Week 1
Looking over the assigned articles I couldn't help but reminisce about my history of video gaming. I'd forgotten much of my experiences with gaming, and it actually surprised me how much of the wiki article was part of those experiences. That said, there was a bit that was new to me, namely the early LED and LCD handhelds and the video game crash of '83 which I was unaware of.
I often complain to people about the endless squabbles debating the specific hardware-related merits of each new system. It interested me to see how this debate, or these specific selling points (such as 16-bit processing in the case of the intellivision) really have driving the popularity of the systems throughout their history. I often argue that in the case of any new system, you shouldn't jump on the bandwagon of whatever system has the best specs but rather it's better to wait and see what sort of games are being made for it. After all, the best games of all time aren't necessarily remembered for their innovative graphics. Instead, it's usually the fun factor or uniqueness of games that usually decides their place in history.
No doubt other people will be blogging their game experiences here so I'll do the same...My first memories of video games are of the original NES at a friends house somewhere around '92. I seem to only remember playing the popular duck hunt game with the famous light gun. I was definitely impressed by the vividness of the experience and I remember wondering how the light gun could possibly work with a TV, which has no provisions for such a peripheral.
The next year my family got an IBM PC. My savvy uncle had set it up for us and he made sure there were a decent selection of games on it when Christmas day came around and we unveiled the new PC. At the time, I don't think I understood the implications of what a computer could do and I think that because of my age as new possibilities showed themselves I took them in stride rather than dwelling on them. These early games were such titles as Commander Keen 1-4, Wolfenstein 3D, and The Secret of Monkey Island.
I would definitely attribute my adeptness at game playing to these early experiences. At such an age children are pretty malleable and so I was able to adapt to this unique experience. Today, picking up a new game and playing it is similar to riding a friends bike. There may be some minute differences, but essentially they are very similar and various gametypes are ingrained in my psyche. However, this may also be a disadvantage from the perspective of researching and analyzing gaming. It would not be surprising, in fact, if I was less able to recognize the immediate implications of this media genre as someone who has lived through the origins might be able to. At the same time I do feel more keen to subtle variations and nuances of game culture, game styles, etc.
I could be considered a gamer. It has undoubtedly been a constant in my life. It's the reason I'm studying what I am and the reason I take interest in such technical hobbies.
Lately, largely because of time constraints, I've only been able to take interest in games which I find unique or fresh; ones that offer something new to the table and cause me to be inspired. A prime example of this is a game called 'Spore' which should be released within the next year. I won't go into specifics but it is original beyond the scope of most notable original games.
I'd also like to point you to a new flash game that caught my attention as being refreshing:
Cosmic Crush
My goal for this course is to gain some valuable insights as to what makes an original game what it is, and in turn use this to develop some ideas of my own. These might be particularly useful for the game production class I'm taking.
posted by Unknown @ 5:30 AM
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