The joys of gaming

I wouldn't call myself a gamer, but I enjoy gaming. Sorry if this post comes off as a massive ramble, I wrote it in one sitting. 

The early years

I first got into gaming through simulation and puzzle games, as well as just loads of random mobile games. I remember loving Angry Birds, I used to play it all the time. Now the original's not around, I believe, but god, it was amazing. It was extremely addictive trying to get three stars on a level, I think most of the time I failed in that. I also remember loving Subway Surfers, as well as the odd driving sim.

Ultimate team

Then when I was about 9, and started getting into football, I discovered Fifa. For some reason, the idea of playing football matches on a console was really appealing to me. At the time, though, I didn't have any fancy advanced console, rather I had the family Xbox 360, along with a few old copies of Fifa. 

Before I continue, I think we used that Xbox for stuff like Kinect games which we played a few times - there may have been some Sonic the Hedgehog related game with that, I really don't remember. Turns out the Kinect's discontinued now, bloody hell.

Anyways, back to Fifa. I only had Fifa 11 and Fifa 12, back when Wayne Rooney was on the front cover. I played the shit out of them, mainly 12 because that one was cooler to me. It also had the far better soundtrack; I didn't know the names of them at the time, but I quickly grew to love Call It What You Want by Foster the People, and especially Circles by Digitalism. The latter recently became part of my day-to-day playlists, actually, it's a banger. That said, 11 might have had the better soundtrack on reflection. I mean, that's where I first heard Gorillaz (Rhinestone Eyes) and Linkin Park (Blackout), and I loved both at the time, too. 

In fact, that's probably what stuck with me the most when playing those Fifas. I mostly played Career Mode, where I'd take control of a team and try to guide them to glory. I don't think I ever managed anything impressive, by the way. However, the music stuck with me in the form of addictive earworms, the kinds you can only cure by discovering what the song's called. I couldn't tell you who I signed to play alongside Arteta and Wilshere at Arsenal, but I can hum along to the tunes I'd heard to this day.

The natural successor was Football Manager. This is a PC game which is both more realistic, and utterly inane. I took this game way too seriously, I think at times I managed to break some stuff. Thankfully, I was never truly feral, but I did find myself getting quite irate whenever my team conceded a last-minute winner away. I was also 14 at the time, cut me some slack. However, despite me obsessing over the game, spending hours upon hours and trying to be great at it, my best achievement was probably getting Fortuna Dusseldorf to the Champions League. I had a sick Albanian winger banging in the goals.

Truth be told, that's where my interest in gaming ended until a few years back. I was never a massive gamer, my hobbies most of my life had consisted of writing, reading, and more nerdy hobbies like maths and geography. I'd also been into football for a while now, too, so that's probably why I never broke away from the football games before then. If I ever went to buy a new game, it would be an old Fifa at the local Cex. Okay, there was the PS4 I got for Christmas, but that was to just play Fifa. Again, I wasn't a massive gamer, and I was 12, don't judge me.

The cake is a lie

Around the time I turned 17, I think, I got into Minecraft. Now, I'd played Minecraft before, but I was never that into it. I think I got irrationally scared of a Creeper blowing up when playing a few years before, so playing Survival Mode got me into uncomfortable levels of anxiety, just wondering whether I'd make it past the first night. In fact, I don't really play Minecraft much today, but there is the odd time I'll think to just load up a quick save, maybe plunge into a random biome, and try and see if I can build a house and not die immediately. The soundtrack, though, is probably the most rewarding part. Seriously, go and check out C418's work on the Minecraft soundtrack - it's stunning, subtle classical piano music, it's absolutely beautiful.

Afterwards, I got back into mobile gaming. Stuff like Geometry Dash and Clash Royale, which were all the range around the sixth form lunch table. I never got good at either of them, I guess my brain's never been pre-disposed to gaming. I guess there was that one time in Clash Royale, I managed to defeat someone despite having barely any health left, whilst being a few towers down. But otherwise, nothing much. However, it was insanely fun, and those days around the lunch table are days I'll always treasure.

That brings me up to today, pretty much. When uni started, I made a friend with someone, who happened to be into this game called Hollow Knight. It sounded a bit interesting, so I went ahead and bought it. It's an exploration game where you spend most of your time travelling around remote, abandoned places, interacting with strange creatures who are out to get you. I'm far from good at it, but when I manage to win at a bossfight, it leaves me feeling euphoric. Hollow Knight's probably the first "proper" game I've played - no simulation, just pure old boss fights and endless lore.

There's also Portal, and its sequel, Portal 2. I mentioned both a few posts ago, but I just want to re-emphasise how fantastic they are. The first game felt a bit like a momentum simulator, as you work your way through an unseeming factory, solving various levels to try and make your way through. Portal 2, though, is probably better - it's funnier, the levels are more challenging at times, and the lore is way deeper than I could have imagined it to be. Oh, and Glados is one of the greatest video game characters ever. Wheatley's great, too, in part to Stephen Merchant, his voice actor, being one of the funniest people alive.

Subwoofer lullaby

And, perhaps sadly, that's about it for me when it comes to video games. I guess I've also played the odd strategy game, but I'm shit at those. Sometimes I wonder if I should have spent my childhood in front of books or documentaries, or whether I really should have played all those Fifas. I don't think it matters, but I wonder how different I'd be today if I did that.

My PS4 is often unused; I don't play Fifa that much anymore. At the time, I used to watch loads of Fifa Youtubers, too, and they all seemed to say that Fifa as a series was slowly dying. The last one I bought was Fifa 19, and that's the one I play whenever I get an urge to unwind and dick about a bit. It's not even called Fifa anymore, it's EA Sports FC. Same goes for Football Manager, sometimes I'll carry on playing the save I started many years back, but it leaves me feeling annoyed more often than not, and right now, I just don't care that much for it.

That's kinda sad, actually, thinking about it - two video games that left a huge mark on my childhood, now I don't get much from them. I'm an adult now, I need to be working and paying taxes and taking out a mortgage - what time do I have for stupid simulations? 

Well, I hope in the future, I'll carry on gaming. The normal kind, I mean, not the kind that streams games all day and seem almost socially stunted. But if you're interested, hit me up with your gamer tag.