The first time a video game made me cry, I tried to hide it. It was 1997, I was 19, sitting alone in my dorm room playing Final Fantasy VII when that scene happened. You know the one. Aerith kneeling in prayer, Sephiroth descending from above, that long sword piercing through her body, the gentle way her ribbon unravels as she falls forward. I remember sitting there, controller in hand, waiting for the Phoenix Down…
The first computer I ever built myself was a disaster. It was 1994, I was 16, and I’d spent months…
I still have the scar on my right thumb from the Great Mortal Kombat Debate of 1993. Jimmy Peterson and…
Christmas morning, 1985. I’m sitting cross-legged on our shag carpet, staring wide-eyed at this gray box connected to our family…
You know you’ve reached a certain point in your adult life when you catch yourself thinking, “I once spent four…
Halloween, 1989. While other teenagers were out causing trouble or attending parties, I was hunched in the blue glow of…
I never expected Minecraft to be the thing that would finally help me connect with my nephew Jake. He’s my…
I had this moment recently while playing Horizon Forbidden West where I stopped to watch a sunset. Not a real…
I first encountered Guitar Hero at a Best Buy in 2006. I was there to pick up a replacement power…
I still remember the first time I saw a “3D” game. It was at our local arcade in 1993, and…
I still remember the exact moment I became truly addicted to a video game. It was winter break during my…
I still have them all in a plastic storage bin in my basement—every single video game manual I’ve managed to…
I first encountered Legacy of Kain in the most appropriately gothic way possible—during a thunderstorm that had knocked out the…
My first brush with Daventry came courtesy of my dad, who wasn’t exactly what you’d call a “gamer.” He was…
