Playin' Video Games

Yes, the title is in reference to the Lana Del Rey song. When I finish reading a book, especially if it was a lengthy one, I'll read some comics, short stories, or novellas after, just to cleanse the palate. Same thing when I finish a project; I like to give myself a little mental break before diving into the next one. On a rare occasion I would play video games.

Recently I read a book that made me fall in love with video games all over again. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. While it was originally published in 2022, I read it a few months back and fell deeply in love with it. The story is about two video game designers who are friends from an early age, and their journey together in the competitive video game industry.

While I never was a professional gamer by any means, I grew up parallel to the video games and consoles that shaped the culture we know today; Sonic, Street Fighter, Halo, World of Warcraft, Pokémon, etc. Zevin brilliantly carves out a little slice of her own in the video game industry, having the characters create their own best-selling games, and deal with the success, the failures, and drama while making it feel like the company actually existed at one point.

My parents were very strict when it came to movies, television, and video games when I was growing up. I was an easily distracted child, and my grades were never stellar, so it was no wonder why they didn't allow for any additional distractions for me at home. I most likely would have come back as 'positive' for ADHD had I been tested for it. Because I didn't grow up with any consoles, I would go over to friends houses to watch and play with them. They would be incredibly skilled after playing for hours on end. Myself on the other hand, always had a lot to learn. But I enjoyed watching, and helping with suggestions or reading out loud the strategy guides if they had them.

Since I didn't have a Nintendo or a Sega Genesis, I was limited to the family computer: the classic teal iMac. My favorite game was Myth II: Soulblighter, and was one of my first forays into playing online against other people. Through the group I ended up befriending (The Brotherhood of Bob [BoB]), that was one of my first experiences with online community outside of just gaming together. We had a forum where we would strategize about upcoming battles, talk about our personal lives and other interests, and even wrote our own fan fiction stories about characters in the game. And when I say 'fan fic,' I don't mean that kind. That forum was where I started writing short stories, sticking to the dark fantasy world genre from the game. I'm sure I was the youngest person there by a decade, but they treated me as an equal, and never once did I feel uncomfortable.

In high school, one of my favorite past times was a group of us running/skating/cycling over to my best friend Jeremy's house on our lunch break (we had off-campus lunch privileges) to play Halo multiplayer. We would kill each other for the next 50 minutes, before hightailing it back to campus just in time for the next period. Some of my fondest memories of high school with friends. I became so good at Halo, that when I was invited to a friend's 80s party years later, the hostess had an XBOX and a group of guys wanted to play Halo. Muscle memory kicked in, and I smoked them all, every game. They eventually stopped playing because it was no longer fun, and went back to drinking and socializing with women. To celebrate my numerous victories, I proudly got shitfaced and proceeded to spew off the top balcony to the bushes below. I was so cool.

Playing my GBA while waiting in line at Comic-Con 2007.

The big gaming moment for me came with the launch of the Gameboy Advance SP. I had a job and was making a little money, and saved up to purchase it. I didn't want the GBA classic, I wanted the one that folded in half and had a lit back screen. I went to Best Buy, bought the red one, and a copy of Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past so I could play with my friends through the connector cables. The Gameboy was mine, and I could play it anytime I wanted. On trips to Universal Studios with friends, we would whip out a GBA SP and a pass it around, usually playing Advance Wars 2 as we waited in the long lines. Again, some fond memories of bonding through video games.

One of my earliest attempts at comics, using construction paper and photoshop. Jeremy's hair was never that spiky. But he did get fired from Cold Stone for playing on his blue GBA SP one shift.

After high school, World of Warcraft became my obsession, not once but twice. All my friends were on it, and we created our own guild and spent months leveling up. I was always the runt of the group, because my PC setup at the time was awful, and the constant lag from the graphics and internet speed made it frustrating to play. I eventually quit, but rejoined years later after Walt Simonson's World of Warcraft comic book run inspired me to play again. This time I made sure I had the right graphic cards, internet speeds, and perfect gaming conditions. I would lock myself away in my room for hours on end, day and night, with a steady diet of miniature microwave pizzas with ranch dressing, corndogs, and chicken bakes. And no, I wasn't sexually active at the time, what gave me away?

Fast-forward to college and my interests in video games waned, especially since new amazing games were constantly coming out and costing $80-$100 per game. Also, I had no free time with classes, a social life, and part-time jobs to make money. I eventually bought an XBOX 360 and a copy of Halo 2 my senior year when a semester in particular wasn't that hectic, but it was only for the online play. Eventually the XBOX collected dust, before being held hostage by an unhinged ex-girlfriend (I let her have it, it wasn't worth the effort).

After college, my obsessions turned to books, comics, and writing, and video games slowly melted away from my life. Until I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and fell in love with the medium all over again. And after I had just completed writing the first season of Abroad, I decided to re-discover the video games I once loved during my break between projects.

Restored, and ready to play!

First things first, I found my old Gameboy Advance SP. It's over 20 years old at this point, and the only thing I needed to replace was the battery. With the new battery installed (dirt cheap), the on/off switch is a tad sensitive, but that's the only issue. It still works, the back light has no issues, I just had to rebuild my library of games. My old games are lost to the annals of history, so I purchased a few of the classics, including Pokémon Emerald. I had a copy of Ruby back in the day, but it doesn't hurt to start fresh. Additionally, all my Pokémon are named after drag queens who I feel like they most closely resemble. I've been having a lot of fun rediscovering the world, and plan on taking my time.

Fuck this guy.

I also purchased Batman: Arkham Asylum for the XBOX One, since apparently the XBOX 360 games are not reverse compatible. I actually bought the entire trilogy for $8 since it was on sale on the XBOX store, but like with Pokémon, I'm taking my time. And I'm glad that I am, because the storytelling is incredible. I know I'm not telling you anything new, it won hundreds of awards, etc, but for me as a comic book fan, it's a great game to get immersed into. I hate the Scarecrow levels though, they piss me off when he spots me.

I already had the Halo collection purchased, but I have issues with video games and online play nowadays. Everything is a subscription based model, which is fucking annoying. Back in my day, multiplayer came with the game for free, and all you had to do was have an internet connection. Nowadays I have to plan for having a relatively non-busy month just to justify a month's subscription. I'm not going to purchase an annual pass and then just have it sit there, giving Microsoft more money than I had planned on spending. So instead, I'm playing the campaigns.

All of this to say, it's very apparent how much nostalgia I experienced reading Zevin's novel, and being a gentleman who turns 40 in two years, nostalgia is a powerful outlet to retreat to in these troubled times. One of the reasons I stopped playing video games around college was because I felt like I had better things to do with my time. I'm accumulating fantasy points that don't get me anything but cooler character skins? If I were to die tomorrow, would my legacy just be, "He was ranked number 631 in that one game, nothing too impressive."? At least with books and comics, it's a tangible legacy.

Will this just be another hobby for me to grow bored with eventually? Perhaps, but at least this time I can recognize that video games do play a small part in my life, and will always be there for me when I need them. Even the games I grew up loving will always be available if I want a trip down memory lane. Hell, I might even purchase a Nintendo Switch at some point. I don't think I'll have to worry about being obsessed like I once was, but as long as I see video games as an escape and not a lifestyle, I should be okay.

To quote a great wizard, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Oh and go read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow if you haven't already. I don't know what else I can say to persuade you at this point. Amazing book.