My current diet of video games consists of the complex and compelling strategy of Napoleon:Total War, and the demanding (and sometimes exhausting!) challenge of racing simulators such as F1 05 and Gran Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2.
It is a mark of the evolution of video games in the past decade that the sophistication and depth of these games is habitually taken for granted. It is all a far cry from the rudimentary nature of the first mass-market video games.
My first exposure to video games occurred one Christmas in the mid-1970s, when my brother and I were amazed to be presented with one of the first video games consoles. The graphics consisted of monochrome dots and sticks, and the sound was restricted to "beeps", but this was state-of-the-art in those days!
As I recall, there were three or four games on the console, but one of them (it might have been squash) was utterly unfathomable. The novelty of this new technology soon waned, and we instead took refuge in the more familiar childhood diversions of that era, such as Raleigh bikes, football and Action Men.
The ensuing years saw the emergence of Space Invaders machines, and my friends and I spent many an hour playing on the "Scramble" machine in a local retail outlet. We could scarcely have imagined that before long we would be able to play high-quality games in the comfort of our own homes.
A catalyst was undoubtedly the home computer boom of the early 1980s, and particularly the advent of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. A low-cost machine with excellent graphics capabilities, it encouraged the development of some classic games, which in terms of playability were the equal of any of the blockbusters of the modern era. Manic Miner, Jet Pac, Atic Atac and Ant Attack were just some of the titles which captured the imagination, and which succeeded not just because they stretched the Spectrum's power to its limits, but also because they employed the precious, and often neglected, element of humour.
As the 1980s progressed, the momentum of the home computer revolution petered out, and myself and my contemporaries reverted to mundane matters such as exams and tackling adolescence. I must confess that the period from the mid-1980s to the beginning of the new millenium was a "black hole" as far as my involvement in video games was concerned. Friends eulogised about their Amigas, Nintendos and Dreamcasts, but it all left me a bit cold and detached. I felt that the whole scene had passed me by, and I had felt no desire to change that state of affairs.
It was not until late 2003 that I rejoined the world of gaming. Almost on a whim, I purchased a Playstation 2. Rather than an incipient obsession, I regarded this as simply another tool to help fill my leisure time, and to aid in my relaxation. The sense of awe which had accompanied my Spectrum exploits was noticeably absent this time around. The digital age had conditioned us to almost take for granted the wonders of modern technology.
Initially, I concentrated on racing simulations and first-person-shooter games, not having the inclination, or the time, to engage with anything more cerebral. Later, I became immersed in the wonderful Pro Evolution Soccer series.
As I have belatedly joined the Pc and internet age, my gaming horizons have broadened once again. Strategy games very much suit me, and online gaming must also be on the agenda.
Who knows what the future will bring? And to think that it all began with that cumbersome plastic box in the far-off days of the mid-1970s....
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