What do Videogames mean to me?

What do video games mean to me? Well, that’s a complicated question that will require a complicated and potentially mushy kind of answer. So, bear with me. I’ve been playing games since I was four years old. My first console was the Nintendo 64, and my first game was Super Mario 64. From there, the love was born and a whole myriad of fantasies and wild imaginations followed suit. My tiny little brain couldn’t comprehend the complexity and was always awestruck by what they could do, especially for the times.

Now that I am older, I have a much deeper appreciation for video games both as a medium, and as an art form. There are so many moments I remember that shook me to my core because they were so impactful. Whether it was because the gameplay itself was so incredible, superb storytelling and voice acting, the world of a game was so immaculate and filled to the brim with life and detail. Or maybe (and a lot of the times it’s because of this last point), the music in a game. I have a really deep connection with music. I know most people like music and enjoy listening to it. But, music for me hits deeper than that, and goes beyond just the surface level of listening to a song that sounds good. I’ll take crescendos and harmonies from songs and just fill my brain with made up scenarios that my imagination comes up with that go with those moments in the songs. It sounds really silly, but that’s how impactful and important music is to me in general. And especially with regards to video game music.

Let’s take Escape from Tarkov as an example; a game that has given me the motivation to try and make videos in the first place. The game is incredible, despite its current shortcomings. The attention to detail on all the weapons, attachments and clothing. To the distinct, yet run down parts of this fake Russian city. This game has more attention to its own details than I’d argue some current day AAA games. Weapon animations are handled with great care, and the menu music whilst you ready your character for a raid is stellar. With the tracks that are in the game currently, they each create a specific mood and atmosphere; whether it’s hyping you up to get In there and slay out, or making you feel a sense of dread and nervousness that isn’t present in any other first person shooter out there currently. There are so many guns, armors, helmets, attachments that allows you to really customize what you go into a raid with. It’s the game I have put the most amount of time into that logs your hours and for good reason. Because once you get the itch to play, all you will want to do is Escape from Tarkov.

But it isn’t just games being made in the 21st century that allow me to appreciate how much of a deep love I have for video games. Older games, especially from my childhood give me these feelings too. Super Mario 64 was the first game I ever played, and even to this day I hold it in some of the highest regards for gaming. Even with the nostalgia glasses off the game really does hold a candle to, again, arguably some games that come out these days. Even just the basic concept of movement in Super Mario feels incredible. Smooth, snappy, responsive; especially considering under normal circumstances requires you to use the ergonomic nightmare that is the Nintendo 64 controller (even though I low-key kind of like it). While the graphics have certainly shown their age, the bright and vibrant colors across each of the worlds still give it an energy that makes me feel… happy. Even if it’s a level like Boo’s Mansion, there’s still so much life and atmosphere in the world, despite it trying to be scary. And with 120 stars to collect to one hundred percent the game, you won’t be hurting for content.

Video games to me are just special. They take us to worlds and locations we dream about when we are little; some of us still doing it even after we grow up. Not always because we want to go to those places. But because they allow our imaginations to flourish with a whimsical sense of wonder and awe. Reaching our hand out into the stars above us; hoping that one day we can make those dreams a reality. Which is why creative game developers are so important. The skillset needs to be there too, but they can’t just pump out a game with no heart; no soul. It will be destined to fail. These developers allow us to meet people who are right beside us across our journeys. And, we can meet individuals who challenge what we know, whether they are villains themselves, or people just backed into a corner. There’s a good reason why the gaming industry is having so much money put into it. Because if the right person, or group of passion and creative developers get together to work on something, it can turn into a beautiful masterpiece. Something that will go down in the books as a legendary game that will withstand the test of time. That’s what video games mean to me. A way to take myself out of this world and go somewhere else. Even if it's just for a little while, the disconnect can be a welcome one, before snapping back to reality to do it all over again.