[megaman22]

It's the gateway drug. Gaming (at least used to) gets you into save-file editing, then into modding, then into programming.

Not to mention all the general IT fiddle-frigging that was involved in making games run, or fixing your PC after something went disastrously wrong with that, and you needed to get it back in a working state before the parents noticed that you'd broken the computer...

[saintPirelli]

Yes, all of that, but particulairly because I want(ed) to make my own game(s). I actually took a detour via 3D modelling (Blender) for gaming and then becoming interested in writing my own Python scripts, so I learned how to code and forgot all about my original aspirations with Blender.