Why Did We Fall in Love With Games?

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Why Did We Fall in Love With Games?



If you're on this site, chances are you probably like videogames. Maybe you love videogames, even ... but why? Maybe if we take a trip back to how it all began, we can find out why we fell in love with games in the first place.

Despite those nagging responsibilities that life throws at us as we grow older like work, bills, and a family, Graeme Virtue is still a gamer - and he certainly still likes games. But one day, he comes to a startling realization: Yes, he likes games, but didn't he used to love them when he was younger? Have the games just changed and gotten worse over the years, or is it him - has he grown out of touch with the spirit of gaming he once had? And so begins a look back at his life, where Graeme tries to find out why exactly he'd fallen in love with gaming so long ago:

[blockquote]I like to go out and hit the bars and clubs with Miss Lucky Strike. See and be seen, be an ace face on campus. But I also like to schedule the odd night in with Miss Tight Shorts, the better to figure out how the hell to get through the Sanctuary Of The Scion level. It's weird - I never thought I'd be weighing the advantages of a real-life girlfriend against a videogame. What would my 9-year-old geek self think? I guess he'd be too busy playing games on that busted-up old Spectrum with the rubber keys, waiting for those goddamn tapes to load. My dorm-mate's PlayStation is fast and smooth. And it plays CDs, too.[/blockquote]

Do you go back five years? Do you look back a decade? Or do you look back even further to where everything began? What - and when - is the key to falling in love with the games we play? To read the full story, check out "The Curious Case of Me Jaminn' Buttons" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_216/6419-The-Curious-Case-Of-Me-Jammin-Buttons] in Issue 216 of The Escapist.

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Cargando

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Apr 8, 2009
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Title sounds almost like a song title.

OT: I can't remember when I got into gaming - I was about five.
 

Flamezdudes

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Aug 27, 2009
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I play for enjoyment and see my charecter to things i would most like never could do. Epic stories aswell, its like watching a book instead of reading it.... sort-of. >_<
 

New Troll

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Mar 26, 2009
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As an RPGer, I get to act out my hidden fantasies. Be the person I dream of being. Visial aid to my imagination. What's not to love?

As a strategist, I get to test myself. Get to feel all warm and gooey when I finally figure something challenging out. Show myself just how intellect I truly am. Frustratingly blissful.

And as a gamer, I get to kill boredom. To find fun, wether it be humorous or serious, in many different formats. Test skills I'm not use to using and to try something new every chance I get. I also get to hang out with friends in a mutually enjoyable environment and have fun. Fun times! As gamers, everyone's a winner.
 

Arkhangelsk

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Mar 1, 2009
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It all started at the age of 2 when Mario filled my easily amused brain with glee and joy. And that childish side of me has been kept in my body forever, giving me a distinct love for games. Although lately, I've become more of a game collector than a game player. But I still love games.
 

lwm3398

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Apr 15, 2009
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They were new. They were interesting. They drew attention and kept us interacting with them. It was just new, something you had to have.
 
Jun 6, 2009
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I was 5 when my uncle got me a stange disc that went with my dad's new fangled Windows 95... It was called Command and Conquer... There I was not knowing that I would lead the world's military to either peace in a broken world, or fanatical zealotry led by a charismatic prophet. After beating the GDI campaign several times, I felt that the world was safe and I did my part... Then Red Alert came out!

That pretty much sums up how I got into gaming...
 

rossatdi

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Aug 27, 2008
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I think I was about 5 and I saw some games on display in Epcot in Disney Land. Saved up alls my pocket money (and Christmas present) for a NES which totally kicked ass.

But I really feel in love when I got my Mega Drive (Genesis).
 

DeathWyrmNexus

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Jan 5, 2008
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Pure unadulterated escapism fun though Life has been sneaking into my game time more and more lately like an uninvited guest. -_-
 

Stinking Kevin

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I fell in love with video games when I played a pong clone on the family television set for the first time. Christmas 1976, I think. Actually being able to move an object on your own TV screen was something truly amazing to me at that time, and truly thrilling in a way younger gamers may never quite understand.
 

PhiMuLady

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It started when I would watch and advise my dad when he would play Wolfenstein 3d or Doom on the home computer. I can still remember all the floor lay outs and where the creatures or people would be. Then dad began to see that I liked video games and so he got out the Atari for me and my brother to play. Thinking that would we would say away from the "more violent" games on the PC, it did not work now we just played on both.

Now I have some of the old games from my youth on my 360 and I remember back to the days of old...
 

Sassafrass

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Aug 24, 2009
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playing a N64 and banjo-kazooie when i was about 5-6 years old, just got me hooked.
 

The Shade

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Stinking Kevin said:
Just out of curiosity, how many people do you think get the reference in your username?

--------OT--------

I guess my first experience with gaming was technically at the arcade, playing the X-Men game with my brother. Neither of us was very good, so we had to double-team it. (I was too short to reach the "Use Power" button anyway.)

But I don't think any sort of gaming instinct stuck until we got our first computer (some horrid beige Mac, back when their logo still had the colour spectrum on the apple.) We got a few games for it. There was a disc called "Explore the world of Macintosh" that was a compilation of a lot of simple games, some of which I wish I could recover some day. I miss Space Station Pheta.

But one of the most gripping games was SimCity 2000. It was amazing. I was lord of my domain, despite barely having the necessary cognitive skills to plan my city properly. (What do you mean, "No water"? I laid a pipe, didn't I?) My dad and I spent a lot of time on that game, honing the perfect cities.

And then we got our first PC a few years later, and everything changed. The Myst series dawned. So many more games were available to us. And for many years to come, PC gaming ruled my hobby time. I never owned a console until a little less than two years ago, but since I got my first, an Xbox 360, I've become infinitely more immersed in gaming and gamer culture. Hey, I'm on this site, aren't I?
 

jimduckie

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Mar 4, 2009
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because when the game gets boring we can switch games without the heartbreak of a relationship ending plus when it starts nagging at us we can shut it off
 

Proteus214

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Jul 31, 2009
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It's almost surreal when I think about it. I started playing games when I was just 3 years old. My dad letting me play Formula One Racing in the arcade and purposely crashing the car into whatever I could, being amazed when I pressed buttons the guys would jump and shoot in Contra, and being absolutely blown away at the shear AWESOMENESS of Duck Hunt are some of my earliest gaming memories. And now I look back and say, holy shit, that was 20 years ago, and I realize how much it has influenced my life since then.

I think the thing that always got me hooked was realizing just how FUN these interactions were. Driving a race car and crashing into things or running around killing aliens or holding a plastic gun shooting at whatever happens to fly across the screen. Now I think it comes more from the experience of playing the game itself; what does it bring to me? An epic story? A chance to rip things apart with a chainsaw? The experience itself is what keeps bringing me back from playing chicken with a tank in Left 4 Dead or downing a hard mode raid boss in World of Warcraft. The essence is still there, even if it is dressed up a bit more since the 8 bit era.
 

phoenix352

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Mar 29, 2009
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i got into gaming/technology when i moved countries at the age of 5 and saw a computer for the 1st time at my aunts place with the 1st ever game i ever played called Jazz jackrabbit
and so it began....

i blame my current liking of video games is due to the fact that i have no girl friend..
 

demonseraph

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May 19, 2008
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I dunno if I'm in love with it. I like the whole "different world" feel though. Been playing since I was 5 that I could remember (I'm about to be 21 now). So, I guess it's just become part of my life much like how watching TV is some people's?
 

cleverlymadeup

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Mar 7, 2008
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i've played them since i was young, when i was young, it was something new and shiny and got my mind going as a kid with all the neat stuff they could do