How I got into Gaming

Wargaming has always been in my peripheral sight since about 8 years old, thanks to my cousins. I remember seeing early copies of White Dwarf (Games Workshop's magazine), and the box for Warhammer Quest. Once I got to high school a friend got for Christmas one year a copy of the then brand new 2nd edition of Warhammer 40,000 wargame, and so obviously I got to give it a go.

It would take a year of convincing my parents that wargaming was a good hobby that I made my first dive into miniatures. First with some Eldar for the game Epic: Titan Legions (this was the same universe of Warhammer 40,000 but much smaller scale) and then after than the Spyrer hunters for Necromunda. Before long I had a Tyranid army, a Chaos army for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, and more.

It would then be summer 1995 that my parents brought home the Dungeons and Dragons Classic starter box, and that was a revelation. I don't even know if they knew what they were buying. This was my first RPG (Though you could argue Necromunda was), and from there I have been the perpetual Games Master. That Christmas I got a copy of the Star Wars 2nd edition and revised RPG, and I was also reading the gaming magazine, Arcane. I learnt a lot about games and writing scenarios from these magazines, and I still refer to them to this day. It was also through this magazine I learnt of another RPG - Vampire the Masquerade.

So in 1998 I picked up the Vampire game, and at the time the Blade film had been out, Buffy and Angel were on TV. I spent a good few years running Vampire, and exploring more of the setting and again learning a lot more about writing. It's quite clear that my gaming had an influence and impact on where I am now, in terms of being interested in science, history, and how I approach problem-solving and designing things - be it books, games, or software.

Following on from this throughout university I have been gaming, playing a variety of wargames, such as Warmachine, Confrontation, and more RPGs. I even worked in a Games Workshop store part-time. What is clear is the gaming can be a massive impact on your career and interests, and companies like Games Workshop also provide excellent material for schools and clubs that help teachers to engage students with reading, writing, maths, and art, plus develop good social skills. Fellow games writers of mine, such as Crystal Mazur, are educators and use games and RPGs in lessons to demonstrate ideas or develop skills. To follow on from this post I will likely write about how I made the jump into podcasting and Twitch streaming because that also influences my approach to science communication and outreach.

If you have gotten this far, why not support my patreon and thus my podcast. - Chris