So, I figured it's time to get around to actually writing an intro post, and seeing as I have all the time in the world - here it is.
Since the day my mom bought me a PC for my 5th birthday, I was hooked. My original box was a 286, 12mhz (when set to TURBO) with a SoundBlaster 16bit, and a VGA graphics card. Packing a whopping 640kb of RAM and a 40 meg hard drive, I was in love. I used to blow through the old Sierra titles (King's Quest, EcoQuest, Space Quest).
Once I discovered the 2400 baud modem I had in that thing could actually CALL OTHER COMPUTERS, I was hooked on BBS boards. Constantly downloading shareware and the like. I remember the revelation that was Wolf3D and it's episodic content (many current software companies could learn from ID's model). I was totally blown away by it's "directional stereo sound" and "blood". I also had a Sega Master System and aSega Genesis (the only two consoles of my youth), and enjoyed them (as all kids do).
As I got older and gaming became more mainstream, I kind of fell away from it. Computers stayed a hobby, but mainly writing code and playing with hardware. I stopped playing games for quite a while, as I was focused on school, and moving around alot. Graduated, got a job, yawn. Droned along with the masses. Hated life in general, was wasting away. I was a bitter bastard, broke up with my girlfriend, was stuck in my apartment with nothing to do, no where to go. One day I went to get some food at Outback (yes, still alone), and next door was a Gamestop. I literally hadn't been in a game store since there was only Electronics Boutique and Babbage's. (huge nerd points if you get this pic)
I stumbled in, lost as Guybrush Threepwood on yet another deserted island, just on a whim. I lpoked around, noticed that I saw virtually nothing I remembered, and almost walked out. The clerk asked me if I was looking for anything in particular, and I asked "If you had tons of time to kill, what would you buy?". I walked out with a Gamecube along with Resident Evil 4 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and a strong sense that I had just wasted 3 bills.
I trudged home, purple box in tow. Arrived home, plugged it all in, popped in the tiny disc for Resident Evil 4 (feeling totally retarded), and proceeded to play through. No, not a level, not till bed,
ALL THE WAY through. It hooked me from the get go, scratching that long forgotten itch to bathe in zombie innards and rekindled that fire for gaming that I guess we (Dtoid readers) all have.
It seems kind of silly, but I really think that Gamecube was a huge turning point. It helped me blow off steam and put things into perspective. Here I am, almost 4 years later, still gaming and having fun. I've been reading Destructoid for a couple of years now, but have never had the time (until recently) to really contribute to the community. I hope to make up for lost time, starting immediately.
If you've read this far I appreciate it, and hopefully my upcoming Far Cry 2 review will be more enjoyable (and far less emo). I will endeavor to not suck.
Also, cocks.
