I’m officially 34 years old now. At least, I was at the time I posted this. I was born in 1990, and with an older brother who was already old enough to play video games at my birth and parents who didn’t mind investing money to make their son happy, I ended up sort of being raised on them myself, starting with the most recent console at the time: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, aka the SNES.

In retrospect, I imagine video games were mostly bought for us to keep us occupied and keep our parents from going insane from the antics of their five kids. But eh, I certainly didn’t mind. Over the years, I went through game after game, console after console, computer after computer, and starting from such an early age, my life as a gamer has shaped me quite a bit. It’s a pretty fun story involving shrooms, speed, and some pretty crazy adventures; some of them were fun and made me feel like I was in some fantasy world, while others led to some bad trips that scared the crap out of me.

Look, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not what it sounds like. Just read on and you’ll see what I mean…

Super Mario Bros. and My Love for Mushrooms

The Mario Bros. after their first time eating shrooms

Okay, so this one isn’t mind-blowing or anything, but still. The first game I ever played was Super Mario World, and after that, Super Mario All-Stars and Mario Paint. Yeah, there’s a pretty deep reason why Mario is such an important series to me. I mean, besides constantly giving us great games.

But growing up playing a series where the main character is so obsessed with more than one type of mushroom (and one that potentially makes you immortal as long as you keep eating them), I kinda developed a love for mushrooms. Granted, I’m sure I would have liked them anyway, but we’ll never know for sure. And if I did, there’s no telling if I would have loved them as much as I do.

It’s kinda funny how after all these years of waiting for my dream movie adaptation, when I finally get it, they make Mario hate mushrooms. I guess my love for mushrooms is just one big joke now…

Sonic the Hedgehog and My Running Lifestyle

Sonic the Hedgehog running a marathon with some very fast humans

“Gotta go fast.” Who would have thought that those three simple words from the intro theme to the English dub of the Sonic the Hedgehog anime, Sonic X, would be remembered so fondly by the Sonic fanbase, essentially becoming an iconic catchphrase of Sonic himself, even though he only ever utters it in the Sonic movies and the Sonic Boom cartoon? 4Kids was kinda cooking there when they commissioned that song, not gonna lie.

It reminds me of how Dr. Robotnik got his name from the English localization team when the original Sonic the Hedgehog was brought stateside. Now Dr. Ivo Robotnik is his canon name. So, uh, there’s a fun fact for those who didn’t know that…

Anyway, while that song gave the fanbase an iconic catchphrase that Sonic rarely even says, Sonic himself gave me a whole lifestyle. Whether it was my love of the games, my enjoyment of the cartoons, or just Sonic’s cool character design, I have always been a huge fan of the series, even if some games were total misses. As such, at a young age, I decided to become a runner. All because Sonic the Hedgehog inspired me to.

I may not have any medals or trophies to show for it (except one for junior high track), but I’ve experienced a “runner’s high” before, as well as suffered from “runner’s knee,” both of which you don’t exactly get unless you’re a runner. Both are caused by intensive running, though one is euphoric and the other suuuuuucks. Thanks for that, Sonic.

Adventure Games and My Desire to Go on Adventures

Credit: Zalora

I could do without the killer chickens, though

Let’s be honest, real life isn’t as interesting as the worlds in series like The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy. It’s just too…realistic. But ever since my first Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, adventure games like Zelda, and even the wackier adventure games like Banjo-Kazooie, developed within me a fascination for adventuring. Not that I’ve gone on any quests to find different colored crystals and slay an ancient demon or whatever, but as a kid, my brothers and I would sometimes walk around in the countryside we lived in and act like we were on a quest. And if I found a large stick, you better believe I was a freakin’ wizard.

Fun fact: the father of the Legend of Zelda series, Shigeru Miyamoto, was heavily inspired by his nature explorations around his home, as he would adventure through hillsides, forests, mountains, and even a cave he found in a forest, which he explored with the help of a trusty lantern. He was Link, basically. At one point, he stumbled upon a large lake while hiking, and it was then that he decided to start chronicling his adventures. Lake Hylia, anyone?

Once I got older, I didn’t go on too many adventures like I once did, but I still felt the desire to. Hell, going back to the whole running thing, I much prefer running outdoors where I feel like I’m exploring the world, rather than being at the gym on a treadmill, where the world is standing still. And not too long ago I traveled through the United States, going through more than 10 states from Texas to Washington and back, and I’d say that was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my entire life. There was another type of adventuring I occasionally enjoyed back in my teenage years, but it was a bit more on the scary side, thanks to my enjoyment of horror games. Speaking of which…

Horror Games and My Interest in Exploring Creepy Places

Just gotta watch out for this guy. He might try to pander to me…

As I was saying before being rudely interrupted by the headline, aside from my childhood fantasy adventures in broad daylight around my own house, in my teen years, there was a different kind of adventuring my twin brother and I did with friends sometimes that was a bit less fantastical and a lot more horrifying. Like, Zoinks and all that. Speaking of Shaggy, imagine the Scooby-Doo gang in Silent Hill, minus the dog. We didn’t have a dog. But we did have a spooky abandoned hospital to explore.

Unlike Silent Hill, though, that hospital did not have creepy nurse monsters or Pyramid Head chase scenes. Thank the Holy Mother for that! That’s a, uh, Silent Hill reference for you true fans. No, what we did have were what I can only assume were homeless people hiding in the shadows, presumably just trying to sleep before some dumbass teenagers broke in to feel like some brave explorers or whatever the hell we thought we were. And our chase scene was just a voice we heard in one room accompanied by shuffling noises giving us our cue to get the hell outta there.

Despite the dread we felt exploring creepy places like the abandoned hospital, it was pretty exhilarating. Taking such risks made us feel alive, even though we also felt like we might die horribly. I guess I should thank horror game series like Resident Evil and my favorite horror series of all time, Silent Hill, for my fascination with getting spooked.

Sorry, was it obvious that Silent Hill is my fav? I mean, I guess I do always imagine I’m in Silent Hill any time I see dense fog. But I feel like every Silent Hill fan does that. I also find myself these days looking at abandoned places and wishing I could explore their insides. Okay, maybe I’m starting to sound a little creepy…

Video Games and the Dream to Make My Own

I swear, I’ll get around to it eventually…

This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but I like video games a lot. I know, I know, crazy stuff. But what if I told you that this passion I have for vidya games also paved the way for a dream to not only play them but make games of my own? Mind = blown, I’m sure. Oh, but it’s true. Ever since I was a mere child not even at level 10 yet, one of my Top 3 Dreams of All Time has always been to create games.

I tried, you know. Yeah, I had so many ideas I thought would make cool video games that at some point I tried out RPG Maker. I did love RPGs, after all, and as a writer, I love crafting a great story. My first EXP with the game creation series was actually not on PC like most of them are. No, my first one was RPG Maker 2 for the PlayStation 2. At the time, I went crazy and wrote down tons of dialogue from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, replaying the game to do so, as I had the idea to remake the game in RPG Maker just to see if I could. Spoiler alert: I couldn’t.

Fast-forward a few years and I began messing around with RPG Maker XP, the latest entry at the time. I didn’t get very far due to coming down with a serious case of confusion from the game development software. It really did make my face go XP. I tried out Game Maker Studio as well at one point in my 20s. I followed a tutorial, made some short games, and was very proud of myself.

Then I played Undertale and realized how great a Game Maker game can be. To the Moon showed me the same with RPG Maker. There’s a nice bit of inspiration to draw from success stories like those. Let’s just say that I am not done yet. I will make a kickass game – nay, AT LEAST one kickass game, and you, dear reader, will know all about them. Stay tuned…