The first video game I remember playing was a tiny little space ship game on my brother's computer. Each player controlled their own ten pixel ship and did their best to destroy the other player. That's all there was to it. No upgrades, no multipliers, no fine targeting. Just two ships, in space shooting at each other. I don't remember this specific game because it was particularly great, but because I played it with my brother.
Since that day, my brother's tastes in games has narrowed a bit. While I can still get some great rounds of Worms out of him and the occasional Rock Band stint, he really doesn't go for the shooters I enjoy so much, nor the RPG's I play from time to time. He's not a big fan of the controllers on modern consoles, and sticks mostly to PC games. For all my strategic prowess he makes me look like an idiot when it comes to most strategy games. I love playing them with him nonetheless because well, he's my brother, but more than that, playing games with the person who introduced you to them seems to bring back that magic.
I remember that first game very well. I couldn't have been much older than five at the time and in order to see the screen I had to sit on my brother's lap. He let me control the ship attached to the arrow keys while he manned the more complicated WSAD configuration on the other ship. He let me play around with it for while and I giggled as I spun my ship drunkenly around the arena, careening from corner to corner. Eventually I found the fire ke and the game was underway. I can't remember if I trounced or was trounced, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that I had taken my first steps into gaming with my brother.
To this day, whenever I play a game I think back to that time. As life-defining moments go, it's a bit tame for some but it meant a lot to me. I play games now because of that experience I had with my brother. I owe him for that. I think every one of us has someone to thank for our interest in games. If at all posible, give that person a call, thank them for what they did for you. They deserve it.
This is my thanks to my brother for starting me down a path that's led me here. Because you showed me the joys of gaming, I've made some of the best friends I've ever had, conected better with my wife and mustered the resolve to keep this blog running. Thanks, bro.
