Let me start by saying that I am sorry for any typos this c-blog might contain. English is not my first language, and this is my first blog.

When I decided to write about what got me into videogames, the first idea I had was to write about Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, because that game was the firstone I got, it was great, and I was the only kid I knew that had it (most of the consoles were sold with Super Mario World). Then I thought I should write about Metal Gear Solid, because that game changed the way I saw games. But then I realised that I Would have never had such great experiences with videogames if it weren't for my parents.

My first contact with videogames was trough a cousin. His father traveled a lot, and always got him the coolest gifts. One day, I went to his house and there it was: the SNES. My cousin was a very mean kid, so he would only let me play it for five minutes, but that was enough for me to fall in love with the system. It would take about a year for local stores to start selling it, and two to my parents to buy me one.

I was born and raised in Brazil, a country known for its weather, soccer and beaches. Most kids love these stuff, but I was aways a bit different. I liked rainy days (still do) and, while I could play soccer fairly well, it wasnt my favourite past-time. My parents had no reason to buy me a video game, but when I asked for one, the only thing they said was: "Do you really want it?"

"Yes. Can I have one? Please?"

"Ok. Someday we will get you one."

And I waited, and waited, and waited. Videogames were aways very expensive here, and I knew it. One day my father took me to a car ride. He stopped at a store, and when he walked out, he had a brand-new snes on his hands. He didn't waited for a special date, like christmas or my birthday. I guess he could see that I wanted it badly.

My parents never complained about me spending the weekends playing games, or spending the money I saved on magazines. They never forced me to turn the console off and go to bed when I asked for just "five more minutes". They would never forbid me to buy any game. They didn't complain about how Mortal Kombat was violent. And sometimes, they would even try to play games with me! (my mom was a big fan of Puzzle Bobble).

I guess my parents knew how much I liked games, and they really trusted me to choose content that i tought was adequate to me.

Some years later my parents got me a Playstation for christmas (around 1998-1999). But the games that came with it were different. They had a lot of text. Games like Azure Dreams (that came with my Playstation as an "unnoficial bundle") and a demo disc with metal gear solid. And once again my parents would support my small obssesion.

Thanks to the piracy, I had many choices when choosing a game. That really helped me to shape my gaming habits, and, eventually, to learn english.

Unfortunatelly, times changed. Nowadays my parents dont support my gaming like they used to. The media alienated them. Now they think that all games are murder simulators. They still let me choose the games, but not without asking questions about the the plot. That makes me really sad, because I can no longer discuss with them about how good a game is without having then asking if I have to kill people or steal cars to reach my objective.

Even though my parents will never read this thing I gotta finish it off by thanking them. Mom, dad, thanks for putting up with me for all these years without complaining, and for supporting my gaming habits, even if you didn't understand them. You rock.