To start, I have to say that I am a child of the eighties. I grew up with video games (the games I loved: Asteroids, Joust, PacMan [guy & gal], Donkey Kong and those text based adventure games [I had a Texas Instruments computer]), music videos (too many favorites to mention) and lots of TV. Computers were nothing compared to what they are today, and I can say the same about the games. Of course, I thought our games were much cooler than they were ten years ago.
Today, as an adult, I still watch TV, given up on music videos, but I still love to play video games. I'm not the kind of person who is a slug and does nothing. I only play games at break time, in the evenings or on the weekends. I don't like them all though. I hate those games like Mortal Kombat (you know what I mean - all blood, violence, etc.) I like racing games, almost everything Mario, Maxis' SimCity (now that's a great game and a different article), and adventure games. These games may have some violence, but it's more like D&D. You have to think, figure out the riddles and fight the evil monster-like characters.
Since I had a Texas Instruments type computer, my first adventure game was text based. I think it was called Pirate's Adventure. Anyway, I thought it was cool and enjoyed playing. It was a little frustrating and I don't think I ever reached the end of the game. After that I played arcade games and that was about it. I moved out on my own and didn't play again for quite a while.
I first played Zelda on an old Nintendo. I remember playing that early version, and it was hard. Not because of the game itself, but the graphics were very primitive and moving around was awkward. The version I'm playing right now is for Super N64. The graphics are very detailed and the movements of the characters are much better. I have a long way to go and I'm enjoying every part of the journey. I will admit that I use a walk through I found online to help me out sometimes, but I try to figure it out by myself first. I've been through a lot of the game, or so it seems, and I am still a boy. I have two of the stones I need and am on the way to finding the third. If you have never played Zelda, you ought to try it out. Make sure you have nothing else to do for a while because you will get hooked.
There is a computer game called Myst that frustrated me for the longest. What attracted me to the game was the realness of it. You felt like part of this beautifully virtual world. The sounds of the ocean, trees rustling in the wind, everything is realistic. I played the game on a 486 and it was so slow, I gave up. A couple of years later, the game was released for Sony PlayStation. I grabbed it from the video store and played it for 8 straight hours. I got to the end too! There is a sequel called Riven, but I haven't had a chance to play it yet. I don't want to buy it because once I beat it, what's the use in keeping it?
Anyway, I will get to the end of Zelda and I will play Riven. It's nice to be able to take a few minutes and not worry about stuff. Just sit back and be someone else for a little while. Save the world, be the hero. Most of all, have fun.
