I can distinctly remember the first time I saw Super Mario Bros. A moment, for most, that would be thrown away in the vast zip file of one’s brain. This moment changed my entire life. Now, I’d seen the Atari and played it on many occasions, but it was this game that really grabbed my attention and punched me in the face. This game was different.
I would say that it was this moment that turned me into a gamer. Before that I had simply been someone who played games on occasion. From that very moment on I constantly hunted for Video Game news andwas always anticipating the next big release. Video Games pushed meforward in many ways. Both in the more traditionally thought of realmsof hand-eye coordination, but they also propelled me forwardintellectually. Text heavy games, like Ninja Gaiden, inspired me tolearn how to read at an early age.
As I progressed through life, Video Games were always somethingon the forefront of my mind. I did many papers on them, including myfinal paper for college, and read many books on the subject. LikeSuper Mario Bros., Final Fantasy VII really made me rethink what Ithought of video games. The story in Final Fantasy VII touched me, andmy group of friends, in ways that could rival the most intense feelingsI’d felt in life or through any other medium (movies, music, or books),and this feeling really made me understand that Video Games are an artform. Any art form goes through early periods of simplicity anddisrespect, and Video Games are no exception. As time went on I foughtfor this notion, and gradually the rest of the world became more insway with my views.
All the talk of violence in video games also mirrors the greatart forms that are now established. Shakespeare said it best, “Artistsdo not create nature, they simply hold it up to a mirror for the worldto see.” Art is about emotion. Art is about being human. Art isabout being alive. And so are Video Games.
I see Video Games as the newest art form just now getting massrespect, but still with a long way to go. I play Video Games for thesame reason I listen to music or watch films; to experience the emotionthat the artist designed for me. I play Video Games for their artisticvalue whether it is in the gameplay, graphics, sound, story, or all theabove. Games are not something that people grow out of, games aresomething to be loved and cherished forever.
I have had a website related to my avatar, BreakmanX, since1996, but it wasn’t until September of 2002 that things really got intofull swing. I decided to ask one of my best friends, Richie, to do aradio show with me where we’d just talk about games. I have absolutelyno idea why I decided to do so, but it sounded like a fun idea even ifwe didn’t think anyone would listen. We recorded a show, and werepretty proud of it, and put it on a ShoutCast stream to see if anyonewould listen. To our surprise we had three listeners that week despitenot having any advertising whatsoever. It took us another month to getanother show going, and a week after that we decided to go live andinvite my best friend since Kindergarten (Shadow) to join the party. The show quickly became one of my favorite things to do, and wegathered listeners quickly. At the end of May we had interviewed thePenny Arcade Guys, interviewed a programmer for Halo2, were makingplans to go visit Microsoft and Bungie, and were also making plans togo to E3 in 2004.
We’ve had many former hosts, VdgmasterX, Jack Burt0n, Shadow, and WeezerJedi, but now feature a lineup of Richie, Q, Maul and Tholo. I have many great memories from the show, and look forward tomaking many more. After all these years I still love saying, “Hey, what’s up!” with all the great people sitting by me. Ultimately, my favorite things about BreakmanX.com are my cohosts and the community we have gathered. Even the lurkers… I’m really proud of the site, andI can’t wait to see where it takes us.
Favorite Games:
Final Fantasy VII (and the entire series of Final Fantasy)
Most Nintendo First Party Stuff (Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc)
Most Treasure Games (Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, etc.)
Castlevania (Moreso SOTN and before, but also the new ones to a lesser extent)
RPGs, especially Ps1-era Square games (FFTactics, Chrono Cross, etc)
Mega Man Series (Original and X up to X7 mainly, but the Z and ZX series are ok)
God of War
Panzer Dragoon (Even Orta was awesome)
College Sports games (College Hoops 2k and NCAA Football)
Contra series (1 – 3, Shattered Soldier, and IV DS)
Eternal Darkness
Kingdom Hearts
Nights
Mike Tyson’s Punch out
Rogue Squadron
Tales of Symphonia
Sonic Adventure
Virtua Tennis
Rez
Soul Calibur
I basically love all games of all genres, but tend to hate mostFPS games. I haven’t really found out why, but I always get bored withthem fairly quickly. I think this may have something to do with mycinematic eye and having one angle the entire game. That said, theHalo series was ok. Not my favorite or anything, but I was able tobeat all of them which says something in relation to my normal boredomof the series. I actively play my NES, SNES, Genesis, Ps1, N64,Saturn, Dreamcast, Ps2, GameCube, Xbox, DS Lite, PSP, and Xbox 360almost every day. Beyond the ones I own, I’ve played most every systemreleased. I love all games, old and new. Well, the good ones anyway. 😉
Its not hard to see that I am a huge geek with regard to games,but I also am a huge geek in respect to other things. I try to growand learn all I can about everything that interests me. I love to playand listen to music. My favorite bands being Tool and A PerfectCircle. I am working on an album that I will be releasing soon where Iam playing guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and singing. I also lovefilm and have made many projects throughout the years including aStarWars fanfilm. I just graduated from the University of Kansas witha degree in Religious Studies and concentration in Psychology and planon going to the University of Southern California school of CinematicArts in the Fall of 2008. My favorite movies are StarWars, Jaws,American Beauty, Se7en, Halloween, Collateral, Ghostbusters, and amillion other movies it would take me years to list. I also love comicbooks, especially Marvel, and have collected them since around 1991 or1992. I also love to sit down and read a book about anything thatinterests me.
