Why now? A few people have asked me why I’m going all out in trying to break into games writing NOW, after college, grad school, law school and a few years in practice. There are a lot of reasons, not least of all the post-PAX rush, but the #1 is Randy Pausch.
Dr. Pausch was a professor of computer science, specializing in virtual reality at Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September of 2006. A year later, on September 17, 2007, Randy Pausch gave “The Last Lecture” – a talk he called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” – in front of a crowd of 400 at CMU.
In The Last Lecture, Randy talked about his life, his hopes, his dreams, and how he achieved them. Even as he acknowledged that he was dying, showing his CT scans to the audience, he effused light and determination and inspiration and truth.
In one anecdote, Randy recounts his reply to a colleague who asked how it was that Randy managed to get tenure a year early. Randy replied, “Come see me in my office any Friday at 10 at night and I’ll tell you.”
Enough said. It’s time to get to work. School is easy, this is hard. I love it already, though. If I can make a break into a place like Gamespot, 1UP, G4, or the rest, or even if I can make a solid go of this on my own, I will have achieved my childhood dream. It’s what Randy Pausch would have wanted. It’s what I want.
Professor Pausch died on July 25, 2008. Let us all try to live our dreams to live his dream.
Playing With My Weiner 