Recent generations have been told from a young age that they can do anything they set their minds too because they're "special". Years later, those of us who didn't develop an entitlement complex discovered that we were lied to. We're not all astronauts, doctors, and firefighters, and most of us hate our jobs.

I went through a few phases when I was around the age of five or six. First I wanted to be a paleontologist, then I wanted to build robots. I can't remember what followed, but the next logical step would have been building robot dinosaurs. Needless to say, I haven't done any of the that.

What was your dream when you were a kid? What did you want to be when you grew up? Are any of you actually living your dream?

By the way, if you haven't grown up yet or are still in school, feel free to share your dreams with us. The rest of us will just crush them.

Well I am going to be a superhero...

mspencer82:
Recent generations have been told from a young age that they can do anything they set their minds too because they're "special". Years later, those of us who didn't develop an entitlement complex discovered that we were lied to. We're not all astronauts, doctors, and firefighters, and most of us hate our jobs.

Been watching a little too much Fight Club lately?
And no, you can't have my driver's license.

"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

I wanted to be a paleontologist, no idea why.

stormcaller:
"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

+crush+

People that think they can work in the games industry because they play a lot of games really bug me. Especially when they have one GCSE in P.E.

KarmicToast:
Been watching a little too much Fight Club lately?
And no, you can't have my driver's license.

I've actually never watched Fight Club. This topic was just on my mind because of a rather depressing job search. I take it they talked about this in the movie?

I'm still in school, but it's my eventual goal to be a tuba player with a professional philharmonic orchestra either London or Los Angeles, but knowing that their current tuba player has to die first, I want to be an assassin.

I wanted to be Indiana Jones... I still do... kinda.

curlycrouton:

stormcaller:
"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

+crush+

People that think they can work in the games industry because they play a lot of games really bug me. Especially when they have one GCSE in P.E.

GSCE?

Attempting to gain access to college to take IT, what I've wanted to do most of my life.

I also wanted to write professionally from ages 12-22, then I graduated and realized that University had crippled me creatively. Now I'm a depressed and listless 25 year old with no dreams.

I wanted to be an addiction medicine specialist. Then I found out it would take 10+ years and I would have no time for a girlfriend or social life during that time.

Now I'm an editor, and shoot documentaries in my free time. Which, incidentally, rocks the cazbah.

stormcaller:

curlycrouton:

stormcaller:
"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

+crush+

People that think they can work in the games industry because they play a lot of games really bug me. Especially when they have one GCSE in P.E.

GSCE?

GCSE, a qualification that can be gained at the age of 16 (usually) in British schools. Formerly known as the O Level.

Helnurath's guide to growing up to be whatever you want to be in life (within reason).
Step.1 Decide on a career path that compliments your strengths and multiple intelligences.

Step.2 Decide if this is really what you want to be, and if your stengths will help you or hinder you.

Step.3 Create long term and short term goals that will help you achieve your dream career.

Step.4 Work towards completing goals and setting new ones as older ones are completed.

Step.5 Success.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences (What kind of intelligences are strongest in you?)

curlycrouton:

stormcaller:

curlycrouton:

stormcaller:
"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

+crush+

People that think they can work in the games industry because they play a lot of games really bug me. Especially when they have one GCSE in P.E.

GSCE?

GCSE, a qualification that can be gained at the age of 16 (usually) in British schools. Formerly known as the O Level.

Back when we had proper hard exams. None of this sissy coursework. ;)

I wanted to be a trader. I'm serious. I was a weird child. I'm in college now so I dunno if that will pan out but I hope it does. That sounds so awesome to me.

PedroSteckecilo:
I also wanted to write professionally from ages 12-22, then I graduated and realized that University had crippled me creatively. Now I'm a depressed and listless 25 year old with no dreams.

The first problem with being a novelist is thinking that you need permission.
The second problem is not writing enough words - this is harder than you might think.
The third problem is the manic tendency to reinvent the form of the novel (post-modernism, inter-textualism, books within books, etc.) and in so doing writing too many words, or planning an epic trilogy which you never complete.
The fourth problem is listening to other people's advice, mainly to 'try writing a short story first'.
No, no no. Short stories are harder to write than novels.
Oh, and journalism and criticism aren't creative writing, sorry.

I hope this helps.

mspencer82:
I went through a few phases when I was around the age of five or six. First I wanted to be a paleontologist, then I wanted to build robots. I can't remember what followed, but the next logical step would have been building robot dinosaurs. Needless to say, I haven't done any of the that.

...Are you me?

After that, it was a scientist. I thought it was all about mixing funny chemicals randomly and thus accidentally discovering, oh I don't know, laser cannons.

After we got a computer, when I was 9, I decided, with child's logic, that since my mum wouldn't allow me to play computer games, I'd make my own. Being the creative sort, this appealed. I started learning to program in VB; had to take the book back to the library; never found it again. I learnt HTML instead and rocked that for a few years, writing designs for games rather than the games themselves, occasionally sending them off to companies in the vain, childlike hope that they'd get made. I bought a Java book at one point, but the compiler betrayed me and wouldn't work (I now have a suspicion I installed it wrong, but meh). This all changed when in year 10 my Computers teacher gave me a Visual Basic book - a proper one. I learnt fast. I wrote the first version of my first game.

Over the next four school years I went on work experience with a game graphics designer (twice, and learnt a TON!), rewrote the game several times, threw in DirectX, and now I'm teaching myself C++; three books on the subject, game-orientated, are winging their way to me through the post. As I might say were my facade of internet respectability to slip, I dig this shiznit.* I love writing games.

(Alongside that, I've written a tabletop game, and tried and failed to write numerous novels; I never stick with the plots. The TTG is gold though. In fact I enjoy writing rules for wargames even more than I enjoy programming. It's surprisingly similar, except that the challenges are in making the gameplay good rather than making the game work, and it doesn't give you motherf***ing automation errors.)

So yeah. Don't forget your childhood dreams :)

*Don't worry... I don't actually speak like that. 'Dig' to me is the forced movement of bits of ground. I'm just failing at humour, is all.

Don't laugh, I want to be a videogames journo. Please don't laugh. Ross Atherton (editor of PC Gamer UK) answered a few of my questions, and was lovely about the whole thing.

Uncompetative:

PedroSteckecilo:
I also wanted to write professionally from ages 12-22, then I graduated and realized that University had crippled me creatively. Now I'm a depressed and listless 25 year old with no dreams.

The first problem with being a novelist is thinking that you need permission.
The second problem is not writing enough words - this is harder than you might think.
The third problem is the manic tendency to reinvent the form of the novel (post-modernism, inter-textualism, books within books, etc.) and in so doing writing too many words, or planning an epic trilogy which you never complete.
The fourth problem is listening to other people's advice, mainly to 'try writing a short story first'.
No, no no. Short stories are harder to write than novels.
Oh, and journalism and criticism aren't creative writing, sorry.

I hope this helps.

Yeah I know all that, I still hate everything I write at the moment. That and I have no fricken time.

Uncompetative:
No, no no. Short stories are harder to write than novels.

Oddly, I find this the other way around. Then again, I'm a weird sort of writer; I prefer the creating-the-world bit to the actual plot, and I've no stamina for massively long stories. I prefer writing TTGs to novels. I do love doing the short stories though; whenever I write background for a game, it's littered with mini-stories. I think the longest story I've completed is about 33,000 words, and was done chapter by chapter online, with only a mental sketch of a plot, posting each chapter up before I went on. It turned out surprisingly well (although it was set in the 40K universe rather than being a new creation, I don't know if that would make things more complicated).

inventor, then maze designer, then level designer. which, through various detours, i am still en route to become.

curlycrouton:

People that think they can work in the games industry because they play a lot of games really bug me. Especially when they have one GCSE in P.E.

playing a lot of games CAN get you into the games industry. QA is still a part of the industry last i checked, and if you get your foot in, you can get promoted as well. a passion for games is an important feature to have when working in the industry.

PedroSteckecilo:

Uncompetative:

PedroSteckecilo:
I also wanted to write professionally from ages 12-22, then I graduated and realized that University had crippled me creatively. Now I'm a depressed and listless 25 year old with no dreams.

The first problem with being a novelist is thinking that you need permission.
The second problem is not writing enough words - this is harder than you might think.
The third problem is the manic tendency to reinvent the form of the novel (post-modernism, inter-textualism, books within books, etc.) and in so doing writing too many words, or planning an epic trilogy which you never complete.
The fourth problem is listening to other people's advice, mainly to 'try writing a short story first'.
No, no no. Short stories are harder to write than novels.
Oh, and journalism and criticism aren't creative writing, sorry.

I hope this helps.

Yeah I know all that, I still hate everything I write at the moment. That and I have no fricken time.

Use a Dictaphone to record notes and bits of dialogue whilst waiting about in everyday life...?

i grew up and became a scientist.

now i want to go back to playing videogames and being a bum college student.

I wanted to be a surgeon when I grew up. I do not have the financial means to support the education to try and become a doctor.

Aside from that I always wanted to be a translator of the japanese language, but I had to drop the major in college because it became to hard and I did not dedicate myself enough.

I also wanted to be a pilot but once again I do not know where to begin.

Finally I wanted to work in the games industry doing reviews or press. This is the closest I've become because of our groups podcast becuase I can review games in a format that suits my style which is verbal.

Strangely I never wanted to be an astronaut, somehow space seemed boring at that time. Being a doctor isn't so far out of my league either cause... that's where I'm going to a medical university after this year... I did wish I was spiderman once tho...

Sadly, I WILL NEVER BE A FISHERMAN!
I wanted to be an Archeologist when I was a little kid.
Or of course an Astronaut.

stormcaller:
"When I grow up I want to write stories for games because I'm shit all at maths and really want to work with games" (in a small child's voice) crush that if you will :D

yeah me too, then I found out I've got shit grammar, fuck it i'll be a stripper.

Dechef:
Sadly, I WILL NEVER BE A FISHERMAN!
I wanted to be an Archeologist when I was a little kid.
Or of course an Astronaut.

Seriously easy going.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4EySSOECcKg

Son of Makuta:

Uncompetative:
No, no no. Short stories are harder to write than novels.

Oddly, I find this the other way around. Then again, I'm a weird sort of writer; I prefer the creating-the-world bit to the actual plot, and I've no stamina for massively long stories. I prefer writing TTGs to novels. I do love doing the short stories though; whenever I write background for a game, it's littered with mini-stories. I think the longest story I've completed is about 33,000 words, and was done chapter by chapter online, with only a mental sketch of a plot, posting each chapter up before I went on. It turned out surprisingly well (although it was set in the 40K universe rather than being a new creation, I don't know if that would make things more complicated).

Oh, I'm sorry, but I was giving advice with a view to being published. Not fan-fiction on some website, not that there's anything wrong with that.

What I meant was that the published authors who were famous for their short stories were, well, amongst the best writers in history:

Guy de Maupassant
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
Anton Chekov
Raymond Carver

(a random selection... read any of these and you'd know why it is less of challenge to write a good novel that has some chance of publication)

I wish I knew what I would like to become, to be honest.

I went through a few phases as a kid. I started out wanting to be a sportscaster, but realized early on that a nasal voice and a thick Boston accent wouldn't get me very far in television or radio, and also that play-by-play jobs were quite scarce and usually occupied by highly tenured workers.

My father died when I was nine and my mom took up with a degenerate gambler who owned racehorses and had a bookie. I was absolutely fascinated, which led to me wanting to become a professional gambler (John Patrick's infomercials for his "So You Wanna Be A Gambler" book and video series played a role as well---in my mind it was like "you mean people make a living beating the casinos out of money? Sign me up!") I actually moved from Boston to Reno at age 25 and spent two and a half years gambling professionally, at which I made about the same money I could've made working at McDonald's (but I loved the job.)

After I got married I couldn't do the pro gambling thing anymore and I spent four years kicking around low-end worthless jobs. Not to say I don't love my wife (I love her dearly) but I often question the wisdom of giving up the only job I ever truly loved in favor of a string of corporate jobs that made me come home wanting to stick my head in the oven.

I'm going back to college hoping to use my love of lower mathematics and finance to become a CPA and go to work counting beans and crunching numbers for absurdly high salaries (if CareerBuilder.com is to be believed I can make upwards of $70K a year after a few years out of college.)