A certain game
was released today. A game I’ve been eagerly anticipating for
eight years. A game I’ve been hoping to be the best game I’ve
played yet. A game I’ve been dying to get my hands on ever
since I knew it would come.
Alas, it’ll
still have to wait. My current laptop isn’t powerful enough to
run it. It was clear from the moment I installed the closed alpha I
had the chance to “participate” in. When I tried
launching it, it crashed before even getting past the first pre-menu
logo. The game in question is the primary reason I’m striving
to save up for the new computer.
Anyway, so
what’s the game I’m talking about?
DOOM.
DOOM is one of
the few game franchises that have kept me captivated with every
installment. The games have managed to keep up a consistent level of
quality throughout the franchise’s 22-year history, at least as
far as I’m concerned. Not one DOOM game have I found any less
enjoyable than another. And I expect to enjoy the new DOOM just as
much.
Video games in
general are a dear interest to me. So much so, in fact, that it
nearly even surpasses my interest in music. My passion for video
games began with the PlayStation and Crash Bandicoot, the console’s
goofy and immensely lovable mascot. To this day, I love that game
franchise to death.
From the
PlayStation, I moved on to the PC and RollerCoaster Tycoon. My
brother and I used to play that game together for hours on end,
creating the wildest, greatest, most nausea-inducing roller coasters
imaginable.
As I and my love
for gaming grew, it was only natural for me to delve deeper. In 2004,
I had the pleasure of hearing about a game called DOOM 3. I lusted
after that game in secret for years, until, in 2007, a friend I had
just made granted me the opportunity to get my hands on it. Without
hesitation, I happily obliged.
Ever since that
day, I’ve kept digging deeper into the wonderful world of
gaming. I’ve discovered many amazing gaming-related interests:
modding, speedrunning, eSports, ROM hacks, emulation and the
ever-so-vibrant indie game scene. I’ve grown the size of my
game library from a few to almost 450. I’ve met awesome people
through that common interest, if relatively few of them.
Perhaps oddly,
despite how passionate I am about video games, I consider myself a
fairly casual gamer. To me, video games are, first and foremost,
entertainment. I play video games primarily out of a need to be
entertained. And for the most part, they do manage to entertain me.
I love games. I
love weird games, I love funny games, I love sad games, I love
thought-provoking games, I love scary games, I love beautiful games,
I love simple games, I love complex games, I love big games, I love
small games, I love light-hearted games, I love dark games.