Even after the exciting days of Christmas, the memories of Christmas games never fade.
If you had told my seven-year-old self that after going through the trials and tribulations of doing other, “more serious” things, I would eventually end up in the gaming industry, I would have valued that knowledge more than any present. I bought it at the store.
This year is a time for reflection. When I look back on all my previous holidays, I remember all the food, travel and traditions clearly. But what really stands out is the fun and games we have with family and friends.
I’ve always been a gamer. From the first time I put a thimble on the board in Monopoly, I was hooked. Soon enough, I was tagging along as my older brothers rented videos from the library to learn chess (yes, we did that too!). Was he five or six years old? maybe I may be a little young to play chess, but that didn’t stop me from preparing the board setup every day when my dad came home from work.
At that time I thought a lot about chess. The idea of having to weigh decisions and think about next steps came naturally to me, and it changed the way I think about life for the better. It wasn’t long before Mario and Link arrived, and the games took up most of the space in my mind for most of my childhood.
I remember a holiday from my elementary school days. With the SNES, everything changed overnight. There are so many basic classics that are essential to organizing my adult brain. Super Ghouls and Ghosts, A Link to the Past, Maximum Carnage… The list goes on.
I also attribute my love of writing, reading, and language in general to this system. Incredible, epic RPGs like Final Fantasy VI (or III, depending on your international version), EarthBound, and Chrono Trigger were multimedia experiences where storytelling and compelling game mechanics occupied equal space. This was my future.
After that everything becomes a blur. The game evolved very quickly and I went with it. Before long it was Playstation… I exchanged FFVI for FFVII. I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve cried (see where I mean?). My brother and I have put thousands of hours into SSX Tricky and it’s great. I diligently farmed all the achievements in Gran Turismo. In fact, these are things I thought about whenever work or life got difficult in the future. Here I learned persistence and patience.
As I grew older, gaming wasn’t just a way of life, it was my life. Having a TFC LAN party with friends on the weekend was a common occurrence, so what else to do? Every activity has been gamified… I learned to roll with the punches of life because I learned to think of it as a game… And you can never get out of a good game until you get to the end. On a side note, whenever someone says “roll with the punches” I think about the mechanics of Heroes: Unlimited. Allow yourself to ‘roll with the punches’ and cast a d20 to see if you can take half as much damage by better positioning your body. 🤣
I’ve known about tabletop RPGs since I was a kid and felt like playing them at a (probably) too young age was incredibly beneficial to my communication and mental organization skills. But as I grew into an adult, tabletop became a way to make new friends, develop interpersonal relationships, and filter out who I wanted in my life and who I didn’t.
D&D and MTG nights are how I met some of my best friends to date. The Settlers of Catan always have a new, randomly drawn edition waiting on the coffee table.
As a father, my first instinct was to play games with my children. Peekaboo, eat your toe, eat your nose… From the beginning, all humans have a need to play and we understand that naturally. As that play quickly grew, Chase the Ticklemonster gave way to Chutes and Ladders, and eventually a slew of other Pokémon.
Last year my daughter set the first die on a 7. She created her first D&D character, a Dragonborn Shaman named BoomBoom. These days, sneaking the various Monster Manuals my wife and I have off the shelves is becoming a prominent thing on her priority list, and she might even find a new MM of her own under the tree this year!
But it’s not just my kids. My wife also received a set of carved pewter dice from me. She’s a completely different type of gamer, but we found common ground. About 11 years ago, I moved into a house and I thought my roommate was cute. Since I had her spare PC, I invited her to play the beta version of her Path of Exile with me. Fast forward a few years and we spent an hour last night playing the same game together (the new league is pretty awesome!).
I think my parents regretted getting us into games when I was young. First and foremost, it’s a video game. People in the 90s seemed to think that video games were inherently anti-social and would ruin children’s lives and lead to a damaged and desensitized generation.
I’m sure I’m not desensitized as I sit here tearing through memories. I look back on my life and gaming didn’t ruin my life. Games have taken me everywhere I need to go. Even though my parents thought games were rotting my brain, the truth is that every game I played was a new perspective and experience that shaped my approach to life. It enriched everything. I will try to avoid making that mistake of perspective as I look for all new ways to help my children grow into better people.
So thank you mom and dad. Thank you to my brothers who explored and challenged the game with me. Thank you for still coming there to play pitch or board games on your days off.
I will definitely pass on this gift. My sons and daughters have the ability to experience more than previous generations through the magic of games. How else could you feel what it’s like to be the last orc in your legion or race against an impending supernova to solve increasingly difficult puzzles?
Gifts are cool. We all love gift cards and socks. Heck, I asked her wife to just give me the hole-free sweater I wore this year. But in my memory, it all eventually blurred into the game.
I want my kids’ holiday memories to be the same as mine. We hope you’ll spend lazy holiday afternoons exploring the unknown in sparkling new adventures, laughing and playing board games around the table. I look forward to the day when my daughter can beat me fair and square at Scrabble.
Gaming is the greatest gift I’ve ever received, and giving that gift to others is as much a way of life as playing it myself.
I hope you all have a happy holiday season and have fun!
With love and support,
Jordan Roberts, Gala