right up your alley. Plus I'm an R-Type fan so that's an added bonus.
As I was reading it I couldn't help but feel a bit of regret. It was in 1991 on a visit with my dad to LA that I got my first computer (a TRS-80 Model III) along with a book on programming in BASIC. I didn't know what I was doing, but I wanted the computer to do the stuff I saw on War Games and Explorers. I got pretty far but it wasn't until 1996 or so that I really got into the swing of "serious" programming in C and C++. Growing up in Dallas, TX I didn't have the first clue where I might find people interested in this stuff. Until sophomore year in college it was really just me. I find that I regret not having lived in a place where I could have "gotten into the scene" early. This is even more ironic considering that my idol at the time (and arguably today as well), John Carmack, worked less than 5 miles from my house!
As I was reading it I couldn't help but feel a bit of regret. It was in 1991 on a visit with my dad to LA that I got my first computer (a TRS-80 Model III) along with a book on programming in BASIC. I didn't know what I was doing, but I wanted the computer to do the stuff I saw on War Games and Explorers. I got pretty far but it wasn't until 1996 or so that I really got into the swing of "serious" programming in C and C++. Growing up in Dallas, TX I didn't have the first clue where I might find people interested in this stuff. Until sophomore year in college it was really just me. I find that I regret not having lived in a place where I could have "gotten into the scene" early. This is even more ironic considering that my idol at the time (and arguably today as well), John Carmack, worked less than 5 miles from my house!