Hi all!
My name’s Khaled and I use he/him pronouns. I’m a junior undergrad in CS who joined this class a bit late, so I am now introducing myself a bit late as well.
My favorite game of all is probably Dark Souls 1. I first played it at the ripe old age of 9 years old and getting through the challenge ended up heavily influencing my attitude towards many things in life for years to come. At the time, I was a bit of a lazy brat who never wanted to do anything even remotely difficult. The “culture” around FromSoftware games at the time (and still now) was about embracing the difficulty and feeling accomplished in surpassing obstacles that felt impassable. This was a novel attitude and I began applying it in that way that kids who get a new idea do: relentlessly. The game itself is strikingly memorable for its level design and beautiful landscapes. I treasure it dearly for the impact that its had on my life.
My favorite game recently is probably Divinity Original Sin 2. My friends and I played through it cooperatively for a bit of Winter Break, and that was some of the most fun I’ve had gaming recently. For a narratively focused game, I will be honest and say that I actually remember very little of Divinity’s narrative, but I do remember many specific sidequests with bizarre conclusions that we concocted, and the fun of working through the tactical combat. 
