My relationship with video games started early (around 5-6 years old). My first game console was a Super Nintendo. I spent hours playing Super Mario (Super Mario RPG was my favorite), sports games, fighting games, etc. Lots of games. I remember going to a blockbuster-type store where one could rent a game for the weekend. My parents didn’t allow me to play during the week, which allowed me to study and have good grades while enjoying video games during the weekend.
Then one day, when I was 8-9(?) I got my first computer. And this changed everything.
Because the games you could play on PC are orders of magnitude better (in my opinion). My first games were World of Warcraft II and Age of Mythology. The latter didn’t work, so I had to play the former.
Instant addiction.
Then came Age of Empires I. Also, instant addiction. And this was even better because it was about history. About ancient civilizations. About the Hittites (how can I still remember that???). The cool thing is that during the week (when I wasn’t allowed to play), I could research about those civilizations. Back then, I didn’t have internet, but I had installed an encyclopedia called Encarta. It was like an offline version of Wikipedia. Also, it had some cool multimedia sources. From that moment, I fell in love with history. To this day, I enjoy history, even though I don’t spend much time studying it. I simply find it fascinating. Without video games, things could have been very different.
Because I wasn’t lucky enough to visit museums or travel to foreign countries to learn about history. But it didn’t matter since I could find consolation in virtual worlds, which, albeit imperfect and limited, sparked my curiosity to explore.
The Dark Side of Video Games
I don’t want to tell my story about video games (it would take HOURS). Also, it wasn’t all rosy and perfect. Actually, I spent too much time playing video games. Because even though there were games that changed me for good (the Mass Effect trilogy is simply sublime), most of the games I played weren’t the most high-quality pieces, to say it politely. Also, my playing behavior wasn’t super conscious. Rather, I used them a lot to distract myself. This was a HUGE trap. And countless people (mostly young men) are struggling with this problem.
This epidemic (together with many violent games played by kids) created a huge backlash against video games. And even though the intentions are (in my opinion) sound, the reaction has been too rash. After all, almost everything can be addictive:
Food
Porn
Video Games
Love
Drugs
Internet
Books
And I don’t hear people saying, “Let’s ban books!.” Now, the problem (and the opportunity) of video games compared with (let’s say) books is that video games are highly multidimensional experiences: watching, reading, listening, touching, writing, imagination, and so on. It creates a deeply interactive experience from the get-go. We don’t have to imagine characters; we can see them. The interactivity is constructed in the game. Also, we feel we are accomplishing something. There is a clear path or mission to accomplish. And we get rewarded when we beat a boss or reach a new level.
In short, we don’t have to come up with a mission; we are given one. And that’s huge! It allows us to fully experience and engage. We feel alive.
The point I want to make is the following: video games are tools. As such, they can be used for good or bad. Simply dismissing them because they can be addictive is a wasted potential.
What If?
I still remember an interesting fact: It took me time to unpack the ramifications this could have. There was a time when I struggled to focus, and I was a little bit depressed and aimless. However, when playing video games, this wasn’t a problem. I could play for hours with perfect concentration and focus. I was in flow.
When reading a scientific paper? Not so. Time went so slowly, and I looked at the clock regularly. Now it is very obvious why: I wasn’t interested in that. It wasn’t my project, my vision.
At that time, I realized I didn’t want to do what I was doing anymore and was looking for something new. For good or bad, I’m the type of person who can be fully invested in something I consider meaningful. But if not, then I struggle a lot. And I hated that feeling.
In any case, I remember one day while meditating, the following word came to me: Programming. My reaction was: WTF?? Programming? I tried to learn a couple of times to program with little success. Honestly, I was following tutorials without a clear project in mind (a HUGE mistake). In any case, I noted that thought on a Notion page where I had to collect random ideas, and around those days, I started to contemplate that idea.
Around that time, I was doing Leo’s Life Purpose Course (Highly recommended!), and I had the following insight (almost verbatim from my Notion notes):
I realize now why I loved so much strategy and simulation games. I love to explore different possibilities. In our life under this avatar, we cannot rewind and try different options regarding situations in life. In games, you can explore many possibilities without the risk of losing everything. Of course, the same applies in our life since this is just a virtual reality. What about creating those worlds, so that I and other people can take better decisions in life? In politics for example, every decision can have long-lasting consequences and it may take many years or decades to see the impact. What if I could create a game/software that allows to play with different scenarios to see what are the best outcomes? A sort of political simulator. Also, I played yesterday (22-12-2023) The Sims 4, and that would be an ultimate project: a life simulator. After all, Sims are quite limited in the scope of actions and it quite simplistic in certain aspects. But still, I would like to explore and see what is its scope and limitations. Imagine you could create an avatar representing you and being able to explore different life-changing decisions and see ahead their consequences? That would be AWESOME and there is no such product out there. Of course, this would be 10+ year project, and I’m far from that. I will need to acquire many skills and probably do smaller projects first to the get the resources to aim for this bigger project.
At that time, I had NO IDEA how to bring that to reality. And that’s fine. In the past, I used to overthink and to have everything figured out before starting. That’s a big mistake.
Fortunately, things were different this time, and I started to think about how to bring that to life.
And this ultimately leads me to be where I’m now. At the time of this writing (07-01-2025), more than a year after the seed was planted, I’m about to release version 0.1 of Finance Interactive, an interactive experience that will make you learn about finance and insurance while having fun (I hope!).
The Future of Education
Ultimately, I’m writing this because I believe in a world where individuals like you and me can create interactive experiences about topics you are an expert or passionate about and share them with the world so that we can learn about those things without even trying. To have fun while learning.
Sadly, the current education system is doing the opposite, resisting change and transforming children into dull and boring adults without a vision of their future.
This is a travesty that is about to change.
Of course, changing how education is done is a huge endeavor, and it will take some time. But we have to start somewhere. Complaining doesn’t solve anything. Taking action and envisioning a better future does.
If anything, I will show the world that everyone, with enough patience and vision, can bring to life a powerful idea. Whether video games or any other interactive medium, now, with the Internet and LLMs (and whatever is coming), things have never been easier.
If this resonates with you in any way, please reach out and share it with whoever you believe this can resonate with.
I cannot do this alone. I want your help.
