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Thread: Gaming experiences that have had a lasting effect on you

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    Default Gaming experiences that have had a lasting effect on you

    Though I’m interested to read what other people might have to write on the subject, I really have no idea how to preface this thread aside from an example of my own.

    I think I’m permanently scarred from my first experience with Resident Evil as a child (and I don’t think I’m alone). I don’t exactly live my life in fear of finding myself trapped in a mansion full of the undead, and it’s not exactly uncommon to find a girl who feels a little weird being the only person awake in a darkened house in the middle of the night. But zombies in general sort of creep me out a bit more than they should. Horror movies, books, silly imitations by my boyfriend, you name it. I can lay in bed, late at night, and tell myself that the living dead are physiologically impossible, but my knowledge of normal human anatomy and physiology only makes the abnormal zombie that much more disturbing to my sleepy mind.

    In fact, just the other night I downloaded the Biohazard Orchestra album, because I thought it might be interesting to listen to. Only a few seconds into it I had to turn it off because I discovered it was a terrible thing to be listening to just before bed with vivid memories of walking into a room to find a zombie gnawing on the head of my missing friend, or entering a darkened closet only to have a seemingly dead corpse latch onto my ankle and start eating. I can’t recall if that first time playing Resident Evil was my first real encounter with anything having to do with zombies, or if it was the first time I ever felt so incredibly aware that I was inside and I could never be quite sure what was outside, but it’s definitely what I attribute my girlish mental trauma to.

    What experiences have you had with gaming that have stuck with you beyond the time you were playing a particular game? It could be something as silly as mine, or a theme or philosophy that inspired you, or maybe you developed an entirely separate hobby such as learning a foreign language. There’re countless possibilities to share, so let’s have a bit of fun with them.

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    The first time I played Half-Life 2, something changed in me. I can't exactly describe it, but I never looked at the world the same way again. Seeing people so depressed, a city without a soul, and looking at the citadel going far up into the sky... It was just so... Ahh, I can't describe it.

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    Well i think it was Metroid Fusion.. damn i still hate the long long corridors where you have to run from SA-X.. In real life it gives me the creeps..

    If you ask me, there's no happiness to be found in death... no peace either. I'm leaving here alive

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    Many games come to mind.

    Final Fantasy VII is an obvious contender. The first time I came into contact with the series, and the game's story gripped me and never really let me go. Perhaps it's the popular choice, but there's a reason it's the popular choice. Even now I still play through that game with a great deal of joy, and I can still immerse myself in the story and world of the game.

    The Sonic series has always influenced me, probably because my very first game was Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive. (That's Genesis for you US readers ). Inevitably though, my fanboyism shone through, and while I've always been fond of the Doctor, Sonic Adventure 2 sealed my fanboyism, and it's never left me. A 47-page long "Ask Dr. Robotnik" thread seems to prove this point, if slightly

    Another game that I can think of off-hand is BioShock. While BioShock 2 might not have been brilliant, the original game was... well, original, to begin with. It crafted an immersive story in a beautifully artistic city under the ocean, and that alone kept me spellbound from start to finish. I'm not much of an FPS gamer at heart, but I think BioShock being easy helped me there - I didn't need overcomplexity. I wanted a game with a powerful storyline and a brilliant atmosphere, and that's exactly what I got. The gameplay, while simple, was solid, so nothing to complain about. But the story and atmosphere... oh dear, I'm going into an incoherent rant again, aren't I? To put it succinctly, that game's managed to influence me in many ways, and even my ways of thinking. It's changed my perspective on many of the world's leading political concepts. While I know that the game is a fantasy world that isn't quite the real world, it did have me consider these things in a new light, and that can never be a bad thing.

    Another game is Baldur's Gate II. A gigantic world with a fantastic storyline, set in my favourite of all settings: Western Fantasy. I don't think a game will come along that will top the sheer depth and quality that I found in Baldur's Gate II. It's become something of a snag there too - it's such an involved game that restarting it is something of a daunting task. There is a lot to do in that game. All the same, I can't deny that it's still having an effect on me to this day.

    Finally, there's World of Warcraft. "Oh dear", I suspect quite a few of you are thinking, but the game has had an immense effect on my life, probably the largest effect of any game I have ever played. As one or two of you are aware, and nobody else is because I don't really whine about it, I have light autism. While I can work around it without a great deal of issue, I still have trouble with social interaction at times. In some ways, World of Warcraft has taught me more about how to handle this than anyone or anything else has managed to. Why this is, I can't quite say. Perhaps it's because the community is, in the end, faceless, so you can still stay on your own even in a crowd, as it were. Perhaps it is the fact that, because you're all playing WoW, you're all starting off on common ground, so the ice doesn't need to be broken, as it were. Perhaps it's another reason entirely. As I said, I can't quite say for sure, but even if I quit WoW in disgust at the direction in which the game is being taken (note: Not likely to happen yet, but that aside ), I think I'll always remember what the game's done for me in that regard. It's something that I've learned within the community, and even if I should eventually leave that community, these lessons will stay with me forever.

    Dear me that turned a bit moralising near the end there. Well, that's my list.

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    I was trying to remember the first game I beat...but I have 2 I'm thinking of. I remember it well enough though and it was my first experience with a console as well...

    So yeah, despite my age the N64 was the first console I owned and it was a pretty big deal. I won't bore you with details of my childhood and what my early family life was like but I think you can safely draw some conclusions on your own. So it was around Christmas time in 97 or 98. I know we got the Mario bundle. I played so much Mario 64 and Star Fox 64. I remember beating both around the same time. Both were fantastic experiences and I knew at this point I was hooked into video gaming. Over the next 3 years or so I must have played and beaten at least 40 N64 games. Most were crappy games but I didn't notice or care at the time. At this point my social life in school pretty much disappeared, I made new circles of friends etc...etc... Eventually I figured out that many of the games on the N64 were poor, I can't remember exactly what titled me to RPGs but it happened in about 00 or 01. But I'll still never forget pretty much everything about Super Mario 64. It felt like such an accomplishment when I finally got all the stars and took down Bowser.

    This was kind of a what got me into gaming post as well but w/e...thanks for this thread Milady.

    Edit: It was probably the original Baldur's Gate. I know I got hardcore into that whole franchise. I remember getting a free demo for Baldur's Gate and then splurging on it and the expansion and later BG2 and the Icewind Dale games as well. I also started getting into PS1 at this time because it was cheaper, which led me to fantastic console RPG titles.

    Some other things that stick out....

    Rez was a truly great experience. The way the game just had a flow to it and how it was short and easy to pick up and just play again and again. It's a different type of game than I had experienced before.

    Jet Set Radio was another fairly unique experience. First of all the graphics, I remember seeing them and thinking whoa this looks cool. Add in the simple yet addictive gameplay and I was hooked. I remember sinking hours upon hours into this bad boy. This game was what caused me to take every available art class in highschool. IMO the best game of the 00-09 decade.
    Last edited by Gypsy; 6th-January-2012 at 14:43.

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    Contrary to Milady, I've turned myself a little morbid because of Resident Evil. It's strange though, I started playing horror games at the age of 10, and before that I couldn't even see a scary face on the poster of a movie in front of the movie theater that I would dream about it that night. But after playing that game, I've learned that I could kill those things, and then I stopped fearing. The Resident Evil series entered so deep in me, that I had to play all of the main series, being Resident Evil 4 my favourite, because like I said, it's the action of being able to kill creatures like that that immersed me into being morbid. Now I can say I'm not affraid of anything human-atrocity related, even though I'm afraid of my own suffering. Of course, I'm not going to go killing people just to see their blood, only if they die and come to pull my feet!
    Last edited by Clayton Fischer; 6th-January-2012 at 20:50.

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    I have had a few moments in video game history, but there is one that has really changed way I think and the way i live my life...

    Now this is a general moment for most gamer, but the moment that did for me would have to be in Final Fantasy VII... The whole sequence where Aerith dies and there was nothing you could do, it kinda hit me hard back then as it does now. I feel this way because I never want too be so helpless, or a puppet condemned to sever it's chains that bind. After seeing this I have always stopped to help who ever is in need... I mean this lesson has saved my life a couple times, but at the same time gotten me into some trouble lol. But i guess this something that come with making self sacrifice huh? lol
    " Now is the time where you piss your self and pray to god.... but hey there is still enough time to kill yourself..."

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    Hi.
    First of all, I would just like to compliment the interesting topic.
    (This one will really make me talk. )

    Well, since I do not quite know how to start, I will quote some of your statements,
    if I may, and give a comment on how they match (or differ from) my own experiences.

    It will probably be a good idea to start with this one:

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    But zombies in general sort of creep me out a bit more than they should.
    Yes. Yes, they do!

    Honestly (and I find this quite interesting) of all creatures/monsters/freaks/etc., whether being from movies
    or videogames, the ones that spook me out the most are the "humanized" ones: zombies, chimeras, you name it!
    (Argh, they're just... and they always appear with blood all over them... )

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    I can lay in bed, late at night, and tell myself that the living dead are physiologically impossible, but my knowledge of normal human anatomy and physiology only makes the abnormal zombie that much more disturbing to my sleepy mind.
    For me it is not zombies in particular that "torment" me... because I avoid them like the plague!

    But I have developed, since childhood, this habit: when I go to sleep, almost immediately after turning off the lights,
    I just stick my head inside the sheets (all of them ^^) and sometimes I even put my head under the pillow.
    I do that even when there is no particular scary thoughts in my mind. It is somewhat involuntary, like a reflex.
    (I guess it could be the result of a "build-up" of past fears... )

    I could name some of them, but that would kinda derail from the topic.
    (because they are all practically from movies.) But then again... ^^

    Okay, just two then.

    One was a movie called "Event Horizon" that my uncle (who is 4 years older) wanted to watch with me back in 2003 or so.
    A really horrible one. I passed the next two months terrified, at night. It was like I was almost literally seeing one man
    that appeared in the movie (and was constantly burning and melting...) entering my room.

    Other one was a movie called "Alien", a really long time ago. I was like 9 or something. My father was watching it late at night
    and I was with somewhat of an insomnia. So I had the idea of sneaking behind the sofa and watch silently most of the movie...
    (one of those "brilliant ideas"... ^^' )
    After that, I would not approach the windows at night, afraid that the head of the thing would suddenly lurk out from the dark
    and jump against the window in an attempt to break it and eat me... I think one of those times I actually screamed out loud.
    (A lot! )

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    (...) and it’s not exactly uncommon to find a girl who feels a little weird being the only person awake in a darkened house in the middle of the night.
    Ahem... ... but yeah, got that right. Thank you. ^^

    But still, it is so weird, isn't it? I mean, you know it is your house and you are not actually afraid of the dark
    when you think about it, because you know in your mind that the feeling is not really logical, but then again it
    is there and keeps coming... ^^'

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    In fact, just the other night I downloaded the Biohazard Orchestra album, because I thought it might be interesting to listen to. Only a few seconds into it I had to turn it off because I discovered it was a terrible thing to be listening to just before bed with vivid memories of walking into a room to find a zombie gnawing on the head of my missing friend, or entering a darkened closet only to have a seemingly dead corpse latch onto my ankle and start eating.
    Gosh... ... I do not really know what Biohazard is, but I think I can imagine by now...
    (and I will make sure not to try it ever... )

    It probably was a bad idea, especially when, don't know if it is the same for you but, the music is, of all the things
    that affect our senses, the one that scrambles my feelings the most. And it "summons" more memories than any image could.
    Which makes me think about something... I recently downloaded the soundtrack of Kirby 64 and just listened to one or two
    tracks, but I was planning to hear them all, but I am not so sure now. You see, I played the game four or five years ago
    (emulated) and it was, oddly enough, kinda traumatic to me. I think I have a post in the "20 games that made japanese cry"
    (or something) thread in where I described the reason for that, but I will resume it:

    There is this level of a factory that really has a sad music, and I remember starting to cry when I heard.
    (To help, the day before, or week, I did something I am not proud of, so it helped to the "moisture"... )
    Anyway, after that, I had another of those "brilliant ideas" and played the song in my keyboard/"piano" with a strings
    arrangement, and it was a simple one too, so I kept playing it from the beginning (several times!) and cried even more...
    Now, even today, (thanks to that, I believe) sometimes the music comes into my mind and I start feeling sad...

    So I will take that event of yours as an advice/example to me and will not listen to the song. ^^

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    I think I’m permanently scarred from my first experience with Resident Evil as a child (and I don’t think I’m alone).
    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    I can’t recall if that first time playing Resident Evil was my first real encounter with anything having to do with zombies, or if it was the first time I ever felt so incredibly aware that I was inside and I could never be quite sure what was outside, but it’s definitely what I attribute my girlish mental trauma to.
    .. that is one of the reasons I avoid horror games (and movies, when I can) at all costs...

    I tend to get easily shocked, especially when blood in involved, but it happens more with movies than with games.
    I really cannot think of a specific game that gave me the chills, but I think maybe it is because, like I am sure I said before:
    I avoid them like the plague.

    Quote Originally Posted by Milady View Post
    What experiences have you had with gaming that have stuck with you beyond the time you were playing a particular game? It could be something as silly as mine, or a theme or philosophy that inspired you, or maybe you developed an entirely separate hobby such as learning a foreign language.
    Well, about gaming experiences now... Taking aside the happy ones, I only have sad ones.

    I have mentioned Kirby 64, which made me really sad. But I did not mention yet that the "final boss" also had a sad music
    and that I found it very traumatic because he bleeds when you attack him, and it looks like he is crying tears of blood.
    Before that the story seemed like it would end well, so I did not want to kill the boss... why couldn't they be friends?
    (I kept pressing the "fire" key though, but I felt like crying. It was like: "why do I have to do this?!"... )

    Another one that was traumatic for me, in a way, was "Ecco Tides of Time" for the Mega Drive. (Sega Genesis)
    First, the main song was touching, and some of them were a little sad, but the game was one of the toughest
    I have ever played in my life. (And I am talking about ten years ago or so, in the real console.)
    But the worst thing was, when I FINALLY got through the game, after that last level, the Dolphin dies!
    I was sad for some days after that and I still remember... Geez, after all that work...

    Well, I guess this sums it up. ^^

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    Quote Originally Posted by foggy_han View Post
    One was a movie called "Event Horizon" that my uncle (who is 4 years older) wanted to watch with me back in 2003 or so. A really horrible one.
    My dad had gotten event horizon once when I was a kid. And it was a while since I had watched any good movies. So he inserted it in the VCD player and we (The whole family) watched the introduction of the movie (In which it shows a space ship and then zooms in to show a rather disfigured dead body). At the time I thought the film was so awesome and was so interested in watching the rest but then my mom suddenly said that this movie is bad for children and we should go to bed. anyways, about six months a go I accidentally found the movie and watched it from beginning to the end. I was so hyped up since it was a movie I wanted to watch since childhood. But it was a lame movie.

    I guess that's why I'm not afraid of most horror films/games. Because they're usually lame.

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    Quote Originally Posted by foggy_han View Post
    (This one will really make me talk. )
    Well damn, you weren't kidding.

    (And Biohazard is what Resident Evil is called in Japan.)

    Anyway, I don't think I can post up much of a wall-of-text this time. Nothing specific comes to mind, but having been exposed to a great number of RPGs and tons of great characters/personalities probably had an effect on my personality as well, in a good way.

    There's something else, but it's a bit personal and I don't feel comfortable sharing it here. Sorry. But it's related to this song. I'm posting the link because it's amazing and people should totally listen to it. And play the game as well while they're at it.

    Edit: Oh wait, I'm so silly for not mentioning this. It's partly due to video games that I'm studying Japanese now.
    Last edited by Gare; 7th-January-2012 at 02:18.

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    Final Fantasy VIII

    ...I played FIRST instead of FFVII and I dont regret it at all, and since I fought hard against ultimecia I was genuinely impressed by the totally awesome ending

    Also, the xenogears ending moved me to tears

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    It's hard to think of them all, but Okami and many of the Zelda games come to mind simply because of the thrill of an adventure that awaits you and upon completion, you're treated to a good ending.

    Shadow of the Colossus and ICO are also on my lists.

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    I played Final Fantasy 8 on christmas morning in 2000 and it changed my perspective on shit forever lol.
    Squall is the man haha

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    The first one is "Legend of the Dragoon" (PS1), this is first RPG that i completed, so it lectured me "game make you understand more about life".
    The second one is "Chrono Cross" (PS1).... "Feelin' not erase"
    Final Fantasy series... "Dream & hope make peoples stronger"
    Persona 3 & 4 (PS2).... "Bond of peoples is the True Strength"
    ....
    Almost Every games that i ever played influence me, because i can understand how the Life is....
    Happy Gaming Even After

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    When I was still young, I got hooked on playing pokemon games. Especially, Silver Version. They say that pokemon is only for boys, my classmates don't even wanna share their games with me. So, when I got my own nintendo GB, I asked my parents to buy me pokemon game. And, was really addicted into it, I even play almost everyday the whole day!! When I finished playing it, feels a bit sad. =/

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