Marcus spent hours gaming every day. Then he discovered he could build the games instead of just playing them.
Marcus, 17, from Atlanta, thought coding was "boring math stuff." Then his friend showed him Unity.
"I realized the games I loved were just code and art mashed together," Marcus says. "Once I made my first character move on screen, I was hooked."
Marcus started with free YouTube tutorials, then moved to structured courses. Within six months, he'd built three small games and started a game dev club at his school.
"The hardest part wasn't learning to code — it was believing I could actually do this as a career," he admits.
Today, Marcus is applying to colleges with game development programs, but he's also exploring direct-entry positions at indie studios. "Either way, I know this is what I want to do. LaunchPoint's UX Design curriculum actually helped me think about player experience in a totally different way."
His advice for other teens? "Stop waiting for someone to tell you you're ready. Just start making stuff. It'll be bad at first. That's fine. Keep going."