Lighter Side

Hello out there,

Yesterday got a little heavy. I talked a bit about copyright and fair use. You can check that out here if you like that sorta thing.

I want to do something different today I want to talk about my first love. That’s right, I wanna talk about video games!

Games have been a part of my life since before I was born.

The year was 1978. My parents absolutely loved arcade games. Dad often talked about playing Pacman or Galaga and getting such a high score that it would cause the games to crash or start over completely. So picking up an Atari was a no brainer. I’m pretty sure I heard them playing while I was still in my mom’s stomach. A year later on the 5th of May, I was born.

I’m not saying that video games caused my birth but I’m also not saying they didn’t. Okay, they totally did.

I grew up playing the Atari. The truth is that I don’t remember all too much about it. I do remember going with my mother to our local swap meet, and browsing through all of the game boxes. I also remember this baseball game that I learned how to play to perfection. No one could beat me and they were trying too. How did I know? My uncle was relentless and wouldn’t let me win any of the other games.

The best part about growing up at the time I did is that I got to see game consoles progress.

Technology advanced at such a quick pace. It was insane! Imagine waking up every couple of years and your mind is blown.

We started at 8 bit and then it went to 16 bit, 32 bit and 64 bit. After that, the ‘bit’ part of game systems didn’t matter. It was so damn exciting!

Everything was going faster and faster it made you wonder where it would end.

The real answer to that is that it didn’t. I was just as blown away by this year’s PS5 videos as I was of the PS3 videos, PS2, etc.

It does feel like things have slowed down some though which is a little disappointing. 

I can’t be sad though because all the games we get to play are amazing! Even the ones that use older graphic styles.

I haven’t even mentioned PCs yet.

My dad decided to take a class on how to program and operate PCs. The course even came with a free computer which was pretty unheard of back then.

I was around 8 years old at the time. The Nintendo was already out, but that green and white monitor was something weird and new. I loved weird and new.

Dad taught me a bit about it and after that between consoles and the PC I couldn’t be stopped!

I tried my best to not get in trouble so I could play as long and as often as I wanted.

I did and it was amazing. I was even branded the ‘good’ child. Which in retrospect was probably not the best thing to say to children. I definitely had a chip on my shoulder after that.

I don’t buy consoles anymore I prefer PCs. However, Stadia is pretty damn cool. I bought Final Fantasy 15 to test it out and have had a mostly positive experience with it.

That’s my experience with video games. I still play and I still love them. Most of all I wait for new systems and games that’ll blow my mind.

You might be wondering what games I like or which ones are my favorite. That I can save for another day.

Thanks for reading along today. I hope your day is exciting even if you’re forced to stay inside.

Best Wishes
Katherine