The Average Gamer: National Video Games Day

I have been a gamer for most of my life. Before I was even playing games myself I can remember watching family members play video games and being fascinated by them. Some of my earliest memories are of watching my dad play a game called Soldier of Fortune on the family computer. My younger brother and I weren’t allowed to play the game but my dad always let us watch him play. We would sit for hours and watch him take down the bad guys and cheer him on when he won and laugh when he failed. After seeing how much we enjoyed watching him play, he took us to Missoula one day in 2002 to buy my brother and me the original XBox. We searched multiple stores but were never able to find a store that had them in stock. We were close to giving up when we found a store that had one Playstation 2 left on its shelves. While it wasn't the XBox that we were hoping for, we left town that day still just as excited to have a brand new state of the art Playstation 2 to play when we got home.

The following Christmas my parents bought me a game called Medal of Honor: Frontline. It was a first person shooter set during WW2. From the first moment that I fired up the Playstation to play that game I was hooked. Every opportunity I had to play that game I seized with excitement. We only had one TV in that house which meant I had to wait till my parents were either done with whatever show aired that night or wake up early before school and be able to play for an hour. It never mattered if it was late at night or early in the morning. I grasped any opportunity to play.

This Thursday, September 12, is National Video Games Day and I have been thinking about my early memories of gaming often. Video games have been a huge part of my life. I have made many happy memories, met new friends, and strengthened personal relationships, all through video games. I have slayed dragons, explored the far reaches of the universe, been an outlaw in the old west and experienced countless other things that I never could have outside of video games. Video games have been there on my best days and my worst and will probably continue to do so. They have impacted my life in ways that the young Marshall watching his dad play could have never imagined. I’m proud to call myself a gamer and this Thursday I am going to celebrate National Video Games Day in the only way a gamer could. I am going to make new memories from video games.

What’s your favorite memory from gaming? Let Marshall know by emailing him at [email protected]. Follow The Average Gamer on Instagram

@averagegamerreview.