Erik Wolpaw's first encounter with computer gaming was on a TRS-80 in his high-school library. "It was one of the Scott Adams adventures. I don't remember the exact name, but it's the haunted mansion one," Wolpaw says. "They are very crude at this point, but at the time I couldn't believe it, and that was it. That was my goal for years after that. I wanted to get a computer."
Wolpaw's fascination with games would lead him to become a journalist, writing for sites like Gamespot and the legendary games website Old Man Murray, which he co-founded with Chet Faliszek. In 2004, Wolpaw joined Valve along with Faliszek, writing for games like Half-Life 2's episodes and Team Fortress 2, as well as the brilliantly innovative Portal and its hilarious sequel.
Wolpaw took a break from penning Valve games to guide me through the white-panelled test chambers of his PC, a journey that took us from the deepest dungeons to the heights of two very popular spires.
English (US)