I also got into programming through game mods, but for me in started with making maps for Duke Nukem 3D (yes, of '96 vintage!), and then 3D modelling and QuakeC

I also got into programming through game mods, but for me in started with making maps for Duke Nukem 3D (yes, of '96 vintage!), and then 3D modelling and QuakeC mods. A lot of people I collaborated with ended up working in the games industry, either on games like Unreal, or in journalism. I ended up working in the enterprise, but from the many bad stories of life in the games industry, perhaps it was a lucky escape :)