Growing Up Gamer: From Bits to Infinity

I'm leisurely lounging on my couch, enjoying a laid-back Saturday afternoon. Sipping some juice. Playing Super Mario World. Letting my mind wonder in 2D lands. And an unexpected ring-tone tugs my awareness back to reality.

A quick glance at my surroundings confirms there's nobody home but me. I lift the nettlesome receiver.

“I got the game!”

 “... Which game?”

“You know which game, bring your controller now!”

“... You got Street Fighter II, no frigging way!”

 “Yes! And you need to come now!”

My shoes fly onto my feet, 20 seconds flat. I'm out the door, zipping pass the elevator, almost plummeting down the stairway. Two minutes from the time I put down the phone, I'm already at my friend's house plugging my controller into his Super Nintendo. Grinning excitedly because of the upcoming PvP match.

It Began on the Streets 

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The next two months are spent studying eight unique road warriors, and mastering their intricate thumb-scraping moves. The year is 1992. A decade that was my wondrous entry into the worlds of video games. My initial system of choice: Super Nintendo (with Super Mario World already packed in).

Time was abundant those days, my friends and I would rent games and play them until dawn. Always scouring our neighbourhoods for obscure video game and VHS rental shops – and there ware many. If you wanted to try newly released games, you'd have to hit up The Arcades: Places know as inclusive covenants of amicable characters with diverse gaming skills and knowledge. A lot of gamers I know -- and later became friends with -- I met at the arcades, and the various anime clubs that were slowly popping up around town.

The only way to get gaming news back then was by spending allowance money on the monthly Game Pro/EGM Magazine. And if you were interested in imported games, anime, and comic books, the 'zine of choice was the legendary GameFAN Magazine. Between browsing magazine shelves of our local Scrum Mart, and frantic joystick bashing at the local arcades, we still found time to watch every episode of Video Arcade Top 10, and Game Nation. Yeah, TV was the only way to siphon gaming related news. Radical.

Launched Into Space 

 

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Time rolled on, and so did technology. In mere four years 16-bit consoles jumped from 32 to 64-bit. Games became larger, more encompassing, and rich in content. Despite the hasty technological progress, gaming was still considered something only odd nerdy people did. Until the first ever commercial for a video game was shown in movie theatres: Final Fantasy VII.

This Square Enix title summoned a hype of Bahamut proportions. Now, everyone was talking about video games. No doubt, gaming was clearly becoming a mainstream hobby. The release of Hallo on the original Xbox only solidified that fact – and brought reluctant PC gamers to the console market. Microsoft and Sony—with its PS2—continued dominating the gaming industry. Developing and releasing a plethora of wicked and awesome games.

With the advent of the Internet, online capabilities finally descended onto home consoles. Playing video games was no longer an experience shared with a handful of dedicated friends; gaming has gone global. The Big Three: Xbox360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii, were the precursors of change. And each gaming system evolved from a gamer-only platform, to inclusive family-friendly entertainment hubs.

And Latched Onto Our Souls  

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When playing recent Gen8 super machines, it is clear that gaming has ingrained into our habitual behaviour. Instant access to online sharing tools, integration of relevant social media platforms, reworked iterations of established titles, and we are primed to blast off into digital realms yet uncharted. A new level of collective gaming is now stimulating our synapses. We are witnessing a creation of a new limitless cyberspace horizon.

But after a dramatic all-night session of online play, I sometimes reminisce about the simpler time. A time when being a gamer meant you were confined to a basement room. A game-filled hideout where only a handful of your nerdy friends would want to visit. Very few people understood your hobby, and even fewer knew the difference between a Sega Genesis, and a Super Nintendo. And you were glad for it. Here is one last CHEER to the wonder and fun of Retro Gaming!

GAME ON!