Born in 1994, I grew up at a time when computers were just beginning to take over everyone’s homes, and internet was the new must-have thing.
One of my first memories with a computer was when I went into my cousin’s room and saw he was playing Aladdin on his desktop. It was a 2-D platformer where your goal was to defeat the guards and reach the end of each level. I remember watching him play and getting hooked instantly.
From the moment I watched my cousin play the first video game, my gaming journey began!
Starting with the old computer games such as Tarzan, Command and Conquer, Commandos, Pinball, Tomb Raider, and even Solitaire.
I then moved onto gaming on my Nintendo Gameboy Advanced DS, playing all versions of Pokemon, Donkey Kong, and Beyblade.
After the Gameboy came the Playstation 2, where I played the likes of God of War, WWE, FIFA, and Spyro.
The progression from thereon was simple, getting a Playstation 3, and then a Playstation 4 that I still use, mainly to play sports games online now.
The thing that truly appealed me towards video games was the challenging aspect of them. The games I played taught me the value of being patient, and of being persistent in order to develop ability to do things.
The games I played allowed me to solve puzzles, and figure out what the best strategies are when approaching a challenge, and how not each challenge needs to be dealt with in the same manner.
People love to put the importance of video games down, but I believe they’re some of the best learning tools for kids. They gamify learning, and team kids more life-skills than your average school.