After years of lurking & a few throwaways, this is my first comment on HN as myself.
Few people we meet stand out in such a way as Gordon did for me. Unfortunately it too often takes tragic life updates to have these fleeting connections return to the surface of your daily thoughts.
Gordon was just some guy I met who was a) in the games industry and b) hosting a (killer btw) party at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans. I had shown up looking for a job in gfx like a year too early - and got this party invite instead. Foreign concept to my engineer brain that those two were actually not only related but often on the same path... which Gordon took the time to explain to me over shots of “I don’t even know what” while overlooking Bourbon St & the still ongoing party shenanigans inside. After another half hour of “but seriously though how does one make games for a living” crash course, I left that party lighter than air.
Fast forward more than a decade and I still qualify that as one of my favorite days ever.
A few minutes given freely can make a seriously outsized difference. Take the time. Pay it forward. You’re already a mentor to more people than you think.
Few people we meet stand out in such a way as Gordon did for me. Unfortunately it too often takes tragic life updates to have these fleeting connections return to the surface of your daily thoughts.
Gordon was just some guy I met who was a) in the games industry and b) hosting a (killer btw) party at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans. I had shown up looking for a job in gfx like a year too early - and got this party invite instead. Foreign concept to my engineer brain that those two were actually not only related but often on the same path... which Gordon took the time to explain to me over shots of “I don’t even know what” while overlooking Bourbon St & the still ongoing party shenanigans inside. After another half hour of “but seriously though how does one make games for a living” crash course, I left that party lighter than air.
Fast forward more than a decade and I still qualify that as one of my favorite days ever.
A few minutes given freely can make a seriously outsized difference. Take the time. Pay it forward. You’re already a mentor to more people than you think.
Thanks Gordon. Rest easy.