Video Games, what a lovely world. A place beyond the screens, a place beyond the reality we live in. Some play them competitively, some stream them just for fun, while some immerse their lives in them. For many, games aren’t just a pastime; they’re a livelihood, a billion-dollar industry, and most importantly, a community.
For me, Video Games and gaming have been so much more than that. It has shaped me just like how cinema and music have an effect on their audience. In this blog, I’ll take you through my own Video Game journey, how I first started, the games that shaped me, and the moment I truly fell in love with video games. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourself falling in love with them too.
My Gaming Journey
I was 5 when my older brother, who was a tech genius, introduced me to a little MS-DOS game called Dangerous Dave. Before there was the GTA, Call of Duty, or the gritty Red Dead Redemption, it was Dave that got me a first taste of Video Games. Having no idea what the buttons even did, I started collecting the diamonds and making my way to different levels. I didn’t quite understand what I just played, but damn did it feel good, and I wanted more.
Then came Wolfenstein 3D, Road Rash, Super Mario Bros, Contra, Ice Climber, Duck Hunt, and more. Living in a country where Video Games were a luxury, I was stuck on these retro gems from the 90s during the mid-2000s. I didn’t have a gaming PC or a console, just a simple Windows desktop and a Knockoff Atari/SEGA video game that could barely run the most minimal titles.
By this age, I was already a Hollywood nerd, watching flicks like The Terminator, Black Hawk Down, and Rambo started a spark in me. An itch for action and adventure that only video games could truly satisfy. This is when I discovered GTA: Vice City
The First Date in Vice City
We all have that one game, the one that completely blows our mind the very first time we boot it up. For me, that game was GTA Vice City. And calling it my “first date” with gaming feels just right.
It was my introduction to the open-world genre of Video Games, and I was stunned by the freedom it offered. Coming from games where the only way forward was the edge of your screen, or doing the same thing in different levels. But Vice City felt different, it was true freedom, steal a car, cruise through streets, go anywhere, do anything, the possibilities felt endless. Then came the cheat codes, the story, and the unbeatable vibe of 80s Miami.
And this is all at a time when I had zero access to the internet. This was my first pure glance at Western themes, narratives, gameplay loops, and more. Vice City was more than just a game for me; it was my escape after school, on weekends, and during my summer breaks. It was a world within my world, of which I had full control.
(Don’t even get me started on the first time I stumbled across a chopper on top of the Police Station.)
How I fell in Love with Video Games
Over time and years, I got my hands on a PS3, my first ever console. While it was not brand new, that PS3 is what pushed me into the gaming we know today. The multiplayer matches, online friends, innovative games, and countless stories.
Throughout the years, I fell in love with different games, GTA to date is my favorite series, followed closely by other Rockstar titles like Bully and Max Payne. To other genres of games like PlayStation’s God of War Series, Uncharted, The Last of Us, and more. I developed a knack for adventure games like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed, for the fast-paced action of Battlefield and Call of Duty. Or the real-time strategy of Age of Empires or Total War.
But it wasn’t only Video Games that I fell in love with; it was the characters, the stories that stayed with me long after the credits rolled. The emotions that pulled me in. It was the world we played in, so vivid that it became an escape I could always count on.
I didn’t just mean distraction, I meant transformation. In Video Games, I could be anyone, live anywhere, and do anything. I could hunt for lost treasures in Arabia, fight to rescue my friends from pirates on a tropical island, become a hidden assassin or a frontline soldier, lead armies as a brilliant general, or wield magic as an elf in a forgotten region.
And maybe that’s why I fell in love with gaming, it doesn’t just let you play a character; Video Games let you live a thousand different lives, each one as unforgettable as the last.
What Video Games Taught Me
Through it all, gaming gave me more than just entertainment. It gave me stories that lingered long after the credits rolled. It gave me characters who felt like old friends. Gaming gave me emotions I didn’t expect to feel: grief, triumph, love, fear, and hope.
Video Games taught me patience when I failed. Creativity when I was stuck. Strategy when life demanded it. And above all, they taught me that it’s okay to escape sometimes, to live another life, as someone else, fight another battle, or chase another dream.
For example, one quote from the Uncharted series has never left me: “Sic Parvis Magna” which means “Greatness from small beginnings.” To me, these words are more than just a confidence boost. They’re a reminder that nothing great is built in a day, and that every journey, whether it’s in your career, family, wealth, love, or even loss, always starts somewhere, and it starts small.
I was 5 when I first played a Video Game. My older brother was him who got me into video games. Over time, I switched consoles, PCs, thousands of Video games, and lived many a time, a story of pixels on a screen. Many characters have stuck by me, and many stories have shaped me.
Why Give Gaming a Chance
To many who still haven’t given Video Games a proper chance, try them. They are more than just button taps on a controller or keyboard; each gives you a purpose, a goal, and most importantly, it gives you relief from all the stress around you. Even as adults, Video games aren’t just “something kids do” or “Mature people don’t play games.” They’re part of a billion-dollar industry, but more than that, they’re experiences worth every single moment of your time. And who knows, just like me, you might also fall in love with video games.
I get it. I’ve been there. Sometimes you stick to the same old genres, the same franchises, the same safe comfort zone, and slowly the magic fades. That happened to me. I bought a PlayStation 5, my first console bought with my own savings, and yet I barely touched it. The excitement of unboxing it didn’t match the emptiness I felt when I wasn’t truly engaged.
I thought maybe gaming had passed me by. But then, I tried something I never thought I could do. I’ve always been a fan of horror games, but I could never bring myself to finish one. Then came Resident Evil 4 Remake. The moment I gave it a chance, I was hooked. It pulled me in the same way Vice City, Max Payne, and Age of Empires once did. The tension, the atmosphere, the thrill, it reignited that spark I thought I’d lost forever.
So if you’re feeling burnt out, maybe the answer isn’t to stop gaming, but to step outside your usual choices. Try something new, something that scares you, something that challenges you. Because sometimes, the game you least expect ends up being the one that makes you fall in love with gaming all over again.
So Long Partner
This isn’t an all timely goodbye, it never will be. But it is a farewell blog, my way of closing one chapter of mine and opening up maybe a new one in your lives (Breaking the 4th wall here). Gaming and Video Games have given me so much that I can never compare them to anything ever again.
I learnt more English and history through games than I ever did in school. I met people from all over the world, had the liberty to call some of them friends to date, it taught me life lessons, and memories that I’ll carry forever. From that little boy tapping random keys on Dangerous Dave, to the teen lost in Vice City, and to the adult who finally bought his own PS5, this has been my Gaming Journey. And it’s been beautiful.
Maybe you’re just starting yours. Maybe you’re somewhere in the middle. Or maybe, like me, you’re looking back with a smile. Wherever you are, I hope you fall in love with games the way I did. Because in this lovely world, there’s always another story to play, another adventure to chase, and another memory waiting to be made.
Thank you, Video Games, for everything. Till the next time, partners.
Leave your thoughts below, and for the latest gaming news, game guides, and reviews, be sure to check out Driffle Blogs.
