Hello, my name is Dexter, and I'm a 31 year old gamer. No, I don't live in my parents' basement, although I probably would if given the opportunity. The rent would probably be cheaper.
Gaming is, by far, my favorite hobby, although by no means my only hobby. I'm an avid reader, a horror movie buff, I enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset etc etc, but gaming is my true passion, for a lot of reasons, the most important being the opportunity to watch the birth of an art form, and that's what this post is mainly about.
Any other old folks around here like me will remember getting their first NES... maybe even their first Atari. It was fun, but it wasn't something that you could really make into a time-consuming hobby. Games just hadn't become that involved yet.
Fast forward to today, and we're on the brink of the emergence of a full-fledged art form. For example, take a look at Bioshock. If you haven't played this game, would you kindly go out and buy it right now. It's fucking amazing. The visuals are breathtaking, the musical score and voice acting are easily on par with anything you'll see in a theater, and the story is engaging and believable. Mass Effect also comes to mind. It's... basically an interactive movie. The cast has some recognizable names, and again, the story and voice acting are better than anything we're used to in the genre.
I don't think we're quite to the point where we can call video games an art form, but we're not far off and the envelope just keeps getting pushed farther. Batman: Arkham Asylum is another that comes damn close, as does GTA 4, Half-Life 2 and its episodes, and at least a dozen others I could name off the top of my head.
It's a damned exciting time to be a gamer. There's never been a better time in the history of the medium, and I'm extremely excited about what's to come over the next 6 months or so. That's why I'm planning to periodically do some previews for upcoming games. I religiously check most of the major gaming news websites, and I plan to compile all the important information about games that are of particular interest to me into threads in this forum, along with a screenshot and/or trailer here and there and links the reader can check for further information.
I'll try it for one or two games and hopefully you guys will let me know what you think and I can determine whether or not this is something you guys would be interested in. For my first game, look for a preview of Assassin's Creed 2 in the next day or so.
Gaming is, by far, my favorite hobby, although by no means my only hobby. I'm an avid reader, a horror movie buff, I enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset etc etc, but gaming is my true passion, for a lot of reasons, the most important being the opportunity to watch the birth of an art form, and that's what this post is mainly about.
Any other old folks around here like me will remember getting their first NES... maybe even their first Atari. It was fun, but it wasn't something that you could really make into a time-consuming hobby. Games just hadn't become that involved yet.
Fast forward to today, and we're on the brink of the emergence of a full-fledged art form. For example, take a look at Bioshock. If you haven't played this game, would you kindly go out and buy it right now. It's fucking amazing. The visuals are breathtaking, the musical score and voice acting are easily on par with anything you'll see in a theater, and the story is engaging and believable. Mass Effect also comes to mind. It's... basically an interactive movie. The cast has some recognizable names, and again, the story and voice acting are better than anything we're used to in the genre.
I don't think we're quite to the point where we can call video games an art form, but we're not far off and the envelope just keeps getting pushed farther. Batman: Arkham Asylum is another that comes damn close, as does GTA 4, Half-Life 2 and its episodes, and at least a dozen others I could name off the top of my head.
It's a damned exciting time to be a gamer. There's never been a better time in the history of the medium, and I'm extremely excited about what's to come over the next 6 months or so. That's why I'm planning to periodically do some previews for upcoming games. I religiously check most of the major gaming news websites, and I plan to compile all the important information about games that are of particular interest to me into threads in this forum, along with a screenshot and/or trailer here and there and links the reader can check for further information.
I'll try it for one or two games and hopefully you guys will let me know what you think and I can determine whether or not this is something you guys would be interested in. For my first game, look for a preview of Assassin's Creed 2 in the next day or so.
