blog
- Ranting of an Elderly Gamer
- Posted About 1 year ago by mikeyraw196
OK….so it’s the fall of 1984. I just moved to a new house and my only friend was my TI-99. For you youngsters (and some of you old heads), the TI-99 was basically a keyboard with a cartridge slot. I loved this system as a kid, and I would go as far as to say it paved the way for me to become the gamer I am today. My favorite game was Parsec. I was a side scrolling spaceship game. The cool thing about this game was that it had speech. I remember my favorite part was hearing "Warning! Time to refuel” right before I would reach a refueling station. For some reason, you had to navigate your way though some sort of cave to refuel. Anyhow, I digress.
I did not want this blog to be about my personal history of consoles or my love of Parsec. I only added that to date myself. Now, fast forward to the year 2007, I am 30 years old and work as an auditor for a trillion dollar mutual fund company. Twenty-three years later and guess what? I still love video games! And I mean, I am dedicated to the cause. When the 360 was released in November of 2005, I took the next day off of work and stood outside Walmart all night in a shirt and tie (straight from work) just to make sure I could be one of the first to experience high-def gaming. Now, as I shivered in line, I took a look around at the twelve other people in line with me. There were a few people my age, but they were getting the console for their kids. I felt a bit embarrassed at first. However, a few sips of Ol’ Granddad whiskey supplied by some kid in front of me put that fire out real quick. (side note – I don’t think the kid was 21. Not sure if drinking his booze was illegal…but whatever). After my eleven hour bonding session with mostly teenagers, I finally got my hands on the prize. I got home around 9am and promptly passed out. Woke up sometime around noon, and never looked back. Countless hours and three 360’s later (don’t get me started on that) I still play at least 15 hours a week, more if I could.
Now that I have established my age, my love of gaming, and a possible felony, let me get to the meat of the story. I sometimes feel like maybe its time to put down the joystick. (again, calling a controller a joystick speaks to my point). While I still manage to dominate my friends in most games, I regularly get beat and taunted online. A few weeks ago, I was playing Halo 2 online and some kid says, and I quote “Dude, you sound like you are 30!!” Damn, is that bad? That I enjoy playing video games at 30? I own a house, I have a good job (that I hate), I have no kids, and I even manage to get laid from time to time. Why should I let this little punk get me angry? I don’t know, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Now, when I go into Gamestop, I feel a bit out of place…..and I am. I was waiting to talk to a clerk the other day and found myself sandwiched between an eight year old and a ten year old. They were discussing the Pokemon DS game. I felt like such a tool. I may start buying games online to avoid the embarrassment.
I am a proud gamer. I just don’t want to end up looking like the “creepy old guy.” Too late perhaps…..oh well. When does Halo 3 come out again?
| Share this article: |
|
Comments
Great story! Everyone should be proud of their gaming past.
Every time I find myself playing games like, say, Diddy Kong Racing I feel exactly the same way. Then I play some GRAW and I feel much better.
once upon a time i, too, was a little kid who played games. PONG on my atari? oh yeah. dark castle on my circa-1984 macintosh desktop? you betcha. super mario brothers on my original nintendo 8-bit? hells yes.
the thing is, those of us who were once innocent young'uns attracted to gaming are now the "old heads" who refuse to stop enjoying that which they have enjoyed for so long. just because i've figured out a way to have a job and a life while still clocking hours on my current system of choice (ds lite if you want to know) doesn't make me weird or creepy. if anything it makes me SMART for growing up without growing old at heart.
do your thumbs work? can you mash buttons with the best of them? (or in the case of ds, can you use a stylus with one hand and awkwardly prop up the device with your other hand? dear nintendo, playing ds is not a very comfortable experience...). if you answered "yes" to any of these questions you can and should be playing games, regardless of your age.