I have been following, supporting, and reporting about Remedy for a large majority of my life. Their games, Max Payne specifically, truly inspired me to be the person I am today. While that might sound corny, it's absolutely true.

When Max Payne 2 released in 2003, I was 12 years old. I was - and still am - incredibly intrigued by game design and when I learned the modding tools were available I locked myself up one summer in the attic and delved into a hell of trail and error.

I started small by tweaking the Bullet-time parameters. But at the end of the Summer, I tweaked all the skins, sounds, and guns. I had to familiarize myself with Adobe Photoshop, various modding tools, and had to reach out to my 'heroes' - the ones that actually released a mod.

Incredibly daunting for a 12-yo. Luckily, the Remedy community is incredibly supportive & very approachable. Fast forward a few years & I was writing articles for PayneReactor & interacting with various people I looked up to. People like Helder Pinto, Aztec, Canady_Dry, and ADM.

There are so many others, like Janys, who was an incredible mentor and whom I bumped into years later at Gamescom. There were SO many platforms and sites that acted as a stage for so much creativity. There was an endless stream of incredibly fun and amazing mods.

It's though to put it all (my journey) on paper. But if you made it to this tweet, remember: all of your experiences, whether good or bad, your interests, your hobby's, and your passion ARE WORTH IT. And never let anyone else tell you otherwise.

All the skills I developed while practicing my hobby's helped me in my professional career. And one day, I too will be working there in Espoo. Mark my words! #RMD25