Gamer. Even the label makes a self-diagnosed addict like me roll my eyes. I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and even though I wasn’t a fan of grunge, I identified with the ‘don’t label me’ sentiments. Gaming is one of my favorite things to do, and I started as a wee-ish lad back in 1986 when my mother bought me my first NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Just prior to that, I had my first exposure to the system and couldn’t believe my eyes – for days after my seven-year old mind was blown by what I saw. Flying turtles?? Koopa-parawhatwhat?? It stuck with me and that Christmas, a gripping, welcome addiction was born.

Clearly there was no internet back then, no access to upcoming games other than the ‘magazine’ that came in the mail every quarter, more of a leaflet, known as the Nintendo Powerflash. Way before E3 had us all chomping at the bit, I remember being fixated on the first image of Super Mario Bros. 3 in the corner of some blurb, mind blown through and through by our man, Mario, sporting a raccoon tail and ears. I remember coming downstairs on one of the last days of school; my parents had left for work and my birthday present was sitting on the table and that hot-yellow box the cartridge came in made getting on the bus pure torture. That summer was made up of equal part speed runs and thorough, no-whistle marathons.

When the SNES was released, we didn’t have the means to get one, not right away, so I mowed lawns and saved my allowance, preying on wealthier kids with no concept of the value of the dollar. When they were sick of a game I would offer them next to nothing (10-15$) and began stockpiling for the day I had my own system. Those half-dozen titles were born ready to be dropped into the top-down loading system that meant I’d never have to blow into a cartridge or shift it from right to left to be sure the contacts were lined up properly. If you were there, or rather, then, you know the struggle. My next birthday brought Final Fantasy II (known as IV now) into my hands, and everything changed.

The thirty-hour tale of Cecil the dark knight making right his wrongs and going beyond to save the world with his main squeeze Rosa, the flip-flopping dragoon, Kain, Summoner Rydia, and Edge, the ninja prince brought a new dimension to gaming I never fathomed: story. Were princesses kidnapped? Always. Did the villains laugh at the sky with thunder and lightning gnashing overhead? You betcha. But you knew who they were and you cared to see through the consequences of everyone’s actions. I became an RPG slut. No matter how many online shooters or amazing third-person adventures I went on, levelling up and slaving over perfect builds became a drug of choice.

Maybe the hobby would have faded years ago, but since I became a seasonal worker over a decade ago, I can really chomp down on the hours I miss during the busy season. Life, work, being a dad, a son, and a friend makes it hard to devour a Dragon Quest in a week, but here I am, three months of the year, living the dream. This post, and the remainder of those for the week will be about my past with the medium, my present still in it, and what I think about the future. Maybe my angle is unique, probably not, but what I know for sure, is that it’s mine.

Gaming is very much mainstream these days, to the point I never thought I’d see it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy to see it as it is, but I’m old enough to remember when there were other terms for gamers: faggot, loser, geek (when it used to be an insult). It was weird, misunderstood, and made fun of for being just for kids younger than we were. There were only a handful of us bitten by the bug back then, a select few seasoned across every faction of school life and made for social bridges that would not have been otherwise possible. It’s like smokers, how in most cases, the one thing they have in common is killing themselves, yet they find conversation huddled near each other nine meters from the door to any public space.

So my ‘culture’ exploded, it thrived and I get props for being there, actual respect from people who know that chances are, I’ve played it, and how I continue to prove that with my Instagram feed. It’s super cool, like being one of the old vampires from Anne Rice books, strong enough to stand in the sunlight. And then there’s the dicks. Like those fuckers who ripped up my manual for the aforementioned Final Fantasy II/IV when I left behind after class. The ones who dumped on us, walking around today with an ‘I am 8-bit’ t-shirt trying to be cool with their vast knowledge of ‘vidja games’. Then one of us shows up and suddenly that guy is standing at the back of the line in the conversation. Oh yeah, they know who Mario is but chances are they’re going to call Link Zelda and watch their rep sink like the Titanic. Rejoice, OG’s, we fucking won!

Anyways, reading back on this I realize I don’t do much other than tell a story about myself. I just wanted to add this layer of who I am to the pile so you can know where I come from with some of my notions. I definitely don’t want to write about just gaming as there’s more to life than that, but I will be bringing it up now and then if I feel it’s relevant to a point, or just plain something I want to share! I’m currently playing Battlegrounds, For Honor, and shredding through another run of Final Fantasy XV – maybe we’ll cross paths online sometime and kill each other! Cheers to that!