My name is Ryan Vanalstine, I am 38 years old and currently reside in Saint Paul Minnesota with my wife, son, dog, and 2 cats. I graduated from Saint Paul College in May 2025 earning a certification in Web Page Design. I would describe myself as “Professional Nomad” as I have worked a vast number of jobs over the course of my life spanning several different industries including retail; food service, production, and IT. I have been a stay at home day for the majority of my son’s life, right up until he started elementary school which is when I decided to go back to school so I could reenter the work force with a new focus.
As far back as I can remember I have always been playing video games. Back in the early days it was usually playing games together with my brothers, always pretending we were going to take turns but secretly hoping nobody would notice just how long our current “turn” had been going on. Some time around middle school is when I would say that casual hobby turned into a full blown obsession. Games like Final Fantasy 7 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time were the first games that I remember playing non-stop. Granted in those days it was a lot harder to play as much as you wanted to because there was usually only a single video game console in the house and most of the time it was connected to a shared TV. Of course as time wore on those issues became less of an issue and eventually I could afford to buy my own games and my own consoles to play them on, eventually even being able to play them on my own TV in my bedroom. Over the years this lifelong interest in video games has manifested itself in many ways; not only playing games but reading about them, writing about them, as well as attending various video game conventions across the country. Before long I was lucky enough to be able to share my love of video games with my wife and even now my son. Though playing games with more mature content has been relegated to the post bedtime hours, or at least on handheld devices that only I can see, the entire family can get together for Mario Kart sessions and I have even been able to find age appropriate games for my son to play himself such as Lego games, Minecraft, and Bluey.
