i had the day off today so i thought what better to do then try and write a blog! a blog about video games! YAY! i haven't always love'em you know or at least not in the same way i do now. i mean, sure like a lot of kids my age i had an NES but im pretty sure i only ever played Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt and truthfully those games really only exist to me in that strange kind of false memory you get simply because you're exposed a thing second hand so much it becomes ingrained. after that i somehow made the jump to a Sega Genesis but thats all pretty foggy now too. i don't recal when or how i got one (though in all likelyhood it was at christmas) but i do remember being forced outside when grounded because i was such a fiend for it. naturally i loved Sonic, and Sonic 2 and even Sonic 3 but i guess i kind of had to in retrospect even though i had no idea about the dangers of fanboyism or brand loyalty or anyhting like that. i simply didn't have and couldn't afford too many other games. i did have that X-Men game and played what i could of friend's games but that was hard too because pretty much everyone had one of those SNES', which i'm told were pretty damn neat. but whatever, i didn't need Super Metroid when i could play Golden Axe! uuugghh, i feel really dirty all of a sudden..but anyways my point is i had always had a video game system but never really thought of games as anything more then a toy to pass the time, like my G.I Joe Mobile Fortress or that dirty kid that lived down on the seedy end of the street.
it wasn't until i got my hairly little hands on a game call Ocarina of Time that i figured out that these games could actually take you places and be more rewarding then just giving me strained eyes and cramped hands. i had got my N64 for christmas in well im pretty sure it was '98 and played the hell out of Goldeneye of course but it was finding Ocarian that changed things. my dad had taken me to rent a game, this i remember very clearly, and Ocarina was there under the glass for 34 bucks used. the best part was it was my dad's idea to get it for me thinking if he just bought me this game i wouldn't ever bug him again to rent another game. he was pretty much right i do believe. when i popped that little gray cartriage into my N64 i was blown away. like blown-the-fuck-away.
the first thing that struck me was how beautiful the game was and not just graphically though that was pretty boner inspiring too, at the time. no i mean from that first opening scene with Link riding across the field on horseback and that real tender sounding music playing to actually getting into the game and exploring the first few areas. it was idyllic and peaceful and i'd certainly never had a game convey that kind of thing to me before. the other reason Ocarina so amazed me was that it created a world. now keep in mind i never played a Zelda before this. i'd never played a game where there was this huge open world more or less free for you to explore; it was full of weirdly charming characters, varied and sometimes frightening enemies and countless secrets. it was really the game i cut my teeth on. where i learned to think in terms of video logic and really speak the language. i think about it every time i try and force a girlfriend or a family member to play video games now. watching people fumble around past the most obvious puzzles put into sharp reliefe the kind of training we revcieve over the course of our game education..ugh, i feel really dirty again.
anyways, since then its been gaming all the time. its my default hobby of course and like anyone on this site obviously knows i'd take it over movies or books or art or pretty much any media i can think of. so here i am, i finally got a ps3 (i've had a 360 and Wii for awhile now) and i can't help but spend most of my free time (and money) on these damn games. these damn dirty games..okay, i'm going to have a shower to get all this greasy game-love juice offa me!
playing video games: an introduction and education
i had the day off today so i thought what better to do then try and write a blog! a blog about video games! YAY! i haven't always love'em you know or at least not in the same way i do now. i mean, sure like a lot of kids my age i had an NES but im pretty sure i only ever played Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt and truthfully those games really only exist to me in that strange kind of false memory you get simply because you're exposed a thing second hand so much it becomes ingrained. after that i somehow made the jump to a Sega Genesis but thats all pretty foggy now too. i don't recal when or how i got one (though in all likelyhood it was at christmas) but i do remember being forced outside when grounded because i was such a fiend for it. naturally i loved Sonic, and Sonic 2 and even Sonic 3 but i guess i kind of had to in retrospect even though i had no idea about the dangers of fanboyism or brand loyalty or anyhting like that. i simply didn't have and couldn't afford too many other games. i did have that X-Men game and played what i could of friend's games but that was hard too because pretty much everyone had one of those SNES', which i'm told were pretty damn neat. but whatever, i didn't need Super Metroid when i could play Golden Axe! uuugghh, i feel really dirty all of a sudden..but anyways my point is i had always had a video game system but never really thought of games as anything more then a toy to pass the time, like my G.I Joe Mobile Fortress or that dirty kid that lived down on the seedy end of the street.
it wasn't until i got my hairly little hands on a game call Ocarina of Time that i figured out that these games could actually take you places and be more rewarding then just giving me strained eyes and cramped hands. i had got my N64 for christmas in well im pretty sure it was '98 and played the hell out of Goldeneye of course but it was finding Ocarian that changed things. my dad had taken me to rent a game, this i remember very clearly, and Ocarina was there under the glass for 34 bucks used. the best part was it was my dad's idea to get it for me thinking if he just bought me this game i wouldn't ever bug him again to rent another game. he was pretty much right i do believe. when i popped that little gray cartriage into my N64 i was blown away. like blown-the-fuck-away.
the first thing that struck me was how beautiful the game was and not just graphically though that was pretty boner inspiring too, at the time. no i mean from that first opening scene with Link riding across the field on horseback and that real tender sounding music playing to actually getting into the game and exploring the first few areas. it was idyllic and peaceful and i'd certainly never had a game convey that kind of thing to me before. the other reason Ocarina so amazed me was that it created a world. now keep in mind i never played a Zelda before this. i'd never played a game where there was this huge open world more or less free for you to explore; it was full of weirdly charming characters, varied and sometimes frightening enemies and countless secrets. it was really the game i cut my teeth on. where i learned to think in terms of video logic and really speak the language. i think about it every time i try and force a girlfriend or a family member to play video games now. watching people fumble around past the most obvious puzzles put into sharp reliefe the kind of training we revcieve over the course of our game education..ugh, i feel really dirty again.
anyways, since then its been gaming all the time. its my default hobby of course and like anyone on this site obviously knows i'd take it over movies or books or art or pretty much any media i can think of. so here i am, i finally got a ps3 (i've had a 360 and Wii for awhile now) and i can't help but spend most of my free time (and money) on these damn games. these damn dirty games..okay, i'm going to have a shower to get all this greasy game-love juice offa me!
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