Gaming Journey#
In 2014, I started playing video games. Unlike my peers, the first game I played was QQ Farm on my dad's work computer. My dad had set up a QQ leveling bot to level up faster, so every day after school, the first thing I did was log in and steal his friends' crops while he was away, which resulted in him getting stolen from every day. The following year, I found out from my classmates that they were all playing 4399 mini-games, so I stopped playing QQ Farm.
On May 20, 2016, NetEase announced that they would be publishing "Minecraft." That summer, I played this game that changed the trajectory of my life for the first time. It was so good that I no longer wanted to play the 4399 mini-games. For two months during summer vacation, my daily routine was to open "Minecraft" -> Multiplayer -> Hypixel China -> Bedwars -> getting blown up.
I still get blown up to this day.
The following year (2017), I started watching "XiaoBen Commentary" videos. The first series I watched was the "Simulated Metropolis" series, and I really wanted to play it. However, the NetEase version of "Minecraft" couldn't be downloaded with custom mods, and there wasn't a similar modpack available in the market. It wasn't until 2020 that I found out about the international version, but by then, I had lost interest in playing that modpack.
XiaoBen's YouTube Channel, originally published on iQiyi (where I watched it).
Coding Journey#
In 2018, Scratch programming became popular in mainland China, and parents rushed to enroll their children in related courses.
Scratch 3 Editor, I started with Scratch 2.
The book I read, just the infinite map alone was mind-blowing to me at the time. (This book is for Scratch 2.)
After that, I started learning Python, but only scratched the surface.
The website I used to learn Python.
Although the things I did as a child were childish, they influenced my interests. Even though I don't code anymore, I'm still interested in it.
Interweaving, Internet Journey#
2020 was a turning point in my life, and many things happened that year.
First, I started exploring the internet beyond the LAN in mainland China. I registered my own Discord, Telegram, Line, Steam, QQ, and other accounts.
Through QQ, Telegram, and other social apps, I met many people, including some who had a significant impact on me.
In 2020, I was annoyed by the constant OneDrive ads on Windows, so I searched online for ways to get free OneDrive storage. The first result was a blog post that explained how to get 25 TB of OneDrive storage through an Office 365 A1 subscription. At the end of the article, the author provided their QQ group, which was the first QQ group I joined. One of the admins in this blogger's group was very friendly and added me on QQ. They taught me how to use OneDrive step by step and later taught me how to use Ubuntu and WordPress, which led me to start writing a blog. Unfortunately, I lost all the screenshots (sad).
In 2020, I also purchased the official Minecraft Java Edition and joined a community survival server. The owner of this server disappeared within a month, so the original players rebuilt a new server, and I became the new owner, thus Project Iridium was born.
Through Hypixel's international version, I met many friends. The first person who was willing to team up with me was Ny2k. During the first few days of playing, I would find him to play together every day. Through him, I joined HelloChina, the number one Bedwars guild in China, and eventually became an administrator (although I left the guild after quitting the game).
Then, in 2022, due to the pandemic, I joined Ny2k's QQ group. In this group, I met KallyDev. KallyDev taught me GoLang, SQL, and even bought me a bunch of books. He was more like a mentor than a friend.
Although he often tries to trick me.
Next is Steam. Before registering on Steam, I not only played the NetEase version of Minecraft but also other Chinese games. After registering, I lost interest in those games. It can be said that the great masterpieces on Steam broadened my horizons and greatly influenced my values.
These are the games that I believe have had the most profound impact on me.
Some of these games told unforgettable stories, while others helped me relax. For example, INSIDE is a game that I will never forget. It tells the story of aliens controlling humans, but to me, it's a satire on rigid education.
The internet and video games have completely changed my life. Video games introduced me to the internet, and the internet introduced me to more gamers, bloggers, and coders. Without them, I don't know how boring my life would be, just like my bookworm classmates with empty eyes.
The Future?#
I don't know what the future holds for me.
ChatGPT, GPTs, and various AIs have already taken over many repetitive jobs, while schools continue to teach like they're producing machines. I can't continue pursuing my hobbies.
SpaceX's Starship, Microsoft's quantum supercomputer, and various new technologies are revolutionizing human society. The future is full of variables, and who knows what lies ahead?