It seems like one of those days to share one of my longest-running interests – video games. Yes, I am a woman gamer and have been doing it for a long time. It isn’t a new thing. Part of me wants to share because it is super fun and keeps my focus for a long time. Another reason is that I have been doing it for such a long time. I was pretty lucky during that period (early 1980s) that my parents thought it was okay for a girl to be interested in. It also helped that many games were educational, and my dad was into new tech. Plus, with computers and video games constantly evolving, it kept my interest, especially when I didn’t know I had ADHD at the time.
The first system I played anything on was the TRS-80 Color Computer, which came out in 1980. The main thing I remember using on it was The Hound of Baskervilles tapes. Yes, there was a time when you had to use tapes along with a program. It was something to help me learn how to read. Of course, it was the early 80s, and I played Pac-Mac and Donkey Kong when I used to hang out at the bar as a kid with my parents (again, it was the 80s). I also had a Pac-Man Minigame made by Coleco, and I wish I still had it. It was pretty cool.
The next system I used was the Commodore 64. I remember playing Space Taxi, The Goonies, Operation Frog (simulated dissecting a frog; I was a weird kid), and then a learning-to-type game that I can’t recall the name of. I remember spending hours playing some of these games. Space Taxi was a good way for me to learn hand and eye coordination, but I never could quite get it. I don’t think that has changed much for me today.
I remember going to my best friend’s house and playing her Nintendo. At the time, it was the coolest thing ever. We played The Legend of Zelda and Tetris. I know I played Tetris so much at her house that I had dreams about it.
After that, I couldn’t tell you what kind of computers I had over time. All I know is that I remember the days of trying to defrag your machine so that it could free up space. I tried doing this a lot when I bought games that ended up being too big for my machine, and I had to install it at someone else’s house. It was one of the King’s Quest games during the 1990s. Those were the days. I was kind of obsessed then. I needed to see games work. It was so interesting to see the advancement in games over the years. The graphics were getting better, and so were the stories. I remember always looking for the next new game to get.
I remember when I became aware that I was fully into video games. The year was 1995, the system was the Super NES, and the game was Final Fantasy IV. I was living with roommates, and they had a Super NES. One of my roommates said I should try the game out, and I did. I think I took over his gaming system for a while. I didn’t realize that games could have that much involvement or storylines. After that, I started playing JRPGs for a while. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII (the one from 1997) were two of my favourites.
After that, I couldn’t tell you how many different games I played. I jumped from console to PC and back. Marvelling at each new advancement in game creation. One of my favourite games was Planescape Torment. The characters, the choices, and the game’s outcome, depending on your choices, were amazing. The story was so well done. I love games where the player’s choices impact the story.
There are lots of games I have put so many hours into, Skyrim, ARK, the Fallout Franchise, Divinity Original Sin I, and Divinity Original Sin II. Recently, I have gotten into roguelite games like Atomicrops. So much fun! Not to mention, I am a fan of games where you can play a dwarf and mine (don’t ask me, I just like it). So Deep Rock Galactic and Deep Rock Galactic Survivor are great in my books.
Even with all the different genres, I will always return to games with great stories. Recently, it was Baldur’s Gate III. The story and character development are fantastic. The amount of dialogue and conversation choices (always make sure you have high charisma) are great. Not to mention that the dialogue choice can change based on your race and class in the game (it is based on Dungeons and Dragons gameplay). The combat is pretty fun, too. This has to be my favourite game at the moment.
There is such a wide variety of games out there that there are always options for things to play. I know some people think playing video games is a waste of time, or only certain types of people play video games. That is fine with me. I know video games have helped me learn many things: how to type, science, decision-making, hand-and-eye coordination, and how life doesn’t always go how you want it to (Aerith FFVII). Plus, with my attention being all over the place, it is nice to have so many genres to choose from.
If you have ADHD and haven’t found anything to take your mind off things, I recommend trying video games, and who cares what people think. It is your life. Whatever holds your interest, do it because the times when nothing can hold our interest are hell.