Neon Nostalgia: When Mystic Quest Lit Up My World
As a millennial born in 1990, I found myself connected to computers ever since Kindergarten. Even before that, I was playing video games, fascinated by the magical world inside each screen. My desire to understand computers and to design creatively has been deeply rooted in me from a very young age.
I vividly remember those early days when my brother would play “Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest.” While he was absorbed in his adventure, I’d be right there, persistently nagging him to let me tweak the color settings on the screen. I was particularly enamored with setting everything to neon green—even though that choice was so outrageously bright it practically hurt my eyes! I mean, who knew that the perfect artistic rebellion could involve a blinding flash of neon that made us both squint in disbelief? It was my quirky way of saying, “Let’s shake things up!” even if it meant a temporary light show on our TV screen.
At the tender age of four, I discovered “Mario Paint” on the Super Nintendo. The game was a wonderland of creative possibilities, especially because it allowed me to plug in a mouse and actually create art. In that moment, I wasn’t just a child playing a game; I was an explorer in a new, uncharted territory where art met technology. Every brushstroke and every pixel felt like a building block toward a future where creativity would know no bounds.
As I grew older, this blend of art and technology continued to shape my world. The challenges I faced as an artist—those moments of self-doubt and creative blocks—often found their answers in the logic and structure of computer science. There were times when I struggled with conveying an abstract idea visually, only to solve it later by writing a simple piece of code that generated a digital pattern, sparking new inspiration. I realized that the same curiosity that drove me to experiment with video game settings was also the key to unlocking innovative approaches in my art.
This journey hasn’t always been smooth. There were moments when the duality of being both an artist and a computer geek felt overwhelming. The art world can be solitary, and the meticulous nature of coding sometimes left me questioning whether I truly belonged in either realm. But over time, I learned that these challenges were not obstacles—they were opportunities to blend my two passions into something uniquely powerful.
Today, I embrace the fusion of these worlds. I see every creative challenge as a chance to apply a bit of technical insight, and every line of code as a potential brushstroke in a larger masterpiece. Through this blog, I hope to reach out to fellow artists who, like me, have felt alone in their creative struggles. Remember: whether you’re designing on a canvas or coding your next digital project, you’re not alone. Every challenge is a step toward innovation, and every setback is a setup for a breakthrough.
Let’s continue this journey together—where art meets technology, humor lights up even the brightest neon settings, and creativity knows no limits.
