• by adam , February 25, 2008

So Microsoft is going to <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206801137">let amateurs write games</a> for the Xbox360.  That's nice.  The scary thing is, you and I both know it's INEVITABLE that at least one of these home-spun masterpieces will actually be fun to play.

My question is, why do you nerds do it?  What do you gain?  Street cred?  There's no street.  Bragging rights?  Who are you going to brag to - that lady you live with and call "Mom"?  I haven't seen anything that says these programmers will get a piece of the financial action, so it must be altruism.  Altruism, creativity, and too much time on the hands of 20-30 somethings who probably wear shorts in the winter and a Spiderman shirt to weddings.

Despite all the trash talk, I like these guys.  They're the ones who let me look up "Archery at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's double York round" on Wikipedia and, voila, a complete summary of all archers and their fantastic scores.  They're the ones who write drivers for my parents almost-extinct Packard Bell computer from...I don't know...1925?  They're the ones make mash-ups, blog scandals, and donate to crazy politicians.

I don't know who they are.  I don't know why they do it.  All I know is, they are the salt of the earth, and we would be in poor shape without them.