By Sam Coles:
Video games is a medium that I’m very passionate
about and I’ve never really explained how that passion birthed for games and I
just want to tell you through this short editorial and maybe you’ll get a bit
of insight about me.
When I was a kid bridging into a teenager I played
video games but I never really analysed them for any inner meaning or critique them,
I just use to enjoy them for what they are and use to play them to pass the
time whether that be a rainy Sunday etc. I used to be clued up on the latest
titles like the GTA’s the Call of Duty’s and all the popular ones, but to be
honest I use to play them because everyone else did.
It wasn’t until I had a somewhat decent PC that
could play games in 2007 and I explored a few PC games and the one that caught
my attention was The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Oblivion introduced me to this
beautiful, colourful and vibrant world that is living and breathing and I had
not seen anything like it at that point. The setting was familiar with the high
fantasy elements as my Father liked Lord of the Rings books and the Hobbit so I
was aware of what the races and lore to a certain extent. The game immerse me
so much I felt that I could escape from reality for a while and forget my
troubles and feel that I have an impact in the world of Cyrodiil. Even when I
turned the game off I had the thought that Cyrodiil is still carrying on even
when I’m not there which made me look at video games in a different light which
made me think “Wow! Games can be more than time wasters”.
After Oblivion I got an Xbox 360 in 2009 with Halo,
Mass Effect and Forza Motorsport 2 (which I didn’t play that much as I wasn’t
into racing games at that point) Mass Effect introduced me to a galactic
adventure where the whole galaxy were relaying on me to save them from an
invading force. Halo 3 was the final struggle that I took part in to help end
the war between the Covenant and UNSC. These worlds have been well crafted to
be believable and I would get excited when a new game would be announced and I
still do because with each new game whether it be a sequel or new IP I’m curious
what new world they have created.
Early 2010 I was in a dark place I was doing my
A-levels and the stress was getting the better of me, I cycled home one
afternoon and I stopped in my local Blockbuster (yes they were about still). I had
a look at some 360 games and I was skimming the sleeves left and right which I
then came across a game that I didn’t really know about and that game was
Dragon Age: Origins. I had no idea about this game so I bought it and popped it
into my Xbox 360 and I immediately feel in love with the world of this game and
it made forget about my stress and I adventured through the world of Ferelden
for the rest of the evening. The characters were well written which could make
laugh, cry or aggravated with their actions.
I continued to play games and at the end of 2010 I
started to write reviews for my local newspaper because I wanted to share my
passion with others. I would get feedback from friends saying that they haven’t
read something so passionate, which filled me with positivity. This led me to
where I am today still writing reviews where publishers let me critique their
products.
So where am I now with gaming? Well I own a wealth
of consoles because I’ve started to play retro games as well as I own a PS1,
Mega Drive, PS2 and Gamecube etc. I’m Exploring the past with gaming as well as
experiencing the present with what worlds that PS4 and Xbox One can produce and
I’ve experienced the Northern Kingdoms of The Witcher 3 to the destroyed yet
beautiful world of Mad Max. I have evolved from someone who played games to
pass the time to the man who is passionate about it and wants to share that
passion with others.
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