Chapter 1 · 1985 to 2003

Early Life in Hartford, Connecticut (1985 to 2003)

Alex Merced was born on June 30, 1985, in Hartford, Connecticut, to a Guatemalan mother and a Puerto Rican father.

Those roots, and the experiences that came with them, shaped the friendly neighborhood tech geek he grew into.

High school at Howell Cheney

For high school Alex attended Howell Cheney Technical High School in Manchester, Connecticut, where he studied Microcomputer. Outside of class he was part of the Guitar Club, the Mathletes team, and the STAR Robotics Club.

First code: game scripts and fan sites

His habit of logical thinking started with games. He wrote scripts for the online RPG GRAAL and built small role-playing games with RPG Maker 2000. Around the same time he picked up web design with HTML and CSS, building fan sites for things like Dragon Ball Z on Geocities.

Cartoon illustration of Alex Merced

Music on the side

Music ran alongside all of it. He played trombone in middle school and picked up the guitar in high school. The music chapter follows that thread. In 2003 he left Connecticut for Bowling Green State University in Ohio.