Gaming: Life well spent?

A little while back I read a small post on Kotaku which showed a video concerning how you would feel as a gamer on your death bed. Would you regret all the time that you spent with your console, PC, phone or the journeys you took with your trusty little handheld to keep you company?

It got me thinking, is all the time that I spend on these games really worth so much of my my life? Should it be better spent doing something that perhaps others would believe were more productive? I've always wanted to learn the saxophone or piano, why I don’t just do that instead? Perhaps take up sports training, go to rugby or swimming a few times a week?

Why are these things considered to be more productive? Why does gaming come with the stigma that it isn't  a ‘real’ hobby? Do people really believe that these games and their stories that I surround and immerse myself in are such a non-productive part of my life?

When I was little games had always been a security blanket for me. I was usually left alone in my house as my mum had to work non-stop. I began to enjoy the peace and quiet it offered. Mainly as it meant that I could also play games to my heart’s content; well, for as long as I could get away with it anyway. I would sit on my own getting lost in my N64. Ocarina of Time is probably the most nostalgic game on the planet for me.

Sometimes I wouldn't even be playing the game as I should, I would happily just wander the fields of Hyrule travelling from place to place making up little stories of my own. Pretending that I was asked to vanquish troublesome monsters that were plaguing a town or that I was a secret assassin that lived inside the Kakariko village windmill.

"Remember the first time you stepped out onto Hyrule field?" - AIBryce

Then my little bubble would burst, my mum would come home I would be told I was “spending too much time in front of the damn screen. You know your eyes will go square right?” Till this day I don’t think my mum will ever understand why I spend most of my free time on the games I enjoy. Then again, why would she? You never will understand something if you have no interest to try it begin with right? After all, I'll never get how she can just sit and watch the endless amount of reality T.V shows she likes either.

Gaming has also been one of my greatest sources of inspiration. The stories that are told through the countless games I've played, and the moments in those stories that make so many of them special to me. It amazes me sometimes how I can have so many fond memories brought back just by hearing a piece of music or a conversation about a scene from a game that stood out to me.

Even the first time that I discovered how much I enjoyed writing, it hadn't come from a book. I was only ten and my class were asked to write our very own fantasy story. It only had to be three pages long but I ended up writing up far more than I or my teacher ever expected. In fact, she even took the time to type it all up for me and gave me a cool gold ribbon for it being best in the class (Insert smug face here.). Can you guess where I got my inspiration from? 

Later I came across Final Fantasy. I was a late comer to the series and the first time I actually set eyes on it was at friend’s house. He had stuck FFVII into his PlayStation and I watched as a flower girl surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a polluted city walked slowly through the streets. A train roared into a station and an unknown soldier with crazy spiky hair leapt down from it. My eyes popped out of my head the first time I saw that scene, and then I took control of who I later found out to be Cloud Strife. (He sits next to my PC on his Hardy Daytona, he's so awesome.)

Who needs Disney to show you romance? You can get it all from the love stories of characters like Squall and Rinoa, Tidus and Yuna. Link doesn’t even have to talk and he gets his girl every time. I knew I wanted to write about characters like the ones I was seeing, and make other people feel the same way I did when I played these games.

At around the same time I discovered RPG Maker, and finally I had a medium that I could pour all my ideas into. I began to learn the basics of ASCII coding and game creation. I would do research online on how to write certain events and make characters move. I still remember how happy I was the first time I got the animations right on something as simple as a chest being opened. I was actually making a game, and it was amazing for me to see my ideas come to life. 

As I got older I became more involved in PC gaming, I started to chat with people online who enjoyed the same things I did and were just as passionate about them. It was refreshing to speak to others who were so like-minded. I've never felt more comfortable when talking to others on the outside of my friend group than I have when I'm online. Not just because I'm behind a screen, but because the people I talk to usually end up having the same mentality. We all still like to go out and ‘socialise’, but I always feel so comfortable when I get home at the end of the day, crash into my chair, and chat with people I don’t feel like I have to force awkward conversation with.

Even with friends that I don’t get a chance to see much of any more  many of them I still keep in regular contact with thanks to the games we play online together, or the voice chat servers we use whilst we’re playing. Gaming can easily bring people together and strangely enough it was the social side of most online games that kept me playing long after I had grown tired of them.

PC gaming also got me interested in building my own computer. I had never had any experience at it, I just always liked the idea of doing it my self. If it wasn't for trying to get the most out of the games I played I probably would never have bothered. So I took the time to understand how things went together, and the friends that I spoke to online gave me the extra advice I needed.

In the end I saved up enough and decided to take the plunge. Now I have another little accomplishment sitting right next to me. My very own home built gaming rig. I'm still constantly learning from it, but now I have a skill that actually has some 'real use' in this day and age. It feels wonderful to know that I took the time to learn all of that thanks to my 'unproductive hobby.' The same hobby that made me want to write this blog, and hopefully have people read it who enjoy gaming as much as I do.

Even Snake could salute his gaming days at the end with pride.

So…do I think that I will regret all the time I’ve spent playing computer games when I’m on my death bed? How could I? Could you regret something that has given you so much, and has attributed to one of biggest parts of who you are today? Gaming can be an art form, a way of expression, a means to bring people together and perhaps even keep your mind active and healthy. I'm sure I could think of far deeper things that I could regret on my death bed, rather than all the hours I spent happy and content in my little gaming bubble.

Just something I thought I’d share. 

LEGO Legend of Zelda, could become a reality

Over at LEGO Cuuso a Legend of Zelda concept design has reached over 10,000 supporters.

Now it has the chance to actually become a reality. It will be sent to the "LEGO Jury" for consideration and if they deem the concept worthy of success and that it would be possible to manufacture, we could have ourselves one of the greatest LEGO sets ever! Ok I'm being a little bit biased, I'm LoZ fanboy after all. Still this certainly would be a great thing to see on the shelves of any LEGO store.

It was through LEGO Cuuso that the recent Minecraft LEGO concept was approved and is now available for pre-order. (I may have to get my hands on at some point as the idea of having real life Minecraft blocks is pretty incredible.)

I have to say that LEGO have been extremely fortunate with Cuuso. Not only has it become a hub for talented individuals to have the chance to get their ideas created, but LEGO will now have a steady stream of new ideas pouring in to mull over, and completely free of charge.

One of Ocarina of Time's most memorable moments... IN LEGO!

I really hope the LoZ concept goes through and that Nintendo will approve it's production. I would certainly be one of the first to have little LEGO LoZ figures covering my desk. I already thought that my LEGO Bobafett key-chain was cool enough, but having Link with a Master sword certainly tops it for me.

Make sure you check out the site, and even vote for any of the other concepts you like. You never know, your votes could make it happen.

"Salt with your game... sir?"

I've always wanted to be good artist, really I did. I took Art at GCSE and Graphics for A-levels. The countless anime series' I've watched over the years, comic books I read and the incredible concept art I saw for games and movies on a daily basis. These all made me want to create things like the ones I saw. If just for one day I could produce pieces of art or draw an anime, comic book or game characters as good as them.

A friend of mine (who is also an unfairly good artist) sends me a link to these videos. I sat grudgingly amazed that someone can actually create something like this and then just rub it away, because If you gave me a piece of tracing paper, the original image and a pen. I still wouldn't be able to create an image better than this guy can... with salt.

Guess I better just stick with writing, at least I can do that. Sort of.

Streetpass: It's a lonely world out there for a 3DS owner.

As an avid Ninty fan I was one of the crazed bunch that jumped onto the 3DS bandwagon right from the off. How much of a fan do you ask? Well to sum it up, I was lucky enough to be invited to a Nintendo pre-release event, only to find out that I wasn't going able to see the 3D images it produced. Apparently it seems I lack stereoscopic vision or some such. I died a little inside.

Yes I know I'm mad, but I had to play Ocarina of Time 3D. Of course Nintendo then release a limited edition Zelda console, and at a heavily reduced price...I died a little inside at that too. One of my biggest gripes with the 3DS at the moment is it's StreetPass feature. For those of you that don't know, the 3DS can swap info such as your Mii and game data as you pass another 3DS owner, required that they have their wireless turned on and that they are close enough.

If only the world was really full of stick people carrying a 3DS.

Now the missus and I have been trying desperately to collect puzzle pieces that can be received from other 3DS owners on StreetPass (It's simple but addictive). Do you have any idea how hard it is to bump into another person with a 3DS, let alone one with their wireless turned on? I think my grand total for one day is three, just three! Even then it was when I walked through London during the Jubilee celebrations. Oh, and to top it all off not a single bloody one of them had a puzzle piece I needed.

To make things worse the 3DS has Play Coins that you can collect, but there is a daily limit of 10 coins which can be hoarded, unless like me you have already used them all by the next day. These can then be spent on a number of different little features, such as backgrounds for Letter Box a.k.a Swapnote in the U.S, heroes for StreetPass Quest (don't even get me started on that though), and extra AR Games.

 I wish this little green light would appear more often.

Now here is where my biggest frustration lies; if you can't meet anyone via StreetPass this is your only option to get hold of puzzle pieces. They cost 2 coins per random puzzle piece and you can get doubles...a lot of doubles that have no use whatsoever apart from making you want to throw your 3DS across the room. I even got a StreetPass accomplishment (god knows why they call it that) for "three identical Puzzle Swap pieces in a row with Play Coins!" Yay...Nintendo might as well have laughed in my face with that one.

It's a shame to see such a brilliant feature go to waste; especially as it's always quite an exciting moment to notice that green blinking light letting you know you've come across another 3DS owner. Unfortunately, for the time being it seems that I'll only get to see a green glow when it's my girlfriend's 3DS sat next to me, and she has all the same damn pieces.

Flowers? Chocolates? Nah...Gym badges!

What more could a girl ask for, right?

I ordered this amazing little set for the missus a few weeks back, it arrived much quicker than expected and I couldn't have been more pleased. Especially at seeing her face when I showed them to her. They really did look the part, and had amazing quality to match.

Now all I have to do is find somewhere that could make an awesome case so she can show them off, to prove she really is a true Poké masta!

If you fancy getting hold of these yourself...well your just going to have to beat the eight gym leaders aren't you? Or you could just be sneaky like me and head on over to Sanshee and get them to send you the ones they smuggled out from Kanto, for a fair price.

Let me know if you find a good case to show them off in!

'Hi I'm Asmo, and I'm an addict.'

Back when he was still cool.

Gaming is an addiction to me; something I’m sure my mother hoped desperately I would grow out of. I used to wake her up to the loud sounding DUNK of our old Sony television that we had in the living room. Every morning at 4am I’d creep slowly downstairs, just to get in those extra couple of hours before primary school on my N64. I got yelled at a lot for doing that (amongst other things.) Know wonder she still hates me when I'm gaming.

It all started with my Dad's SEGA Megadrive. I still remember it sitting in a side cupboard collecting dust, the irony being that it was actually my Mum that had bought it for his birthday a year or so before. I never remember him playing it, I just knew it was there, and It looked so pretty!

So that was how my addiction began, watching that little blue blur race across the screen  for as long as I could hog the one T.V we had in the house. When I wasn't playing I'd even create little plasticine balls and roll them across the table thinking they were Sonic. I would also try putting spikes on it occasionally, but it didn't really look authentic. (I never was that great at arts and crafts)

My biggest love, as I mentioned before, was my N64. It was the first console that I was ever bought, although I'm pretty sure my Dad had actually got it for himself, but at least he had the decency to call it my birthday present right? So there I was, a copy of Mario 64 and as far as I was concerned the greatest machine that I had ever owned in my life.

I'll never forgot the first time I watched Lakitu the Koopa swoop down on his cloud around Peach's castle to bother Mario with his terrible camera angles. My Dad informing me that these 'Are the most amazing graphics he had ever seen.' I was still kind of sad at that point that my Dad had sold the Megadrive to put the money towards the N64, but I did forgive him...eventually.

These days I stick mostly to my PC gaming, but I will always be a console gamer at heart.