I set my flat white down, pissed. The walkthrough for the war tunnel boss fight…I can’t believe I looked it up. Ugh. I play on Hard for a reason. But five hours battling Monger past sunrise took a toll. A final run showdown ended in simultaneous blasts from his shotgun and my AR. The two of us slow-mo fell in a collapsing death race at 120 fps and I screamed hoping he’d land first so I’d get the autosave and be spared another day’s miserable re-run. No joy.

Back at it before work, I wonder if I’ll be able to platinum. It’d be 53 or 54 of ‘em now? My God, the hours. Has to be closing in on 10,000. My first? You never forget it. Baldur’s Gate. Every achievement and unlock, a pleasure. There weren’t internet walkthroughs back then, just monthly magazines with insider tips. But I didn’t need them. My love of walking the same grounds of The Black Gate made hours of spiral-notebook, pencil-and-pen maze-mapping a pleasure…not a chore.

Though, my parents’ concern turning to disdain wasn’t such a welcome side effect. “Go outside and play!” “You’re in front of that 24-hours-a-day!” Yeah, I don’t want to be outside. I wanted to be right here in this fantastical world where I could do and be anything and where other people knew my name and respected me because I was good. They couldn’t understand that. Their childhood was riding bikes around the neighborhood. But my neighborhood was a village in China, a suburb in Argentina, a study hall in Manchester, a summer camp in Joburg. I knew more about the world from my 4K window at 13 than they did at 20. 

I’m still pissed I looked, though. Maybe I’m feeling guilty for killing another night’s sleep instead of interview prepping. But somewhere deep down I like the monkey on my back clapping in my ear, “One more achievement!”

Walking into the office, I hear my parents in my head: “People respect a lawyer at least.” They don’t say that anymore.

In the studio, Greg wraps up and we swap seats. Kevin gives me the ready sign and he’s counting down. The news is good today but tonight…I’m gonna get that platinum.

“Good morning, San Francisco, this is Gamer’s Corner…”