My name is Anatoly Piskunov — I'm an IT specialist (specializing in web development, since recently I've completely switched to the development of blockchain technologies).
I'm from Russia and glad to see new readers of my personal blog. My hobbies:
- IT technologies;
- Blockchain technologies;
- Video games;
- Digital art;
- VR/AR.
Video games
The world of my childish fantasies has come up against the world of video games. My father often bought new equipment, there were an old Spectrum and Dendy then a PC with games on DOS came up. I was about 6 years old, I remember playing the classic Pac-Man and using the exhaustive method I found hidden codes to increase the number of lives. The realization that all these fascinating things are artificial and created by programmers immediately rooted a thought in my mind that, perhaps, I had found myself.
Dendy. I still remember how I went to Yurga (Russian siberian city) with my dad in early childhood and my cousin took me to some computer club and those 10 minutes of playing Felix the Cat and a lot of attempts to cope with control were very inspiring for me. In my mind I began to analyze the mechanics of all game processes and imagine what could be done in a different way.
SEGA played with friends, then the first PC at home (Doom, Dolt, Heroes of the Might & Magic). I played these games until the 5th form at school then parents bought several books in English for children, so I honestly tried to understand what was written on the screen but often I put aside the foreign words as soon as I began to understand the mechanics of the game.
Later the Internet and a 3D video card appeared. I studied in 5th form, so I cut down expenses on lunch, went on foot (sure, two bus trips are more than 30 minutes on the Internet) only for possibility to pay for Dial-up Internet. The ability to receive information unlimitedly (the same can't be said for my children's savings) is exactly what rocked my world. Always with the hobby of technologies there was a hobby of video games. And now also the Internet. If I was fond of programming under DOS and later under Windows then getting to know the Internet gave a new round to my relationship with IT.
Now I follow the video game industry with a great pleasure. VR / AR-technologies really have a lot of prospects! They definitely will turn our lives around but their time just hasn’t come yet. I will gladly discuss any novelties from the world of interactive entertainment. Sometimes I find time for video games (I refer this amusement to a similar cinema trip or watching series). Because of the birth of my daughter now there is time only for session games (mainly by Blizzard) — Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Hearthstone. And if in Hearthstone you can play on board then the rest of games only capriciously.
I think I did not become a game developer for two reasons: the market of demand for specialists (at that time the infrastructure was not developed and there was no possibility to work remotely) and a new hobby — the Internet.
Digital art
Since childhood I have been keen on drawing. I'm not a professional artist just an amateur. But this does not prevent me from enjoying excellent works and getting aesthetic pleasure from the technique of strokes of oil paints.
I'm the owner of the tablet XP-Pen Artist 22HD. I draw very rarely (when I have creative inspiration and a visual idea niggles).
I think if I hadn't passion for IT technologies I would start developing games or develop my own creative skills (for some period of time I even did pyrography).
Epilogue
I see endless prospects of blockchain technologies for society in the whole. "I'm with you for a long time" because IT is a big part of my life, my vocation. If you are familiar with what I do and am fond of — I'll be happy to see you among my subscribers.
Anatoly Piskunov aka @on1x