I have vague memories of playing video games from my childhood. My earliest memories date back to playing on a Sega round my Friends house, trying to get to grips with the strange controller layout and harder still trying to make out what I'm actually doing on the pixellated screen. however the enjoyment was still there. In my house games weren't really allowed, my parents always enforced me to play outside or read a book, something supposedly more productive than saving the world from aliens. Subsequently being able to play a game was like a treat, which i suppose was good in a way because i was never able to play games so much that i got bored of them.
If i was lucky enough to get to play a game i would always have to play with my elder brother as it was his PlayStation 1 we would play on. I remember always feeling like we had to make the most of our time on it because we knew our gaming time wouldn't last long, unless we kept quiet so they forgot we were playing it. I used to be mesmerised by the fact you could play two player games on consoles because it didn't make sense to me how you were both in control of what happens on the screen. From what i remember of our game time we would either play a cooperative game or i would just sit watching my brother play one. About 60% of my gaming experiences are from watching other people play, as i like watching what happens and how the game works without having to engage in it. However if we were to play a cooperative game we would normally play something aggressive like Tekken or WWF something where we could kick each others heads in without actually getting hurt. To me that is the key element within a game, escapism, the fact that your able to forget about your worries temporarily and transport your mind into a virtual characters. I didn't really have that many experiences with the PlayStation 1, as a year later i got my own Xbox. Not that i could ever play it, but when i could i used to play a game called XIII, which was a First person shooter, that is comparable to Borderlands in the sense that it had the same comic book, heavy black line aesthetics. It was after this that my brother and i discovered the magical game Halo. We loved playing anything that we could team up in and kick ass, and this was the perfect game for it. I just finished Halo 4 yesterday and now the wait begins for the next one.
Between the process of getting a PS1 and getting a PS2 i got a Gameboy Advance Colour SP, which was awesome, it meant i could play games under my bed sheet without my parents knowing or play it in the car on long journeys, even though it made me feel sick. For my Gameboy i had quite a few games, two of my favourites were, Need for Speed Carbon and Robot Wars, both were games that i could customize my car or robot and i think that's what i enjoy in games, being able to alter things to how you like them rather than just having a generic unchangeable character. I feel that kind of power makes the player feel more involved with the game, as it your character your playing as.
After the obsession with our PlayStation 1 and Xbox had deteriorated my brother got a PlayStation 2. Which looking back at it made the graphics of PS1 games look rubbish. One of our favourite games to play on the PS2 was Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. The fact that you could smash the police out of the road was somewhat appealing. Another game we both played a lot was Burnout, another game in which you smash cars to bits. After this we discovered Grand Theft Auto and all hell broke loose. We were addicted to this game purely because of the fact it was the first game we had were we could roam around freely without having to conform to set paths or missions which was refreshing from a game, and for the fact you could go mental and destroy everything and everyone with a wide range of weapons and cars.
After the rein of our PS2 my brother and i both got PSPs, which similarly to our Gameboys meant that we could play on the move and if we wanted to we could connect to each others devices for multi player. There's something quite special about playing a two player game with someone but still being able to lie in bed and have the game right in front of you. It made a change from the years of going split screen on the cold floor. One of my favourite games for PSP was The Warriors. It is yet another fighting game but it just seemed really advanced for a PSP game, the fighting sequences and movement seemed really smooth and physically correct. Another thing that helps enhance game play for me, realism. The more realistic i can believe it is the more attached to the storyline and characters i am. I bought The Warriors film just to see if it was as good as the game, i know have the film soundtrack constantly playing on my Ipod.
It Wasn't until i got a PS3 and my brother got an Xbox 360 that i started to notice things like improvements in graphics and the way different assets work within a game. Before it was just all guns blazing with my brother but when we started to play less games with each other i actually took the time to sit back and analyse what was in games and began to intrigue myself. For example in one of my favourite games Fallout 3, i will spend hours in one area just looking at everything and taking in the atmosphere and scenery created, similar to Elder Scrolls. I find it relaxing to play an open world game because if i don't want an intense battle i can just wonder around looking at things. I rarely buy game anymore, i don't see the point because ill spend all that money, enjoy being in the moment for a while finish it, and then be bored again. I've just got into the habit of borrowing games from friends. I feel I'm at the stage where id rather design games for myself, because i know strongly what I'd want out of a game and there aren't any out there that fulfill it yet. However If i were to create a game it would definitely be compatible for two players as the best experiences iv had with games are the ones iv played with my brother, i see them more as family memories as apposed to gaming memories.
