Gaming has always had a special place in my life. I started early with family board games and can recall many tantrum filled episodes of Monopoly, expletive riddled Scrabble and whodunit nights of Cluedo.
My first console was a Sega Game Gear. It took six AA batteries to operate and had the dimensions of a brick, but it provided hours of fun for my siblings and I, especially once we got the AC adapter. Then Pokémon came out and we advanced to the Nintendo Gameboy Color. We each got one and a different colour of Pokémon game which allowed us to get all 151 easily.
It was around this time that I would be exposed to trading card games. My brothers and I played and shared all of our Pokémon cards and traded them at school until they were banned as a result of several incidents involving other kids having theirs stolen.
I remember one Christmas when each of us received a set of Warhammer Fantasy miniatures and we spent several days in the blistering heat of Summertime Tamworth assembling and painting them. I was quite proud of my High Elf spear regiment, resplendent in their shining armour when they warred against my brothers’ Orcs and Goblins and my sister’s Dark Elves.
Our next console was a PlayStation 2. After much hounding, our parents relented and next Christmas, sitting neatly wrapped under the tree was a brand new PS2. We each got a game and spent the holidays car racing, snowboarding and beating each other up.
Then we got a PC. I spent the lion’s share of my time on it churning through such classics as Doom, SimCity 2000 and StarCraft: Brood War. I eventually upgraded to a laptop when I started studying programming and it became my portable gaming machine, hanging out with other like minded friends who enjoyed LAN parties and MMO games.
Sometime after the laptop died I upgraded to an Alienware PC (poor life choice). I also discovered Magic: the Gathering at my local games shop (poorer life choice) and my collection grew steadily for a couple of years. I particularly enjoyed the Commander format as it is the only format that can’t be taken seriously and allows cards from just about any set produced making for some very silly but fun card combinations.
Somewhere during the Magic playing I was introduced to roleplaying games. The World of Darkness, Pathfinder and Warhammer 40k universes became staples in my RPG diet and the catalyst for gaining new friends and some epic tales of adventures undertaken while rolling dice.
I’ve been on my second gaming PC for a while now, playing DotA 2 frequently and now I’m looking forward to Legacy of the Void.
I think what I mean to say is that gaming has been such a positive influence on my life I don’t think I’m ever going to give it up. I’ve had too much fun to quit now.