A Decade of Code: My 10-Year Journey in Tech and Game Dev

"Why are you always playing these games? Why don't you go and learn how to make one, this boy?"

Thinking back on it, this is the statement that started this whole 10-year journey — an everlasting learning process.

🚀 The Spark That Started It All

Stern quote aside, I might be getting ahead of myself. That statement from my father was the catalyst, but I think my love for programming and designing software actually started much earlier.

I had a phase where I was obsessed with GTA San Andreas (probably too young to be playing it, but that's beside the point 😂). I spent hours modding the game and even tweaking scripts from mod creators using Sanny Builder. That was the pre-catalyst — a time I was messing with code without realizing it.

💻 Access Unlocked: 2015 and the Internet

In 2015, everything changed when I got unrestricted internet access as I started sixth form at Westerfield College. Armed with a new laptop, my dad's statement echoed in my head. That memory kicked off a deep dive.

I started playing around with something called 3DRAD (huge shoutout to the team), then quickly stumbled into Unity — tried it, found it too hard, and moved to tools like:

I got really deep into RPG Maker. I relied heavily on community plugins and even started my first game project: Enigma. It wasn’t good — bad grammar, poor level scaling — but I was so proud. I’ll include screenshots/build dates somewhere here for nostalgia's sake.

👨‍💻 First Professional Steps: Internship at PFS

Eventually, I interned at Precise Financial Solutions (PFS), where I was reintroduced to C#. This was the start of my web dev journey. I learned the basics through console apps, WPF forms — stuff I had zero clue how to do at the time.

Most of my experience until then was tweaking code, not writing from scratch. But I pushed through and built confidence. And yes, I was still doing game dev on the side — I always am.

🧠 The Homeland Years and a Big No from Enye

Eventually, I returned to Unity. That’s when the idea for Homeland came about. I spent way too long on it... but that’s a story for another day.

In late 2019, after my industry placement at SystemSpecs (makers of Remita), I applied to Enye Cohort 4. I was confident — I had just completed a QA/testing role and felt ready.

I did the coding challenge — React, Git, cloud stuff — all new to me.

Drumroll... I didn’t get in.
I was heartbroken. Wondered if I even knew what I was doing. But I moved on.

🧪 Freelance Hustle, Full Stack Curiosity

Around this time, I was helping people build e-commerce sites in PHP, deploying them on Heroku, and learning all the devops-y things like Git, Linux, and servers. I realized something key: I loved diving headfirst into new tech.

Between 2019 and 2021, I released:

Homeland
Ball Buster (Android)

I also freelanced a bit — some projects didn’t go far, but I kept learning.

🧳 Post-Graduation and NYSC: Finding My Feet

After graduating in 2021, I was scrambling to find a good NYSC placement (anything but teaching, please 🙏). Thankfully, I landed an interview with Bluechip Technologies — and got in.

I stayed for over 3 years — my longest stint anywhere. Projects I’m proud of:

The people? Amazing. The work? Confidence-building. Shoutout to the Bluechip crew!

🎓 Masters, Game Jams, and Growth Spurts

Some highlights from this era:

Got a Master’s in Advanced Software Engineering
Designed Cargo Runners around software design frameworks
Joined 2 game jams
- One hosted by the biggest game dev YouTube channel (shoutout!)
- Built SHAPE IT UP at 3am, placed #1827 out of 7568 — not bad!

🔧 Where I Am Now

I’ve left Bluechip.
I’m working on a full release of SHAPE IT UP, built on a custom game engine using:

And honestly? I couldn’t be prouder.
Still job hunting, but I've learned to embrace the “lull moments.” They suck. But they always pass.

💬 Parting Words

If you’ve read this far — thank you.
If you’re feeling unsure about where you’re going: keep going. It’s hard. Really, really hard. But there's always a way forward.

More stories coming soon. Until then — stay building. 🚀