Personal Gaming History

I've been a gamer (nearly) for as long as I can remember. I've always reveled in interesting new games - whether they were something new and exciting, or a continuation of a beloved series. Indeed, I play all styles of games, be it an RTS, RPG, Action/Adventure, Fighting, or FPS. And while every genre has had an impact in the scope of my gaming "career" so to speak, the most prominent and influential among these, even beyond the world of entertainment, was the RPG. I remember my first RPG experience like I played it yesterday (which, incidentally, I did). I was young - 7 or thereabouts. My brother, for whom I hold the greatest admiration due to the crucial part he played in my gaming cultivation, had come to acquire a certain notorious game for the Super Nintendo. Continuing on in the wake of the successful NES Final Fantasy title, Squaresoft decided to release the fourth title in the US as Final Fantasy II.

Final Fantasy 4: A classic example of the turn-based RPG

For me, FF4 was more than just an entertaining title full of what you'd expect out of a Final Fantasy title: Upsettingly powerful villain bent on world domination, arbitrarily placed items of mythical power, and an exhaustive list of spectacular magic. No, for me, the importance of FF4 was that it required lots of reading. Most RPGS, especially older ones that came around before the age of audio dialogue, relate the story of the game - otherwise limited by graphical shortcomings - through text boxes. At the age when children are going through the process of learning to read, I was going out of my way to read lengthy passages with words I doubt I would have found in 2nd grade reading pamphlets. This early exposure, through FF4 and many other titles, sparked a thirst in me for literature which has cheerfully remained until present day.

Also, this first title, and accompanying ones such as Final Fantasy 6 (released FF3 for the SNES), Secret of Mana, Earthbound, and Chrono Trigger (there are many more I played, but I don't wish to be too exhaustive here) allowed me to appreciate the common theme of Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey". Frequently one of the primary themes of fantasy titles, be they game, book, or movie, I fell in love with joining the main character in his arduous voyage. And what hero do gaming fans love more than any other? The correct answer is probably Mario, but frankly I think Mario is a bit boring. The answer I'm thinking of is Link - The archetypal silent and infinitely altruistic badass best known for his peculiar choice in hats and the ability to somehow effectively utilize a boomerang as a weapon.

Ocarina of Time (Zelda 64) is widely considered one of the greatest video game titles of all time. (http://top100.ign.com/2005/001-010.html)

RPGs are wonderful, but the dynamic world of the Action-Adventure genre is evinced with especial clarity in the Zelda franchise. In Ocarina of Time for example, Link has an entire world at his disposal, filled with puzzles and secrets. The storyline is always linear, but there is a lot of slack in the rope. There are tons of side quests, and the options available to our hero aren't always limited to the very next dungeon. Oh, did I mention the puzzles? Zelda games are stuffed with them - enough to make the Myst developers blush. If I had a lesson to take away from the Zelda games, it was the lesson of patience. Although, it was never a lesson easily learned - a truth apparent in several broken controllers and dented tables.

Zelda and Final Fantasy were the staples of my young gaming diet, although I maintained a steady, well-rounded diet consisting of side scrolling platformers (Mega Man, Sonic, Mario), fighting games (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and later Super Smash Bros), and first person shooters (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Unreal Tournament as an early foray into PC titles).

While my love for these games, and consoles in general never disappeared, it certainly waned after I discovered my love of PC gaming. One of the major bits of pride for PC game enthusiasts is the strong presence of FPS titles on the PC. If you name it, I've probably played it, and I will always keep a place near to my heart for Counter Strike and Battlefield. However, my true fascination with PC gaming came with my introduction to MMORPGs (again I have to blame my brother, for it is on his Everquest account that I initially drew my fascination).

Of the long list of MMOs I have played, the first one that really drew me in was Dark Age of Camelot. A game borrowing many of the successful elements that made Everquest great, DAoC was an MMO set in a world balanced between Arthurian Legend, Norse Myth, and Celtic Lore. The attention to detail with the music, settings, and atmosphere made the game a true gem. In all accounts, it was a well-rounded MMO. The big thing that stuck with me, though was the introduction of epic-scale player vs. player scenarios. Where Everquest hadn't even facilitated PvP, DAoC took it to the next level. 50 people could ride out into the frontier regions with siege equipment in tow to engage in large scale Keep warfare against equally large opposing forces.

Dark Age of Camelot's Realm vs Realm combat system in action

I played DAoC for roughly 4 years before I took a break to play another MMO, Anarchy Online (an impressive title in its own right.) Soon after, however, a new MMO was released, and my brother (yet again) convinced me to give it a shot. This new MMO was none other than World of Warcraft. WoW for me, initially, was just something to pass the time. I remember intending to go back to DAoC at some point. I didn't think much of WoW right in the beginning, and missed the competitive atmosphere of DAoC. Well, from time to time we all eat our words, and this sentiment of mine didn't last long. Even in its humble beginnings, WoW was an addictive game. The quests were immersive, the social atmosphere inviting, and I soon made friends. In fact, I made a very close group of friends that I one day learned lived as near to me as Lansing. We took it upon ourselves to meet, and they have been very close friends ever since, even though most of us no longer play WoW (I recently attended the wedding of one of these WoW-pals).

Besides the social aspect, I soon enough found my calling to be what I have termed in my blog as the "hardcore" gamer. I applied for a spot in one of the most competitive guilds on my server, because they needed a healer (which somehow I've managed to play in nearly every MMO). This marked the beginning of a 3+ year relationship where I got to spend lots of quality time in front of my monitor. When I was initially accepted into the guild, it was very much like being accepted into a competitive internship. I was incredibly nervous about my performance. After all, I was the quintessential "noob" right down to my shoddy gear and exhaustive lack of experience. It was kind of a struggle to find my place in a group of 50 some guild members who fit neatly into that notorious "elitist asshole" category each game has. I persevered and eventually found that I was damn good at what I did, eventually becoming an officer and healer leader for the entire guild (my nightly job being the not-so-simple task of organizing and directing 8 or more healers for vastly differing encounters).

This is what my screen looked like on a raid night. A lot to keep track of, but it was rewarding.

In my head, this sounds a lot like a strangled justification for excessive gaming, but I am being completely honest when I say that raiding with my guild taught me several skills that I have been able to carry over into many areas of my life, most importantly, the workplace. In my guild, I had to be on time every night, or I was penalized. I had to learn the internal politics of the guild in order to function when a debate or dispute arose. I had several different jobs and obligations, which demanded from me a certain level of performance. Upon my promotion to officer, I had to manage schedules and rotating shifts (because we inevitably had more healers than we needed any given night) as well as oversee the performance of several players.

In a lot of ways, you could say raiding in WoW, done on the scale I did it, was very much like a job. I never saw it as one, however, and to this day it is one of the more entertaining and fulfilling things I've done. I still play WoW casually, and many other games besides. MMOs are a passion of mine though, and I think I'll always be playing one or another, until I grow old and senile. Which, in my opinion, is the perfect time to stop playing video games.