Personal Narrative:
The Editor
Shawn Rider
This has been a strange project. Given the vast spread of
personalities and experience levels we have in this group, I thought it would be
interesting to create personal narratives. I knew that games had penetrated the lives of
my crew, even if they didn't know it yet. However, half of them did. Unfortunately (or
perhaps just typically) it was the "boys" who had the most experience with
games.
I've been playing videogames all my life. I vividly remember being
in the first grade and playing the hell out of the Pac-Man machine in the laundromat while
my Mom tried to wash the scabies out of my bedding. I remember dank rec-rooms and
un-vacuumed basement floors where I sat playing Atari 2600 at whatever friend's house I
get to. Although my parents believed highly in technological education, they didn't
believe in games or game systems. In a blue collar way, they felt the computer is a tool,
and should be used for work. In a way, I feel that way, too. The computer is a tool, but
the PlayStation is a toy.
First gaming system: Commodore Vic 20. Yup, even before Atari 2600.
I played Infocom games like Zork and other Vic 20 classics like Gorf. I sold Boy Scout
popcorn like a sweatshop kid when I was in fourth grade to win the Atari 2600 that was the
first place prize for our region. That's how I got my first gaming system, and I got some
classics with it, too (Circus, Pitfall, Star Wars, Pac Man, etc.). The 2600 lasted a long
time, although we cracked several controllers with Track & Field and gummed up more
than a few carts with soda pop.
Sometime around when the 2600 was starting to bore me, my father
graciously invested in a Commodore 128. As many computer gamers know, the Commodores were
built for hot graphics and sound, and there were plenty of games to play: Rolling
Thunder, Skate or Die, the Temple of Apsahi Trilogy, Bard's Tale, King's Quest, and about
a jillion more. I remember being especially taken with Little Computer People, a sort of
early sim/pet game. The premise was that these Little Computer People had been discovered
living in computers, and if you built a house (read: installed the program) one would come
to live in your computer. It was a kick in the pants, and far more intriguing to me than
most of the other titles out there. Of course, nothing could compare to the hardcore theme
of Skate or Die -- that electric guitar just rocked. And during all of this, I still
managed to whoop up on the Apple IICs at school, playing Hard Hat Harry, Conan, and
California Games for hours after school.
The next big step in my gaming life came in 1989, when I became a
somewhat late adopter of the Nintendo Entertainment System. My NES got the standard work
out, through hours and hours of Legendary Wings, Rygar, Rad Racer, RC Pro Am, Metroid,
Battle Toads, Double Dragon, Contra, Metal Gear, Bionic Commando, and any other game the
video store got in to rent. In 1989 my family had moved to Arkansas. I was in the eighth
grade, and it was a difficult time. The NES hit the spot.
Of course, it would be the Super Nintendo that would keep me going
through high school. What with Commodore out of the picture (at least for the general
consumer), my dad didn't know exactly what kind of new computer to buy. So he didn't. The
Super Nintendo kept me plenty entertained with a hundred different greats: Star Wars,
Mortal Kombat, Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and the rest. Of course,
when those got old, there was always Altered Beast and the Sonic games to turn to on the
Genesis. All in all, it was good times, and the Super Nintendo kept me going until the
PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
By this time, I was in college, and could afford my own game
systems. Well, I couldn't really afford them, but I could at least decide I needed to have
them. At this point in time I was also a gaming team, having shacked up with a wonderful
woman, Sarah Wichlacz, who shares my love of games. In desperation, we picked up a used
3DO system and a few games (Road Rash, Gex, Colony Wars) to tide us over the summer. WeI
held out for the N64, enjoyed the hell out of Mario 64, Goldeneye, and Turok, but quickly
gave up on the system, for the sheer lack of games. We adopted a lonely PlayStation,
invested in a new computer, and soon the world of gaming had opened back up to us.
Of course, back in October of 1998 something much bigger happened: I
began writing for a local videogame website called GamesFirst! I spent about 9 months
reviewing games for Rick and Al, two professors from the University of Idaho, where I've
been pursuing an education for the past half-dozen years. They invited Sarah and I to E3,
in hopes of adding a Consoles section to the site. After E3, I was the Console Editor, and
began the task of developing a multi-platform console reviews section. It's been daunting,
more work than I ever thought I could do, and I've never had so much fun.
So you can catch up on my adventures in gaming three times a week at
GamesFirst! When not editing and
writing reviews, I'm doing stuff like this, which usually involves thinking about games a
whole lot. I'm proud of this section, and while I don't see it as definitive, I see it as
a very good start.
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