glibberish.

I never realized it until recently, but I am starting to take gaming seriously. I think it has come to the point where, when filling out the “Interests” field on social networking sites or slumbooks, I should add “video games” along with the usual three (music, film, literature). It’s not that I wasn’t playing games as much before – in fact I have been playing less compared with when I had that PS2 and my mammoth PC. It’s just that, I didn’t consider playing games a serious passion.

Not until I started to miss my consoles back home and could not have my high-end game fix. Not until I started paying attention to the RSS feeds from Joystiq.com and somesuch sites. Not until I bought that Nintendo DS Lite (I love you). And the last straw that binds them all together is my seeing the first two episodes of Discovery Channel’s Rise of the Video Game.

Watching the show brought me back to the days when my dad brought home this nifty Atari 2600 system, or when I came across this new Family Computer thing and played Contra with my next-door neighbor until we beat it, or when we got a PC and played adventure games off a 5.25″ floppy disk. Every five minutes of the show there was a flashing-before-my-eyes effect as I suddenly recognize those games that I have forgotten I have played.

The result is a sort-of epiphany in two parts: one is that wow, I have been playing games ever since I could remember. Sure I skipped some gens and some hallmark games (e.g. never got into Sega’s Sonic), but yeah, I was pretty much a video game fan.

Tne other part is that I realized my parents really kept with the times back then, providing me and my bratty siblings with the latest consumer-class computers as best as they can. And all those years exposing us to new tech – gaming tech – paid off. I would not have been the geek that I am now if it were not for that. So thanks, mom and dad, you made my life. :)

Gaming is a culture, just like how the love for jazz, or science fiction, or P.T. Anderson is (aside: I miss P.T. Anderson movies) – indeed, it is really a part of the wide wonderful world of geekdom. How could I not have acknowledged that? And don’t say, “too busy playing games to care”.

From now on, I will wear my gaming badge upon my sleeve – along with the other badges I already have.

I always thought it would be a turtle. Anyway, the “cat” (lynx?) does look cool and sharp, and the name is pretty.

It’s so frigging (fridging?) cold here!! On the other hand, I am glad to live in a place where the weather is different, for a change.