GoKawiilBlog recounts learning hex editing by hacking SimCity 2000 save files on a 1990s PC
A personal tech history post describes growing up with a Packard Bell 386 SX running MS-DOS, playing games like SimCity 2000, Scorched Earth and Oregon Trail. The author recalls that tinkering with SimCity 2000's saved game files became the moment they first learned about bytes and hexadecimal data on disk.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The anecdote illustrates how early PC gaming often doubled as an informal computer science education, with curious kids reverse-engineering file formats long before formal training. It suggests a common pathway into technical careers rooted in childhood tinkering rather than classroom instruction.
- The author's first computer was a Packard Bell 386 SX running MS-DOS.
- SimCity 2000 save file tinkering introduced the author to hexadecimal and byte-level data.
- The post is part of a personal series tracing the author's early computing history.
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Published there as: “Hacking SimCity 2000 saved games”
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