I just got back from a friend's house and his mom was complaining to him about how he spent too much time on video games. That is actually what birthed this whole blog. It's a sort of memorial to those days when growing up wasn't as hard as it had to be, because I got to lose myself in games, and my family came with me.

I seriously wish I had pictures of the epic battles that transpired between my mother and myself, all for the sake of gaming. And I doubly wish I was able to give her a medalin honor of her daring and most brilliant of devious plans to get all the chores, homework, and compliance she'd ever need out of me...all in the name of video games. I owe her for my upbringing, and she owes the Sega Genesis and the N64 for her platform of tyranny.

All my life, video games have been present. I remember having the Sega Master system, and playing the original R-Type and the original Space Harrier. Those two games shaped how I grew to play games. Meticulously diligent in that I remembered every move the enemies could, would, or did move; I played 'til my fingers were numb and blistered, and greater still, played with a hunger to see it through to the final boss's demise.

By the tender age of 4, I was playing video games in my aunt and uncle's living room. Nothing too spectacular as far as age goes, as most of the gaming world starts around then, but little did she know the monster that would start to grow in hunger as I grew in age.

My dad would play, and I'd watch as he did what I couldn't fathom in R-Type, dying and miraculously obtaining those extra continues out of thin air...a feat until just recently, I was never able to boast. Even still, some of my fondest memories are of playing Contra on the NES with my Uncle Doug or my dad, (I will never tire of that game), or even more, when I first opened up the Sega Genesis for Christmas, and lost all care for anything else I opened that night; I just remember seeing Sonic on the front of the box and thinking, "It will never get better than this..." (...Nostradamus for the Sonic franchise...I blame myself).

Then came the day I went to a video store and asked to rent a game; my mom said sure...and for some weird reason, I thought...this one looks interesting. I brought "ToeJam and Earl" home that day, and everything changed. No longer were games JUST MEANT for me, but I could honestly share hours of fun with friends and family. I didn't have to "share" the game; we got to share the enjoyment. I can't remember how much time we spent on that game, but between my sister, mom dad, and myself, we've beaten that game countless times, but what I remember most, are the moments of discovery and the tear-inducing, side splitting laughter.

With "ToeJam and Earl" making its way into the library after its awesome first impression, my dad got back into gaming again. It wasn't the R-Types and the Space Harriers though; it was the sports games that hooked him this time around. I have two distinct memories of playing with my dad that have been etched into my brain for all eternity. The first is when we brought "Madden '98" home and we both played against each other and I, for the first time in my life, beat him at something. I'd been playing chess against him for years, and I couldn't calculate around his moves, but when it came to games, I had found my niche. The second memory is when I was still in elementary school and my dad was playing his golf game on the Genesis. I wasn't supposed to be awake, but I snuck out and sat on the couch and watched. Instead of him getting mad at me for being awake, he had me join him...I think it was like midnight or something. Around two o'clock in the morning, I scored my first video game eagle, and have been addicted to golf-gamed ever since.

My sister was always right behind me with the video game bug. At times, we'd play co-op with games by way of switching and picking up where the other left off, other times, we'd just race to see who could complete the game first. Either way, there was always fun to be had with games and my family.

If there wasn't two of us playing some form of co-op game, it was Mario Party and the literal hundreds of hours that we logged into that game as a family or Donkey Kong 64 and those INSANELY AWESOME four on four multiplayer battles. Even then, there were times when my mom would sit in wonder as I obsessed over Zelda: OoT, or watching my dad play Banjo-Kazooie and get frustrated as he just did things SO freaking different and inefficient in comparison to how I played, or watching my sister get stuck on something that seemed so blatantly obvious to me. It was always fun to experience it with them. Even now, they just got a Wii and we still do battle on Wii Sports or my dad and I duel each other on Tiger Woods '08.

It truly was something of a wonderful childhood dream come true...and I find myself pining for the "old days" every now and again.

(Though, I must say, growing up wasn't a cake walk by any means, and I still have a ways to go......eeeiiioooowwww).

Looking back, now that I've moved out and am out on my own, I see just how blessed I really was. Blessed beyond many kids' belief with how my family embraced my hobby and love of gaming; that instead of fighting it, they used it as a way to grow closer to me and each other. I only wish it was the same for everyone.