What Made Me Love Gaming
>>> My Childhood Gaming
During my childhood, I was lucky that my father owned a PlayStation, which became a huge part of my family’s entertainment. One of the earliest games I remember watching was a version of Tetris, featuring a character navigating puzzles to reach hidden treasure. I remember my mother playing the game frequently, and would watch her celebrate after she would successfully get the treasure hunter to the gold at the level’s end. Witnessing this blend of mental challenge and engaging gameplay captivated me, igniting my interest in video games. This interest continued to bloom after I was able to inherit a Game Boy Color from my sister, which became one of the devices I used the most until I eventually got my own Game Boy.
As I grew older, I began exploring my father’s collection of games, which was one of my favorite personal memories. I played every game I could at the time, with racing titles like NASCAR and movie-based games such as Spider-Man being my favorites. Though I didn’t fully grasp the mechanics of the games back then, I was drawn to experiences that mirrored real-life events I’d seen on television. The thrill of getting to be Spider-Man or competing alongside NASCAR drivers I watched on television made these gaming moments truly immersive. These experiences deeply shaped my gaming preferences and continues to influence the types of games I enjoy today.
I was incredibly lucky to experience Pokémon, a franchise that remains one of my favorites to this day. Just before middle school, one of my sister’s friends gave me his copy of Pokémon Yellow, knowing I didn’t have many games for my Game Boy Color. I remember playing it until it got dark outside and then using a flashlight to see the screen, since the device lacked a backlight. I spent years immersed in this particular game and other versions, restarting after each completion and building entirely new teams to experience different adventures. I loved having the freedom to choose my team, create unique nicknames, and imagine personalized storylines beyond the original story. What seemed like a small, thoughtful gift at the time became one of the most impactful gifts I had received in my life, giving me memories I will have for the rest of my life.
>>> Memories With Friends
When I first began playing video games, I mostly played alone, only sometimes playing with my friends if they were at my home. As I got older and technology advanced, I could now have experiences not only by meeting up in-person, but through these video games as well. While it's hard to say the exact game where we started to play online, League of Legends and Minecraft were some of the ones we most frequently played together at the time. These games allowed us to talk and make memories with each other, no matter where we were. We almost always communicated through voice calls while we played, which, looking back, was one of my favorite parts of gaming.
Growing up in a small town with the closest place to do anything being 30 minutes in each direction, online gaming gave a way for me and my friends' relationships to prosper. Many of the friendships I had then, I still have to this day, regardless of the distance between us. One of my favorite memories was calling everyone and telling them to get on the game, and then getting to hang out and play for hours. It would feel like 2 hours would have passed, but in reality it was 3 to 4 hours. Even now, I still use voice calls like Discord to play with my friends, mainly to keep in touch and to get to experience what we used to do when we all had more time.
My Favorite Games
>>> Modern-Day View Of Gaming
As I’ve gotten older, my opinions on video games has remained mostly the same. I still enjoy sitting down to play whenever I can, though I now recognize that it is important to have a healthy balance and play in moderation. My online gaming activity has decreased over the years, mainly due to time constraints and the difficulties of coordinating with friends who have moved on to different stages of life. Unlike in high school, spontaneously reaching out to friends to play particular games has become far more difficult given our independent schedules and commitments.
My current favorite games are those that are easy to pick up and play, like as football games. The time commitment of games is been a massive factor for my exploration of current video games, since I really like to immerse in a story, rather than play in short burst. I’ve really enjoyed the unique experience each game has to offer and plan to explore a wider variety of genres in the future, once I have more freetime. Recently, I’ve been particularly drawn to games like Elden Ring, which combine an engaging story with one of the best visual designs I have personally ever seen. I’m excited to see what future releases bring, as I am sure that there will be more games that I will be drawn to.
