Personal Essay- Gaming and Me
When asked to write another personal essay I could think of nothing more close to myself now than video games. The more I think about it, the more video games have kept me going through life. Relatable characters and interesting plots always keep me entertained. The fantasy and wonder in gaming has been with me for most of my life and I think that now is as good a time as any to talk about my pathway as a gamer.
Throughout my life I’ve always identified with video games. When I was four or five I received my first video game console, the Sega Dreamcast. This is iconically known as the last hurrah for Sega before they were liquidated and reduced to just Sonic Team. The first game I ever had played was Sonic Adventure. It was a 3D exploration game which required the player as Sonic to run from level to level to collect seven Chaos Emeralds to stop Doctor Robotnick from ruling the world. Because I was so young I was terrible at playing this game. I never beat the first level for months while I originally had it. That didn’t stop me from trying however. I thought it was so cool how I was capable of existing as someone else in another plane of reality.
I began playing other games on handheld devices; these were intended for children. My parents bought us the newest advancement in handheld gaming, the Gameboy Color. For the first time games on handheld devices were made in color. The first game I had on it was a seasame street spelling game. I didn’t like it nearly as much as Sonic however. I wasn’t controlling anyone in this game. There was nothing for me to be immersed in, and every other game I had on that green Gameboy Color felt the same to me. No immersion meant no entertainment and I began to enjoy the stories in games more than the feel.
The next generation console I received was the Nintendo GameCube. To me this was the greatest console to ever exist. It was in a phase where Nintendo was doing a lot of experimenting and...