Gaming

Gaming is not just entertainment for Shaurya -- it is the thread that connects many of his friendships and, crucially, it is the gateway that led him to coding. The question "how are games made?" asked at age 9 during COVID lockdown started everything.

The Origin

During the COVID lockdown, Shaurya was stuck at home like every other kid in the world. School was a Zoom call, friends were unreachable in person, and gaming became the primary social lifeline. He spent an enormous amount of time playing Fortnite with Vivaan M -- sessions that started as "one more game" and turned into four more hours. In the middle of all that screen time, a simple question formed: how are these games actually made? That curiosity, born in the quiet boredom of Oman, led him to start coding at age 9. It was not a structured decision or a parental push -- it was a kid wondering what was behind the screen and deciding to find out. The early projects trace directly back to this era, and every venture since -- LockIn, Simplifly, Raly -- has roots in that lockdown curiosity.

The Games

Fortnite was the peak lockdown game. It was less about the gameplay and more about surviving isolation with friends. Every session with Vivaan M was a core memory -- the wins, the losses, the rage quits, the late nights. Among Us had two eras: the original lockdown craze and a revival in mid-2024 that brought back all the "I SAW HIM VENT" energy across May and June. The betrayals, the emergency meetings, the accusations -- Among Us sessions were legendary social events disguised as a game.

Marvel Rivals became the squad game from December 2024 to February 2025, with its own dedicated group chat buzzing nightly. The whole gang played -- coordinating matches, arguing about character balance, sharing clips. Roblox had its own phase, particularly Da Hood, which was a whole era of its own. Each game had its moment and its dedicated group chat, because that is how Shaurya's generation organises: every activity gets its own channel.

Social Glue

Gaming for Shaurya is fundamentally social. He is not a hardcore gamer who grinds ranked ladders or goes competitive. If his friends are playing, he is playing. If they are not, he is probably building something instead. The value of gaming is not in the games themselves but in the late-night calls, the trash talk, the team strategies, and the bonding time disguised as screen time. Some of his strongest friendships -- with Vivaan M, with Param Diwan, with the Dubai crew -- were deepened through shared gaming sessions.

The Among Us GC and the Marvel Rivals gang both followed the same lifecycle: someone gets into a game, a group chat is created, messages explode for weeks, the hype fades, the chat goes quiet, but the friendships forged during those sessions remain. Gaming is temporary; the connections it creates are not.

From Player to Builder

The most significant thing about Shaurya's gaming history is where it led. A kid playing Fortnite in Oman during lockdown asked "how are games made?" and ended up teaching himself to code, building productivity apps, eSIM platforms, and community events. Gaming was the spark. The curiosity it ignited -- about how software works, about what you can create with a laptop and an internet connection -- became the foundation of everything he does now.

See also: Among Us GC | Marvel Rivals | Lockdown Memories | Vivaan M | Early Projects