In conclusion to this journey through my childhood, in the terms of the alternate realities I took apart of I think this was an excellent way to map my emotions and trains of thought from a developmental point of view. As the technology increased over time, so did my imagination.  The limitations for what was plausible and realistic vanished from black to grey to white.  The stark reality that limitation could be met with ideal expectations and have some what of a feasible outcome was illuminated. It gave me hope and aspiration as a child.  In recent years, I've come to realize that my interest in video games as a child has left me with an interest in fantasy and story telling.  With this urge to delve into stories and be immersed in another world, I found escape in books.  Particularly well written and developed books.  The first book that led me on this path was Stephen King's Gunslinger part 1 of 7 from The Dark Tower series.  Having exposed myself to this writing and extensive use the english language, I feel this has increased my writing prose and abilities tenfold.  A quote from King on writing, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” I agree with this reading has proved to be the biggest influence on my writing ability and process.

My next virtual reality machine was the Xbox 360. I was wrapping up high school and closing in on the mark of my "adult" life as an American citizen, the big '18'. I could now legally purchase cigarettes, porn, and go over seas to donate my body to the insatiable thirst for blood that our nation has so eloquently acquired. With this change in perspective and perceived responsibility for life, the games that I began to play also helped broaden my worldview.  One of the first games I played was Modern Warfare. In this game you are invading the middle east to eradicate nuclear threats to the Americas. In the most recent publication of this game MW3, terrorists are attacking the Americas and you are a solider defending our well earned and inherent right to freedom.  This game taught me many things, one of which being that its okay to kill invaders of your country if it is to defend your peoples rights and admirations for the future.  We invade other countries to protect our freedom, then are appalled when they defend themselves and their values.  Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace to see modern warfare, in the form of a video game, from the view of any of the non-world powers or perhaps even the oppressed? Well I guess that wouldn't sell too well. Maybe it was the culture and the video games was a catalyst... Either way this was the beginning of the end to my childhood, and all naive aspirations for a decent universe where truth and beauty reigned free and in its place the birth of my cynical and morbid American ways. c'est la vie


http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/tag/videogames.shtml

couldn't find much of a big picture conversation or at least an entire website devoted to the topic.

After the Nintendo 64 I graduated to the ps2. This fell upon the time of my arrival in high school.  One of the first games I received was Jax and Daxter, this quirky well animated, video game of its time was one of the first computer generated games I had played.  With its comical violence and laid back 'save the world' plot it led me into the new age fantasy land. I then received Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , a game of a different nature, this introduced me to adult themes and real world problems like murder, drugs and prostitution. The first 8 hours of playing me and my friend posted up on my third floor and closed ourselves off to the world. In between killing hookers and vandalizing the city we would periodically go downstairs to eat food.  This was a very big eye opener for me from a developmental stand point.  It allowed me to view the world in ways I had yet to understand and have me enter into a realm of darkness that had yet to be seen.

The next console I received was a Nintendo 64.  This epic machine served me for quite sometime until I eventually upgraded. I received this as a present for my birthday one year and was pleasantly surprised to find Super Smash Bro's along with the console itself.  Little did I know this game would serve as a source of entertainment well into my twenties.  It still stands as a means for judicial power when there is a dispute between one or more "bros".  Many hours logged on this machine as well.  The Legend of Zelda was also a key defining point in my experience of gaming as a child.  The songs in that game I can still hear to this day.

As a young lad, technology of the times always sparked an interest in me.  I received one of the original Gameboys for christmas when I was eleven years of age.  This was the device that gave way to the gaming experience that I was soon to be hooked on. Wario Land: Super Mario 3 was the first game I played and can still remember sitting in my kitchen, playing away, as the snow fell on our black asphalt driveway in Madison, WI.

With many hours logged pressing away at those small maroon buttons this experience was my first insight into the world of gaming.  It allowed me to enter another world and escape while feeding my imagination and testing its limits.

The goal of this blog is to rehash my childhood in terms of the video games that I played growing up.  The games that I played held an important role for me in the way that I see and interact with the world.