Computer Scientist Gamers

I find it interesting that most ComputerScience majors entered the field for no other reason than to make money writing ComputerGames. I find it interesting now that I work on a board game website... -- ChuckSmith

What is it that you've seen or heard or read that brings you to the conclusion that most Computer Science majors entered the field with the intent of going into gaming?

From talking to my Computer Science friends... very scientific basis I know. heh

List of people who originally studied ComputerScience to write ComputerGames:

ChuckSmith
JeffGrigg (Tho' one could hardly call it ComputerScience: I learned to program from a high school student and two college students, as we wrote computer games, for our own entertainment.)
NatPryce (Playing Hunt the Wumpus on a Honeywell Multics machine, and then games on an Apple ][ are what made me interested in computers. The first program I wrote on my Spectrum was a game. I don't work in the games industry -- it pays peanuts and programmers don't have enough creative control for my tastes -- but have written a game for an advertising agency and write games for fun in my own time, using Eiffel, SDL and Linux.)
The console-game series JakAndDaxter? was written by a couple of SmugLispWeenies from MassachusettsInstituteOfTechnology (in LispLanguage! See LispInJakAndDaxter).
''JoeWeaver also started after hunting wumpii, albeit, in the graphical TI 99/4A format. Though, I'm JustaProgrammer (and actually jumped ships from CS to EE after the second semester).
DaveVoorhis, who started out writing non-commercial games on the Apple ][, then went on to co-found a games company that funded game development by writing business software. The company released one educational game in the early 90's. It made no money and became a bone of contention in an intellectual property dispute with a partner, so we went back to writing business software. I've come full circle, though: I now teach on university level games development courses.

How about some other reasons why people studied Computer Science (or taught themselves it as a hobby)? Please, each person add just one.

I wanted to understand how 'mind' works - I thought it would be possible to write a program that thinks (hah!).
Actually I, JeffGrigg, got involved in computers because I wanted to PLAY games. In 1976, while in junior high school, I discovered StarTrek, the computer game, and was instantly addicted. Later, around 1980, while running the computer department at my high school, I discovered that people would be willing to pay me money to program computers. (Until then, I was planning to be a traffic engineer or architect. ;-) Since then, I've gotten "burnt out" on games, and hardly ever play them (except in video arcades, sometimes).
I was just *always* in CS, from the age of seven, when I was too young to have a clearly-articulated purpose. Somewhere in my late teens I got into computational linguistics, which is where I've been ever since. -- DanielKnapp
Everything electronic was heading towards microprocessors. You can't design a toaster today without one. <sigh> So, I became a mushhead to keep up with the EmbeddedSystems world - now look at me! -- MartySchrader

I find it interesting that one of my coworkers, John Knoderer, wrote the very first StarTrek game ever written to run on microcomputers in 1978! -- ChuckSmith

It would be interesting to list some reasons you've stayed on f games did get you into programming, but you have ended up not writing games for a living.

Fell in love with the feeling of sitting, thinking, and just sort of creating structure out of the void. I admit to relating very closely with people who draw analogies between programs and devising magic incantations.
A real sense of satisfaction when you get a machine to do something useful, especially when you get it down to a MakesItGoButton?.

Strange. I never thought about it that way. But I have to admit, that my very first real program was a game (on an electronic experimental kits 4-bit processor). And many of my following programs revolved around games (mostly on the AtariSt). But my interest changed quickly to compilers and operating systems, even though I still toy around with some game ideas occasionally. But for me game programming was never the reason for programming nor for the study of ComputerScience - interest and curiosity for (mathematical and other) problems was. -- GunnarZarncke

I actually ended up with CS degree not because of the video games (although I've tried to design a few along the way) but because the college I went too would not teach a ComputerEngineering degree and I didn't want to go do the EE path. Ah, the road less travelled.