Probably about 5 years ago, I got a copy of HL (hax0red) which I played and enjoyed as a result of its super high res graphics and the violence (gibbing grunts with a crowbar - who would've thought?
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On closer inspection of the CD, I found a little program called Worldcraft. Back in those days, Worldcraft had an extensive help file, containing tutorials, setup information and the like. I mapped for a while, then stopped.
A year later, I picked up Worldcraft again, which I upgraded to the newly named "Hammer" and I've been hooked ever since. I discovered after a while that I was somewhat decent at mapping, so I've been doing it ever since.
And so we reach today: working hard to finish de_venice, as well as trying to get on a mod team (the most recent of which being BM:S). I'd love to go into Level Designing as a profession one day, but there's a long way to go yet (and a slew of more capable people than I).