It took about 20 minutes and lots of cursing, but it came to life, Dad had just tuned the television into an arcade machine with a borrowed games console and the screen lit up with the word ‘Pong’ and from this day onward I would become a self-confessed addict to video games. It must have been 1978 when this machine turned up in our living room and as quick as it was here it was gone again, I had no idea where Dad got this technology but it was above our standard of living, I mean we were having to put 50 pence pieces into the back of the television to get it to work, there was no extra money in this house for a games machine.
We had one weekend with this machine
from outer space and then it was returned to its owner, but it had left a
lasting impression on me that would never leave. A simple game of bat and ball
but in sprites on the family television, first to 21 points, it was as simple
as that and now I’m going to take you on a potted history of my video game
addiction, right up to today…
Shortly after that initial slither of
home entertainment arcades were opening in the UK and game technology was
moving fast, as was I, doing all I could to earn and gather 10 pence pieces for
the arcade at the back of my local video shop. Ironically, I was 12 years old
and started my paper round for the local newspaper and my local newsagents to
fund my habit and the game of choice on a Friday pay day was ‘Paperboy’,
launching newspapers at the coloured house and avoiding non-subscribers, their
dogs and drain gates, hoping and trying my best to get to the end of ‘Easy
Street’ as many others watched over my shoulder, waiting for failure and hoping
for my demise, coins in hand, kids wouldn’t think twice to trample all over you
to be next to grab those handlebars.
I was off school with tonsillitis one
day and went to the shops with my Mum and persuaded her to let me go and have a
look around the arcade behind the video shop whilst she shopped for food across
the road. I walked in and two blokes were removing the Paperboy cabinet and
replacing it with a new game, and I was first to see it, all alone as all the
other kids were in school. I was beaming waiting for it to be plugged in and
when it was the screen lit up ‘Bubble Bobble’ it said and one of the blokes put
a 50 pence piece in it, 5 credits… “Go on then son, away you go!” FREE CREDITS!
I got in trouble that day as mum had to ask the local policeman to help find me
because she didn’t even know the arcade existed at the back of the video shop
and therefore didn’t look in it to find me and 5 credits will get you a long
way with a 100-level game like Bubble Bobble and this was my first experience
of being a video game ‘completionist’, an obsessive who wouldn’t give up until
I had beaten the machine, blasting bubbles at the enemies, hoping to burst them
before they got out and chased me. The other thing about Bubble Bobble was that
it had a soundtrack, something that would become so important to gaming, like
the game it was repetitive and addictive but brought on huge anxiety as it sped
up if you were running out of time on the level. Next to Bubble Bobble was
R-type, my next love affair, encouraged to blast off and ‘Strike the Evil Bydo
Empire’, a small space craft with a detachable gun taking on huge end of level
bosses, one of my greatest achievements in life is leaving that arcade on a
rainy Saturday morning having completed R-type and my name ‘MAD’, being at the
top of the leader board.
Autumn 1986, It’s a Saturday and there is a school trip to Alton Towers, not the most popular kid I decided to go alone, no family, no mates, just me. It was easier that way anyway, I could go where I wanted and go on what rides I wanted but I was side-tracked, I spent all my money and most of my day in the arcade playing the new kid on the block… Out Run! Out Run was my first love when it came to the racing genre which would become my game of choice over any other.
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| Get Ready! |
The object of Out Run is to speed across the map in your Ferrari Testarossa Spider with your beautiful lady sat beside you as you listen to the Magical Sound Shower, it was dreamy, the sound and graphics were incredible but it was difficult and I always ended up seeing the request ‘Insert Coin to Continue’ which was now a 20 pence piece, times they were a changing’, so I did what I was asked and zoned out in awe of the game in front of me, day dreaming “They’ll never beat this, this is the ultimate game, there’s nowhere to go from here”, The End.
1987 was the year when the arcade truly
came into the house, games consoles had made a huge leap and in 1987 the
consumer had a choice of 8-bit systems, the Sega Master System, or the Nintendo
Entertainment System. Luckily, my paper round had turned into a job in the
newsagents during all holidays and weekends, so I was earning a wage at 14
years old and eventually got both the consoles mentioned above and my gaming
stayed that way, always buying the latest, next generation system… Sega Master System, Nintendo, Sega Dreamcast,
PlayStation 1, 2 and 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and now the Xbox Series X.
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| My first... |
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| My last, my everything |
Along the way I had some massive highlights like Tony Hawk Pro Skater (1999), Call of Duty 3, Eder Dam being my first ever truly immersive online experience (2006) and then there were the games that had those outstanding soundtracks that I touched on earlier. Fifa 10 (2009) rocked out The Enemy, Be Somebody, GTA V (2013) Damien Marley, Welcome to Jamrock was perfectly fitting, to me, music is a special part of the whole gaming experience.
I’ll try to conclude here but I really
could go on forever writing about something I’m extremely passionate about like
this. A recent blockbuster for me and many others was Rockstar’s fantastic
prequel; Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2), a fictional recreation of the American
Old West in 1899, RDR2 focuses on the life of Arthur Morgan and his position in
the notorious Van Der Linde gang. The game follows the gang’s decline as they
are pursued by lawmen, fellow gangs, and Pinkerton agents. This was the closest
to being in an actual motion picture as it would get, an emotional roller-coaster
of a game that blew me away.
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| Arthur Morgan - RDR2 |
5th November 2021 00:01, 200mph
in the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE as I launch the latest release from Playground
Games; Forza Horizon 5 (FH5), now this game is incredible! Based in Mexico the
latest instalment of the series is breath-taking, in my opinion this is the
first true experience of next generation gaming, sure the Series X was released
in the UK on 10th November 2020, but I think it was waiting in the
darkness until this moment. The scenery is mouth-watering, and the car
selection is hugely extensive, the play list comes with a recommendation from
me – ‘Midnight Kids,
Everything You Are’ and the
missions, well the missions are a plenty! In fact, to begin with, there’s too
much to do, it’s slightly overwhelming in that respect. One thing I haven’t mentioned
until now is what video games truly mean to me, why are they so important to me,
well they mean the world, they are a leveller, my disability is non-existent in
the gaming world, I am equal. With that said FH5 is the most accessible game
ever made. Accessibility features
include American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) support
for cinematics; a game speed modification setting that allows gamers to play at
a reduced rate; customisable subtitle options; High Contrast mode, Colour Blindness
mode, personalised button configurations and more. It seems that the developers made inclusivity a priority and I love it!
I am 47
years old, and I am stunned by this game… “They’ll
never beat this, this is the ultimate game, there’s nowhere to go from here”,
The End.
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| The Champion of the World! |
