Growing up as a Gamer in the 70s and 80s: A Personal Account of Perplexity and Nostalgia
As a young child growing up in the 70s and 80s, I was surrounded by the birth of video games and the arcade culture. My earliest memories of gaming were playing games like Frogger, Battle Tank, and Yars Revenge on the Atari 2600. These games were simple yet addictive, and I would spend hours trying to beat my high scores and mastering the controls. I was fascinated by these games.
My early days of gaming were filled with excitement and mystery. Back then, there was no internet to look up tips and tricks, so every game was a new challenge. I would spend hours trying to figure out how to get to the next level, and the sense of accomplishment when I finally succeeded was indescribable.
As I grew older, my love for video games only grew stronger. In the early 90s, I was introduced to the Nintendo, and I was blown away by Super Mario Bros. The Legend of Zelda captured my imagination and became some of my all-time favorites. I still have a mint condition a link to the past players guide.I was also introduced to fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, which I would play for hours on end with my friends.
However, things changed as the video game industry evolved. In 1993, Nintendo censored the blood in Mortal Kombat, which was a major disappointment for me. It felt like a betrayal, as if the company was trying to sanitize my gaming experience. I didn't care for this, so I moved to a system that, in my opinion, wasn't trying to hold my hand.
Enter the Sega Genesis. it quickly became my go-to platform for gaming. I was fond of the racing game Road Rash and Altered Beast. I also continued to play Mortal Kombat on the Genesis, which was much closer to the original arcade version, in my opinion.
As I grew older, my gaming habits changed, or even ceased for a while. I joined the army in 1996, and I played PC games. There i was introduced to the tactical shooter Rainbow Six, which was one of the first games that really made me feel like I was part of a team. As I could play online with other gamers, and coordinate with the Voip or (Voice over Internet Protocol) Roger Wilco, way before Discord.
In the early 2000s, I discovered the world of massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs, for short. I had heard of EverQuest a couple of years before, but the idea of paying a monthly subscription was repulsive to me. As a long time gamer, I mean I started on the Atari when I was only four. I had grown accustomed to paying once for a game, and that was it. It wasn't until I heard about Star Wars Galaxies that made me reconsider.
I spent countless hours playing this game, creating my character and exploring the vast virtual world. The social aspect of MMORPGs was appealing to me, as I could make new friends from all over the world and join guilds to complete missions together.
I played a Ranger and made lots of friends as I hunted game near my campsite. One of the best things about being a ranger was that other players could come and heal at my campsite, which was an amazing way to meet new people. Even dancers came around and twirked their twi’lek booties, all in the name of curing battle fatigue. It was, til this day, the best experience I've had gaming.
Looking back on my experience as a gamer, I feel both a sense of nostalgia and perplexity. I am grateful for the opportunities that gaming has given me. I look forward to a hearty future of gaming in the years to come.
I have some high hopes for Pantheon rise of the fallen, the spiritual successor to EverQuest.
