When I was young I loved gaming, now don't get me wrong I loved gaming but like I do now. As I was saying, when I was young I loved gaming it was something to not only do but took me away from like in the middle of BF no where. I grew up on an old dirt road with no friends close by and in an adopted family, life wasn't very fun for me outside of gaming.

When I was in my late teens (19 years old actually) Microsoft released the Xbox (I had an N64 already btw), now I was largely a PC gamer at the time (it was the only platform with any notable number of strategy games) and played a relatively small number of genres. Sure I enjoyed every Zelda game I played, the mario platformers (I hate every other mario game I've played) were decent, perfect dark was very memorable but I didn't play much more then strategy games (turn based and real time).

When Mircosoft released the Xbox I not only found FPSs other then Duke Nukem fun but a host of other genres I didn't like fun as well. I was a combination of a few of things that made the Xbox so important for me; 1st the controller (I know a lot of people found it too big but I loved it and didn't like the S controller), the Xbox's jumbo controller had an awesome button layout and the dual analog sticks made playing games other then strategies fun cause I wasn't fighting with that damn keyboard or mouse (that was a big reason I played mostly strategies). Halo was the first game I got with it and I was blown away by the graphics, before the Xbox console games had always been notably behind PC games (graphically and gameplay wise (well a lot of them anyway)). MS had created a system that had not only power but a great controller and a hard drive, gone were the days of very limited memory for my consoles (4 before that (Game Boy, Calecovsion, SNES, N64)). 2nd game selection; the Xbox had a massive library of games I found I enjoyed, one of which was The Eldar Scrolls III Morrwind which leads to my 3rd reason. Controls, not only did Xbox games have a great controller but great controls, I bought Morrowind for Xbox first and found it immensely fun so I got the PC for the construction set that came with it (I could of done more with it had I already had some programming experience), I was horrified by Morrowind's PC controls. It was at this point I began a shift away from PC gaming and moved ever more toward console gaming. Oh before I forget a 4th reason that has become increasingly desirable is that console games don't throw compatibility BS at you constantly.

I loved the Xbox so when MS announced the Xbox 360 I had to get one and I wasn't disappointed either (still never had a RRoD and I've got 3 + my girlfriend has one). The 360 was very much like my Xbox1 but with a better controller, better graphics, gamer score (I really loved that idea), upgradable HD, and silver membership to Xbox Live (but I didn't get to take advantage of that for a couple of years until I moved out of that god forsaken forest). Now for a while there I still played a few PC games (again strategies) because I could get them on console and then EA released Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth II(I enjoyed the movies but am not really a fan per say just enjoyed the movies). Battle for Middle Earth II was the first proven RTS game on a console and over the next few years even more were released (mostly from EA). At last all the genres I loved on PC and console were available on one system (I also picked up a Wii and DS for the unique offerings they bring to the table). With the release of Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars I was done with PC gaming (well almost I still pull out a few classics every now and then), I found I was barely completing any of my PC games and around 80% of my console games, coupled with the fact I didn't have to fight with the machine to play the games I bought, the streamlined controls, and an over abundance of great games to play I wasn't going back to PC.

Now as I've gotten older I've found I care less about graphics (sure they look nice) and more about game play (I care about the same about plot though) but most importantly I found a medium that not only interests me but enthralls me. I decided shortly before the 360's released to get into game programming as a career and am currently studying programming at a local university.

One thing I've noticed about myself as I get older and fonder of this great medium is I have become more protective of it. Some splinter groups (if one can call them that) have made choices that either degrade the medium or spit on it, these groups bother me. Not everyone agrees with me on my views (my girlfriend's older sister doesn't like how I despise the sims or a co-worker who doesn't understand my contempt for sony's ps3 (I'll leave explaining my reasoning for another blog entry)) but I feel this way because of my love of the medium (more then a few have accused me of fanboyism and such BS).

Really I love gaming because it is in part what made me who I am today, TV had very little influence (having 3 channels might be partly why), books weren't ever really my thing, few friends grounding up (that was due to isolation), and being an outsider in my "family" ment gaming was a place I could be me. As I write the last sentance I'll leave you all with a curios little factoid; my vocabulary is larger in large part due to game writers using varied words in their plots and thus encouraging me to seek out their meanings.

My girlfriend's older sister (who's 29 btw) is the worst case of sims fangirlism I've ever had to deal with. I can't stand the sims, there's no game play, no plot, no nothing, just a doll house and dolls. I've pretty much hated it since my younger brother's friend gave him/us a copy of the first "game", I'd never heard of it so I thought what the heck I'll give it a try. Thirty minutes in and I now take offense at hearing the name, I wasted twenty minutes installing a doll house and dolls on my PC.

Let's face it, you can't ignore the fact that far more girls/women then men "play" the sims because it's a digital doll house. You put your little dolls in their little house and pretend they live a happy little life, just like a little girl does with her dolls (now there's nothing wrong with little girls doing this but men and to a lesser extent (but not by much) women should not be playing with dolls).

I've been playing video games since I was 7 or 8 (for a long time at friends places cause my parents are odd to say the least) and I'm 27 have over 3500 games (from just about every genre, barring a few) and never once felt so cheated by trying to play something (hell even the PC games I could never finish due to so game ending bug were more satisfying) as I was by the sims. It was truly offal and that is what bothers me so with sims fangirls.

My girlfriends sister tries to tell me all the games I play are the same (she calls them "war games", even though only a hand full are shooters, which aren't "war games") because she can't tell the obvious differences. Any player of a particular shooter or RTS or action game will be able to tell you the difference between say Halo and killzone or C&C3 and Supreme Commander or Fallout 3 and Red Faction Guerrilla. She chooses not to see the differences cause it would mean she'd have to admit there is no substance to the sims cause the similarities between it and playing dolls are just to damn obvious and then she'd have to admit that too.

What is a Video Gamer first off? VGs are anyone who plays video games; defined as 1st it must run on a system with a input/output (I/O) system, 2nd it must have game play: a series of tasks/activities with a clearly defined goal (points, mission objectives, boss fights, etc.), 3rd it can't be possible in real life (relative to the age in which it's created) and/or is too dangerous to do for entertainment. There are several types of VGs: Pure Gamers, Pro Gamers, Specialist Gamers, Hardcore Gamers, MMO Gamers, Average Gamers, Casual Gamers.

Pure Gamers: the rarest and most devoted gamers. Pures play many genres of VGs but not necessarily all genres, and have little interest in other mediums (IE: film, literature, etc). Pures are very defensive of the VG and look down on Non-Gamers.

Pro Gamers: Pros are gamers who play competitive games for prize money and sponsorships, they are very skilled at FPSs, TPSs, and RTSs but maybe skilled in other genres. Unlike Pures Pros may have interests outside of gaming and are not quite as defensive of the VG.

Specialist Gamers: Specialist only play one or two genres but are masters at them. They typically have interests in numerous other things then VGs and don't spend much time or energy on VGs other then their chosen genres.

Hardcore Gamers: Hardcores only play Macho Male games, VGs are sort of a guilty pleasure of theirs and they look other forms of gamers as odd or strange. They typically are more interested in sports and girls then using their brains or VGs.

MMO Gamers: MMOs are gamers who play Massively Multiplayer Online games, they often have little interest in other genres and spend great deals of time and money on their MMO characters. They are prone to VG addiction and real world social issues, they have been known to spend upwards of 20 hours a day in a MMO game.

Average Gamers: Averages play a few games here and there but their lives are no where near focused on gaming and their collections are often tiny in comparison to most other forms of gamers.

Casual Gamers: Casuals only play simple cheap games, often digitized forms of board games, VGs are a distraction for when they have nothing better to do. This type of gamer is made up of women more then any other type.

Gamology is a belief system based around the video game.

Let's start off with defining what a Video game is: 1st it must run on a system with a input/output (I/O) system, 2nd it must have game play: a series of tasks/activities with a clearly defined goal (points, mission objectives, boss fights, etc.), 3rd it can't be possible in real life (relative to the age in which it's created) and/or is too dangerous to do for entertainment.

Now let's look at the core beliefs of Gamology: 1st one may not bring harm to any real video games, simulators don't count. 2nd promote video games in anyway possible, just playing them counts (so long as one doesn't pirate them). 3rd defend video games from the evils of those like the Jack Thompson, by what ever means necessary. 4th bring no harm to one's fellow gamologist, Non-Gamers hold no value and are fair game for target practice. 5th produce little gamers or convert older individuals to gaming. 7th respect Ludus, the eternal spirit of gaming.

/\Ludus is estentially the God of Gamology and therefore is entitled to our respect.

Now Gamologists go forth and spread the word of Ludus.

Yet again a politician makes false claims against video games, this time the governor of new york state. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many more times "Non-Gamers should be culled from the population". These creatures blame the one true medium for the social problems they not only created but deny is their fault and then claim they are doing something about it. I've yet to see any case which the killer in question played video games and then decided that wasn't good enough so they went and did it for real (ignoring the fact they can't cast magic, alter time, jump 20 feet, etc.). One of those dip ***** from columbine actually tried and claim the kids he help bully thought their rampage was a video game and not a final act of desperation after years of miss treatment. Did anyone ever notice the people in Japan never blame video games when a kid commits suicide, they know it's always something else.