How Gaming Changed This Girl’s Life
It’s funny how, in the beginning, he thought it was cool dating a girl who liked gaming. He now cautions guys against dating gamer girls! He was just mad that I took over his Playstation for about a whole solid month. Yeah, I know it shouldn’t have been that long, but I’m one of those “gotta get everything” kinda gamers.~Jessi Roman
How Gaming Changed This Girl’s Life
Single moments in history are what make up our lives. Some moments pass by unnoticed, seemingly meaningless, lost in a neurological card catalog, while others are etched into our memories, never to be forgotten.
What was it about that day in 2nd grade (no, I’m not going to tell you what year it was!) that stood out in my memory? Santa Claus came to our class. We went up and down the rows, each naming one thing we wanted for Christmas. I was the only one that did not ask for a Nintendo! I asked for a drum set, and I got it… never did become much of a musician. At any rate, this was not the catalyst that began my transformation from the geeky kid that every one made fun of into… well, the geeky gamer girl that everyone made fun of. (Thank God for the sudden acclamation of geek culture!) No, it was not this single moment, framed in time, that changed my life, but for some reason it stuck.
I didn’t get a NES of my very own until several years later. That’s not to say that I didn’t spend hours upon hours of my formative years playing Super Mario Bros. with the boy across the street. But no, I wasn’t a “gamer” back then. I mean, I definitely remember that feeling I got the first time I found out that my Princess was in another castle… -_- and I remember how I swelled with pride when I finally beat 8-4 and found her! I mean, I have some seriously precious gaming memories that even go as far back as Sierra’s “Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter”.
There was a life-changing gaming experience for me, though. It wasn’t until after I graduated high school. I started dating this guy who had a Playstation. He changed my life forever. Not only did I end up marrying the guy, but he introduced me to Chrono Cross – most epic RPG ever! I had never played a serious RPG before… I mean, does Zelda count? No, I didn’t think so. So being all girly and stuff, I got really sucked in by the art, and the plethora of characters you could pick up. Matter of fact, to this day, a key element in how I rate an RPG is the number of playable characters.
Let’s face it, people, there’s no greater game to have launched me into the world of serious hard-core gaming. I worked a split shift at the JCC, so I had a block of four hours free time in the middle of the day. He gave me the key to his house (and unknowingly, the key to his heart <3… yeah, I’m a sap), and I’d spend those four hours immersed in the tropical archipelago, El Nido.
It’s funny how, in the beginning, he thought it was cool dating a girl who liked gaming. He now cautions guys against dating gamer girls! He was just mad that I took over his Playstation for about a whole solid month. Yeah, I know it shouldn’t have been that long, but I’m one of those “gotta get everything” kinda gamers… so I went for every character… played out every possible subplot… even used the strategy guide to make sure I didn’t miss anything. And boy did I get everything! It changed my life. Really. I wonder if I had not spent those hours upon hours hanging out at his house, playing Chrono Cross… I wonder if I still would have won his heart? I’m not going to go so far as to say that gaming got me married… but maybe it did. Maybe it changed my life more than I’ll ever know.
It’s been over ten years now, and we’re still married… and still gaming! I may have gotten better at sharing, and co-op games are more fun now! But to this day, nothing has ever come close to the grand epicness that is Chrono Cross. No other game has made such an impact on my life. Even as I write this now, I’m listening to the OST, and realizing how important it is that I go back for a re-play.
Did a game ever change your life? If so, how? What game was it?
Jessi Roman is a geek, gamer, mom, proudly raising the next generation of nerds! You can read her blog here.
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I am so glad you wrote this! This could almost be me word for word, just exchange Chrono Cross for Final Fantasy Tactics and it practically is my story. My husband and I will be married 10 years in May. We still haven’t perfected the whole sharing thing, so we just got 2 computers and started playing MMOs together so we don’t have to share.
Awe, thanks! I’m glad I’m not the only one! 😀
Such a great story! Do you play any games together now?
well… we used to play some fighting games together, but he started declining my offers… think his ego took one hit too many. 😉 most of the gaming we do together now is usually on the wii with the kids. 😀 we usually take turns on games… so like, right now, he’s on l.a. noir and i get star trek online. we’ll switch some time in the future. :p
Games that changed my life….Chrono Trigger. Its hard to just put one game in that category,
It would probably have to be Chrono Cross, because that was the game that really connected my girlfriend and I in taste for what we expected out of video games. After 10 years of marriage we still talk about that game. <3 my Jessi
Did a game ever change my life? Yes.
Not only was that game also Chrono Cross, but not until stumbling across this article did I even realize it.
After the first paragraph and then that picture of Kid, a lifetime-worth of memories hit me, that to be honest I’m not sure I would have taken the time to recall otherwise.
God damn great article. Thank you.
Fantastic! I love that so many of us have had such life-changing experiences from Chrono Cross!