Recently I was asked to describe the moments that made me a gamer and how it set me on the path that I am today. This is not easy task as I remember growing up with arcades in every mall and video games in the grocery stores so I was always trying to get quarters to play Space Invaders, Galaxian, Defender, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and countless others over the years.
I also remember getting our Atari and how I would have friends from school over to play those cartridge games over and over. They are so primitive by today’s standards yet I fondly remember countless hours playing them and how I had wanted, but never did get a Coleco Vision as I opted to get an Apple IIc instead and embrace the growing world of computer games over cartridge based games.
As I grew in my love for gaming on a computer, I remember fondly the Sierra games such as Police Quest, Kings Quest, Space Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry series.
When I was in the military, I remembered seeing Wing Commander II at the base computer shop and with the shift away from Apple for gaming, I knew I needed to get a PC so I educated myself about them and remember purchasing a 486 series system on payments which opened a new world to me during college.
Not only was I able to be an early adopter of the Internet, but it allowed me to look up and complete my assignments in a fraction of the time of those who toiled for endless hours in the library looking for answers.
With it came, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and countless other online games as well as others as I made my way into gaming journalism following my earlier efforts in film reviews which I had done for years in the school paper and other publications.
I remember the first time I connected with a friend online for a game, it was DOOM and even though I had a day trip to Canada planned for early the next day, we started a game just to try it out. I looked at the clock and learned we had been playing for hours and so I grabbed 45 minutes of sleep before getting up to catch the train as I figured I could sleep in the trip.
From their countless games followed as well as many hours playing online which for a person with a busy life took some scheduling. I have always strived to have balance in my life and a wide range of interests so gaming was just one more aspect to enjoy.
Consoles and PCs continued to get more and more powerful and as we expanded to offer radio, magazine, and newspaper gaming content, I always try to keep the love of gaming and technology at the core of my work, and I always look forward to E3, PAX Prime, San Diego Comic Con and the numerous shows we cover to see the latest and greatest stuff. I also love doing our panels at conventions where we look at the movies and games that are due in the next few years.
In many ways I am a lucky person as gaming is not only a hobby it became a career and a daily part of my life which all began thanks to my Atari and those lost days of old in the Arcades of my youth.
Man Crates were the folks who inspired me to write this segment, you can learn more about them and their awesome crates filled with goodies for men at
