My relationship with video Games

I pretty much have to thank video games for a lot, heck...everything. How I think, how I communicate, and how I execute my every day life can be drawn back to my relationship with video games. It's my first love and we go way back.

I've been gaming my whole life. I was fortunate to be in a house where video games were enjoyed and celebrated by everyone.  Heck, my parents met and their first couple of dates revolved around staying up all night to watch Gauntlet II and Bubble Bobble crash on my dad's NES. It comes to no surprise that some of my favorite memories growing up revolve around video games.

Now, I'm going to tell you right now, I'm a console gamer. Always have. Always will be. My personal collection of consoles goes all the way back to the Nintendo 64 and I've made the jump between Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. I love them all and didn't play favorites growing up. I just wanted to play the best games and whatever system allowed for that, I  had to have it.

Friends I made in high school and college all revolved around the hottest game. Whether that was the latest copy of Madden, to Halo 3, to Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it was easy to find me down the hall in the dorms or hanging out at a friends apartment gaming the night away. Video games have the catalyst for some of my best relationships.

Professionally, I'm not a gamer, but how I think, analyze, and problem solve all revolves around my experience with video games. I lived through the cheat code era of video games, an a lot of my brain power looks at the problem before me and seeks out the "cheat code" that will make the solution as easy as possible. This often creates very efficient, although somewhat lazy, creative solutions that often make my coworkers look at me with the wildest eyes.

Now in days, I use videogames as my release from the world. Find myself in games that allow me to just escape and vibe. As video game design gets more and more realistic, I find myself looking for the simpler games that have a fun story. I'm a big old Nintendo kid now, and it makes me happy.