Trial and Error in Gaming: What Games Can Teach About Not Giving Up

I have been playing video games for a long time. I was around for the original Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Castlevania, and Bionic Commando games (pro tip: You blow up Hitler's head at the end of Bionic Commando. Go ahead. Take a look), and I am proud of my retro-gaming roots. I can say with unrestrained chest-puffedness that I am not young enough that I must search the past to "discover" great old games. I LIVED them. The only people that have a one-up on me are the people who played the Atari 2600 extensively!

And I hear that I didn't really miss anything. Except the mass burial

of a game so bad that we wanted it stricken from history.

I owned one of the original Nintendo Entertainment Systems, courtesy of my father, who no doubt went on to regret ever purchasing it for us, and I continued that legacy by owning a Super Nintendo, an N64, a Gameboy (one of the big grey ones with the yellow screen), a Gamecube, a Wii, and a gaming PC which has been updated at appropriate times throughout my years. I have borrowed (read: stole) a friend's Playstation and PS2 at various times, and rented or borrowed almost any other console you can imagine at some time or another. My point is, I've been around video games for a long time, and I've played a lot of them.

Because gaming has been a part of my life since I was 3 years-old, I realize that it colors my perceptions. I know that there are some who will read this article and think that being devoted to video games is sad when there are so many things to be gained from books, movies, music, and other media. I know this because I have heard it all before.

To everyone reading, especially those who think that video games have nothing to offer to art, beauty, or humanity, I wish to tell you one lesson that video games have instructed me in:

Video games taught me to never give up.

"What's The Greatest Innovation of Nintendo's Little White Box? Point Me In The Right Direction..."

Well, it's President's Day here in America, and I passed the time on this wonderful day like all Americans do: Waiting for the ghost of Abraham Lincoln to leave me red, white, and blue candy under the "Freedom" Tree that we set up in the front room. I have yet to catch ol' "Honest Abe" in the act, but I think I caught Bill Clinton once. It was dark, so I couldn't see his face, but he did sexually harass me before he left, so I'm pretty sure it was him.

I know that most were probably expecting me to do a President's Day post chronicling the "Best Video Game Presidents", or the "Best Politicians From Video Games", but I decided to make like our first President, George Washington, and buck the trend. We already have enough lists like that (read: one), and I wanted to have a brief word about something that has been on my mind for some time now.

Like it or hate it, the Nintendo Wii is here to stay. In the time that the Wii has been known to the public eye, it has gone from being the subject of derision, a prophet of doom for Nintendo's somewhat shaky future, to begrudging success, to being one of the most wildly popular console systems in history.

All while making us look like this, and think it's OK.

Sony: "Is That What You Want, Nintendo? Whip 'em Out? Measure 'em?"

NOTE: We, at The 8-Bit Variety Show, are a family-friendly site, and our posts range in their content from "G" to "PG-13". There is nothing that will destroy your life in the following article (unless bad Photoshop does the trick), but this article is definitely more on the PG-13 end of the spectrum. If that would bother you, put down the web-enabled device and walk away slowly. If not, ENJOY, LAUGH, AND SHOW THOSE WHO WALKED AWAY THAT THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BY LAUGHING AND ENJOYING!

Gamer Romances - A Very 8-Bit Valentine's Day!

Hey there, everybody! Happy Valentine's Day/day just like any other day!

As I prepared this week to court my personal Princess Daisy at the behest of the Hallmark Greeting Card Company, I couldn't help but think back on the wonderful memories she and I have had together. I'm lucky, as gamers go, to have a wife who encourages my favorite hobby, and in return, I try to keep my gaming to a reasonable amount of time. She even loves video game music, which is one of my enduring passions! Mozel tov!

In celebration of those special guys and girls that we have now or may have in the future (as well as by way of inspiration should any of you ever want to pop the question, and have a significant other who wouldn't mind a geeky, BUT AWESOME, proposal), The 8-Bit Variety Show presents:

Awesome Gamer Proposals!

Your Biggest Gaming Sins

I am going to touch on a subject today that may be sensitive to many of you. I do so, not with a spirit of meanness, although I am a fan of doing ANYTHING with a spirit of meanness. Things as small as walking the dog, or owning a Gigapet are made much more entertaining, not to mention INTENSE, when done with a mean spirit.

"Oh, you want food, huh? You're hungry, eh? Well, maybe you can
have some after more exercise and discipline. Discipline! DISCIPLINE!"
-That one time I stole Jo's Tamagotchi, circa 1997 

Let's imagine, just for today, that this is our little 8-Bit confessional, and speak frankly about our biggest gaming sins.