How Videogames Sparked My Programming Journey
From running a Counter-Strike server to learning PAWN and databases, my first steps into programming came from a passion for gaming.
Like many programmers of my generation, I didn’t start coding because of textbooks or formal classes—I started because of videogames.
Counter-Strike 1.6 and My First Server#
It all began with Counter-Strike 1.6. I was fascinated not just by playing, but by the community servers that introduced creative twists to the game. Argentina had some iconic custom modes, and one in particular caught my attention: Zombie Carnage, a modification built on top of the legendary Zombie Plague mod.
Zombie Plague—created by MeRcyLeZZ ↗, an Argentinian programmer—was one of the most played Counter-Strike 1.6 mods of all time. Its influence shaped countless servers around the world, and that fact alone made it feel even closer to home.
I spent countless hours digging through forums to figure out how these mods worked.
The server I built replicated new functionality from Zombie Carnage into the Zombie Plague codebase. That meant integrating features like player accounts, levels, classes, and advanced customizations.
To pull it off, I had to learn my first programming language: PAWN, because it is the language of AMX Mod X ↗, the scripting engine used to create Counter-Strike server mods.
PAWN is a typeless extension language with a C-like syntax, widely used in game server scripting. I also had to learn about databases to persist player progression—specifically relational databases, which introduced me to concepts like tables, queries, and schema design.
That server was my first real experience with backend logic, data persistence, and extending an open-source codebase.
From PAWN to C++ and MMORPG Servers#
My curiosity didn’t stop with Counter-Strike. I also experimented with the game server for a popular MMORPG, where I scripted custom commands in C++.
Once again, the community was my classroom. I read forum posts where experienced programmers explained how they modified the game client with hooked DLLs, or even decompiled the original leaked game server using tools like OllyDbg.
I never went that far myself, but reading about it sparked my interest in reverse engineering and assembly—skills I would later revisit and refine during my university years.
Final Thoughts#
Looking back, these projects weren’t just about games. This early exposure sparked a mindset of “peeking behind the curtain” that stayed with me. Even when I wasn’t coding at that level, I learned to question how systems actually worked beneath the surface, one of the most valuable skills I carry as an engineer today.
✨ Sometimes, the best way to learn programming is not through a course, but through something you genuinely love.