I've always enjoyed playing video games, and I think this era is producing some amazing ones too. I never had an Atari or a Commodore 64 or anything like that growing up. Other kids I knew did, so I got to experience those consoles occasionally. I loved playing Pac-Man or 1941 while waiting for our order at the local fish and chip shop. I have memories of playing those handheld Nintendo games, and I'm pretty sure we owned a copy of Parachute. Loved getting my hands on Donkey Kong when I could...really dug the double screen action! When my dad remarried I inherited four younger stepbrothers, and I was able to play on their NES and Gameboys, which was very awesome. I have memories of the early Batman game inspired by the 1989 movie, Mega Man, Tetris, Rock and Roll Racing and countless others. Back when video rental stores were still a thing, you could rent games too. That was pretty cool. Trying out a game, and if you liked it, endeavouring to complete the thing before it was due back!
As consoles came and went over the years, it wasn't until 2000 when I actually had one call my own. It was actually a wedding present from my brother-in-law Paul, and it was a PlayStation. The first one. He'd gotten us a bunch of games to go with them as well. I spent some considerable time with Crash Bandicoot (still my PSN avatar), explored Silent Hill, got to know Nemesis (Resident Evil 3) and watched Abe on his Oddysee. Not the biggest gamer in the world, Rhona hung out with Spyro the Dragon now and again as well.
Gaming went by the wayside for a spell as our kids came along and so did other responsibilities with them. I would play the odd game on the PC, but never found the same sense of fun I got one the old PS1. I did enjoy the Max Payne games, Enter the Matrix, Soldier of Fortune and my first Grand Theft Auto experience came when a friend lent me their copy of GTAIII.
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| PS3-ing it up like it's 2008 |
It wasn't until we visited our family in Albany in either the late 00s that we entertained the idea of getting a PS3 (we didn't get a PS2). We played Guitar Hero with my brother and had a fair bit of fun with it. Realising that the PS3 also played Blu-ray discs, we then had another motivation to buy one.
Those early PS3 days were filled with the various Lego adventures (particularly Batman), Heavy Rain, Guitar Hero III, GTAIV, Prince of Persia, Arkham Asylum (and Arkham City), Assassin's Creed II (my first Platinum trophy!) and Max Payne 3. My biggest loves were The Last of Us and the Uncharted series, with Uncharted 2 being my absolute favourite. The kids got older and started to play as well, and I have fond memories of playing with them on such games as The Simpsons, The Adventures of Tintin, Little Big Planet and the Buzz series, particularly Buzz Quiz. One of the most wonderful experience we had playing as a family was Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch. Co-developed by Studio Ghibli, producers of some our favourite family films, we all became entranced by the story, taking turns in playing the battles and strength building exercises.
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| Good times, good times |
Games have come and gone since then. Ni No Kuni II didn't quite live up to the hype, or was as immersive as the first one, but we still enjoyed playing it. Alyssa has become a big fan of anything Lego-related and most recently clocked up all the trophies for Lego The Incredibles game. Lachlan has been mainly enamoured with quizzes and (age-appropriate) games from the Jackbox range and they've both spent time on Minecraft, of course. Team Bolgies have also enjoyed many bouts of Uno, Monopoly, Knowledge is Power, It's Quiz Time and the occasional go at Trivial Pursuit. Rhona and I had a bit of a running rivalry on Wheel of Fortune and Boggle too, he he he.
Anyway, the reason I started writing this blog is to acknowledge how important gaming has become to me in the last couple of years. It used to be something I did fairly occasionally, but it is now a pretty regular thing. A full-blow hobby, rather than a little dalliance here and there. It has become a way for me to de-stress and, as Rhona and our therapist say, 'fill up the jellybean jar'.
If you imagine each social interaction costs you a jellybean, and depending on the stress or anxiety levels of that interaction, the jellybeans can increase. The last thing you want before entering into a potential stressful situation is an empty jellybean jar. This was very pertinent during a few low patches I had over the last couple of years. I had several big bouts of anxiety that made it difficult to do anything.
I had days were I struggled just getting out of bed. I would put myself in a horrible state of mind, telling myself to get up, and then rationalising that there was nothing wrong with having a lie-in, but getting stressed upon having not gotten up yet. Horrible vicious circle. These mornings would stem from having a restless night's sleep with dreams stuck in a repetitive loop. I would relive the same, or similar, dream over and over again. They usually required me to achieve or procure something. I would get a small sense of relief as I woke up, knowing that the dream's task or goal wasn't something that had to be done. But then the reality of the day would sink in and the thought of having to get through another one would almost reduce me to tears.
This was a very hard period for me to get through, as I'm usually one to almost leap out of bed once it's time to get up. There were days when Rhona pretty much had to pull me up and walk me to the kitchen. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. It was so frustrating to not be able to function like I usually did. Just checking my email was a massive event. I would only do it once a day, but it would feel like such an achievement, and a relief.
Anyway, one of the strategies we would use to help get ourselves out of an anxious funk was to try and do some fun activities. Whether it was watching TV or reading a book or playing a game, we'd just look for something that would make us feel happier, and try to fill up the jellybean jar. Gaming on the PS4 became my go-to activity. I'd prefer to game than just sit and watch TV, and reading a book was a struggle, as I'd need to read and re-read several times to get the text to sink in. Gaming would occupy my mind a little and exercise the old grey matter at the same time.
Up until very recently, I was very much a 'one game at a time' fellow. It would take me a while to finish a game as well, because I wouldn't devote that much time to it. I became something of a savourer and would almost make a game last as long as I could. Sometimes I would get stuck on a particular boss battle or level, and just leave it for a while, possibly weeks or months. Finally biting the bullet and joining PS Plus at the end of last year has given me access to lots of games. In addition to two free monthly games, I still get the odd physical game, either as a present or sought out by myself, he he he.
Right now, I currently have these games in progress:
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues
Vampyr
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Batman: Arkham Knight (replaying it)
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (remastered PS4 version, *sigh* it's not the same)
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (still on the first game, he he he...I'm not as good as I used to be on that one)
Hollow Knight
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| Selections of the collection |
Anyway, the main reason behind me writing this post, is just to express my enjoyment of the medium. Perhaps a generation or two ago it would have been quite unusual for a fortysomething to be wrestling with a joystick plugged into an Atari. Particularly on their own. Only young children and teenagers played video games! Little would those kids dream of how advanced gaming would become. How realistic the graphics would be, and how much playing a game can almost be like watching a movie. I am thankful to have a bit an escape and a reset from time to time. And, as with anything, enjoy in moderation. So far playing violent video games hasn't turned me into a psychopath...yet. He he he...
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