Walter Isaacson’s Biography of Elon Musk Reveals His Lifelong Passion for Gaming: At Just 13, He Developed a Video Game and Sold It to a Magazine for USD 500.
In the recently-released biography authored by Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk’s profound affinity for gaming is thoroughly explored. The book delves into the narrative of how the owner of SpaceX, even at the age of 13, ventured into the realm of video game development, successfully creating a game that he then sold to a magazine.
Elon Musk’s Journey into Game Development The biography sheds light on Musk’s self-taught programming skills, honed using Pascal and Turbo C++. At the tender age of 13, he crafted a video game titled ‘Blastar,’ which revolved around the mission of destroying an alien space freighter carrying perilous hydrogen bombs and status beam machines. Remarkably, Musk managed to sell ‘Blastar’ to a magazine for a sum of USD 500. His entrepreneurial spirit didn’t stop there, as the young Musk went on to sell two more video games to the same publication. One of these games resembled the popular arcade classic ‘Donkey Kong,’ while the other was a roulette and blackjack simulator.
Musk’s Ongoing Love for Gaming In May of this year, Elon Musk garnered attention by showcasing his character build for the widely acclaimed open-world fantasy game ‘Elden Ring.’ Developed by FromSoftware Inc., ‘Elden Ring’ became one of the standout releases of 2022. For players familiar with the challenging nature of Souls games, ‘Elden Ring’ posed a formidable gaming experience. Musk proudly shared his character build on Twitter, attaining a level 111. However, some Souls games veterans criticized his build as inefficient. Nonetheless, it is evident that Musk is deeply passionate about gaming.
Returning to the biography authored by Walter Isaacson, it cites Musk’s cousin Peter Rive, who revealed, “If you are playing with Elon, you play pretty much nonstop until finally you have to eat.”
The book further unveils an intriguing incident from Musk’s past when, during a vacation, he figured out how to hack the games in a mall, allowing him and his cousins to indulge in hours of free gaming without the need for coins.
During his teenage years, Musk even harbored aspirations of establishing his own arcade and devised plans to turn it into a profitable venture. However, the endeavor hit a roadblock when he and his cousins were required to obtain city permits. Lacking an adult to finalize the application and being unable to enlist the help of his father Errol, Musk’s arcade dream remained unrealized.
The biography also includes a recollection by his former girlfriend Grimes, who recounted how Musk once stayed up until 5 in the morning playing ‘Elden Ring’ after offering to buy Twitter.
