It all started with a Break and Enter...

There was no such thing as "pc graphics". The computer was a black screen and you could input text. It was a wonderful invention that made my work day so much easier. No longer did I have to use carbon paper to make a copy of a document while typing it, and I didn't have to use "whiteout" - a product where you painstakingly painted out a typo, then inhaled those wonderful fumes and got high before you had to realign the letter in the typewriter to make your correction (which was therefore always crooked). Computers let us make all the revisions or corrections we wanted before simply pressing print and watching it slowly come out of the printer, then ripping off the tracks on the sides and having a perfect letter! Then, something even more truly incredible and amazing happened. You put in a big ole floppy disk and this appeared:



For me, some of these secondary experiences were:

* Seeing the graphics of "Myst"... for their time they were incredibly detailed and truly beautiful. Many games since then have impressed me with their graphics... but I remember when...

* Playing Badur's Gate and realizing that decisions I made actually impacted the story. This still isn't entirely commonplace and the ability for games to do this still manages to astonish me, but I remember when...

* Getting my first console (a Dreamcast) and seeing games on my TV set! TV's have gotten much smaller and their screens have gotten MUCH larger since then. Internet enabled TV's are becoming more commonplace, but seeing a game on a TV opened a portal that today sees online gaming, online social networking, buying virtual items from that TV set - so much has changed!... but I remember when...

* Playing my first "real" online game. It was Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the PSP but it was astonishing to sit in a chair and be able to talk to friends while playing a game. I had tried online back when there was only text chat, but the ability to voice chat changed online gaming forever for me. I don't think I've shut up since! Yeah, I remember when...

* Seeing the incredibly emotive and expressive facial animations when playing the game Heavenly Sword. It truly astonished me and it's only now that this is becoming more commonplace with games like the current L.A. Noire - but I remember when...

These are but a few of the memories that remain in my subconscious, moments I can drag out and compare to current tech and trends in gaming. It's when remembering these earlier moments that I am most impressed with current games. If you play MAG, take a moment to run around the battlefield when all the letters are open and see 256 people all playing in the same game at the same time! Years from now, when there are thousands of people in the same game, you'll remember back to those few short years when online gaming jumped from 32 to 64 to 256 people. If you play a 3D game, take the time to revel in the wonder of this new technology and just pretend you're a kid again. When we have our holosuites, you'll remember back when you first saw 3D. So many moments seem to pass us by and I think it's only often in retrospect that you'll remember back to how truly amazing many of these current moments in gaming are... when you're old... like me. :)

So stock up now on your "I remember when" moments!

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