[[NOTE: I like to give people YouTube links of the music I listened to while writing pieces. You can comprehend how I wrote things better that way. Also, my first editorial thing, yay.]]

(in order from when I wrote the first to the last paragraph)
Page and Plant - Four Sticks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMrErYMmu6k)
Barret's Theme - Final Fantasy VII soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMnarFXsPws&feature=related)
Jamiroquai - Butterfly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B6xSy0Uock)
Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl [live in Verona] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GO2IWTDdgY)

I'm going to start off with an anecdote. The year is 1997. The date is December 25th. A four year old boy and his six year old brother get up at six in the morning, barely getting any sleep from the sheer excitement of it all and their wild imaginations working heavily the night before. They go out into their living room to find a massive Christmas tree covered in dozens of beautiful colored lights, a fire roaring in the fireplace, the smell of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the atmosphere. Underneath that tree was a decent sized present wrapped in gold wrapping paper. It was addressed from Santa, to the four year old and his six year old brother. The brothers didn't care that it was just one box under that tree, it was theirs and that's all that mattered. They helped each other, unwrapping that present, slowly, and carefully. Underneath that golden wrapping paper was something they would have never expected: a PlayStation. The four year old grabbed the box into his small hands, raised it up towards the ceiling and stared at it in sheer awe.

And that day, my friends and readers, was the day that I knew that video games would not only change my life permanently, but become an integral part of my life for years to come.

Video games. From Pong to Super Mario Bros. to Metal Gear Solid to Uncharted, video games have been a source of entertainment for people of all age groups for almost two generations.



The thing about video games is that it's sort of like cooking--it brings people together. Cooking a four-course meal for you and three friends is comparable to getting you and three friends to play some Rock Band. You're all having a good time together--you're laughing, talking, and getting into deep conversation, unless they're on Expert and they're trying to concentrate or they're just REALLY enjoying the food you made. :P



In another sense, a video game is like a dish, if it uses an equal amount of components, looks pretty, isn't overcooked or overcooked, and tastes good, then chances are you're going to eat it all, enjoy it, and gladly ask for seconds. (I lost you there with that analogy, didn't I? Don't worry, it didn't go as well as I had planned it to.)



Bringing people together. That's what got me truly hooked to video games in the first place. Watching my brother beat Metal Gear Solid, my brother watching me in amazement as I kicked his ass as Eddy in Tekken 3 (don't fuck with Eddy, kids, he'll fuck you up sumthin fierce), getting 100% on both Expert guitar and drums on sightread in Rock Band, that's why I like video games.

There's nothing better than playing a great game with people, or having people watch you play. Example, music gamers, when you're at Best Buy, you pick up the guitar at the Guitar Hero or Rock Band kiosk cause "you know a little," (when chances are you spent an entire summer playing the Free Bird solo on Expert in practice mode, and you're actually pretty good at it) and you're shredding away like a paper shredder and some legal documents, I'm talking SHREDDING. You get a crowd, people are watching you, you're like "Oh, fuck yeah, this is awesome, I can't mess up now." Having people watch you makes you better, how? Cause either A) You don't want to look like you suck in front of a bunch of people, or B) You secretly hope that in that crowd behind you, your dream girl is watching, and she'll love you forever if you don't mess up the incoming O-BYRG sweeps, and she will forget you exist if you do, and you'll live the rest of your life a lonely loser who fluffs his anime body pillow for foreplay.



So you're encouraged to do better, you WANT to do better. Video games are subconscious motivators. "You can do it, just do that next time." "Don't do this next time, you'll get it right." And when we do good in a video game in front of our friends, our friends are proud of us, and the emotional stimuli we get from people being proud of us is...happiness.

There. I just said it. Playing video games with people makes you happy. Video games in general make us happy, unless they suck. There's nothing better than beating a great game. It's a poupourri of good feelings.



And that, my friends and readers, is why I like video games.

[[Footer notes: Holy fuck those images are huge. Tell me you like it if you do? :D]]