Introduction: Super Mario is 25 or How I'm that much closer to collecting social security

Has it been so long? The other day I was talking the vidya with my brother when we hit upon a startling fact--Super Mario Bros. is going to be 25 years old this year. Yet another startling fact dawned on me. I'm only 2 years older than the Mario Bros. and out out of those 27 years, at least 24 were spent gaming in one way or another. It's all nearly overwhelming to consider. I feel as if those days spent with my neighbor trying to get the infinite 1-ups in world 3-1, chasing after the minus world, and whatever other schoolyard rumors circulated (does anybody else remember the rumor that there was a chocolate factory level somewhere?) were only yesterday. That chubby 7 year old sitting in front of the TV with bag of Doritos™ and a can of soda (no wonder I was fat!) staying up all night in hot pursuit of the princess is nothing but a hazy, if potent, memory.

So here I am now. A chasm of years and experience separating me from that butterball who eagerly looked forward to going to the neighbor's after school to play Pole Position and Super Mario Bros.

As I've aged and matured, so have video games. An interesting phenomena has occurred in the process. Games like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Sonic, etc. thought to be nothing more than toys at best; purveyors of moral decay at worst are now being recognized in a new light. We now see that many of these games weren't just pieces of merchandise to be hawked on the open market for all they were worth, doubtless though they were. We can now appreciate the fine work and craftsmanship that went into the creation of these games. The best even have a sense of soul to them; an ability to move us just as any music, or literature, or film can.

Some may think we're looking too much into these games. After all, who among us would want to concede as we enter our thirties and forties that our reluctance to let go of gaming is a sign not of a reevaluation of the worth of gaming, but merely a sign of immaturity? But I think that those who view video games as an emerging art form, among whose numbers I count myself, will be vindicated in the end.

I've been thinking about starting this blog for a few years now. There were aborted attempts. As with everything, sometimes we have to mature further until we're ready to move to that next step.

In this blog, I'll mostly be discussing my thoughts on gaming and reminiscing on my past experiences with games. I'll also talk much about the older games that were the sound and color of my formative years.

I do hope you enjoy this blog. Your comments are always appreciated. Thank you!