I am a gamer. A rather big gamer compared to some people I know. At one point I was attending about 4 different table top games a week, each with a different group. It’s amazing that I could keep all my characters separated, yet I couldn’t remember the most basic of dates in my life. I’ve gone from playing timid Druids to fearsome Berserkers. I have played the gentle, willowy woman and I have played the suave womanizer. I love the characters I can create and how easily I can slip into their mindsets and converse with others who can do the same!
Then there are video games. I love them, to say the least. I started like most people my age with the lovable Mario, though I skipped the generations of his games and didn’t start playing again until the first Mortal Kombat arrived on the scene. Even though the game was graphic, I remember coming home during the 5th grade and sitting in-front of the TV and playing Mortal Kombat on my Sega Genesis. I still love my fighters (I’m currently going through Tekken 6 for umpteenth time) but I have also explored the worlds of RPGs, Survival Horror, and, my newest joy, FPS. My collection is vast and rather numerous. I have nearly all of the Silent Hill Series, Fatal Frame Series, Halo Series, and a nice collection of Shin Megami Tensei games.
I will be the first to admit that I may have an addiction. I do have tunnel vision when I play, loosing hours at a time, and I have even injured myself thanks to prolonged sitting (slight hip pain and, in high school, popped a blood vessel in my foot thanks to the thing being asleep). Yet I do not find myself craving games. I can go days without touching a system and I do. I am able to balance a social life, though it is small, and a college career that is leading me in to the veterinary field.
Through my love of games I have made some wonderful friends, and the love of my life. It has taken nearly 5 years but I think I have become accepted by the men that make up my circle of friends, which is the majority….only two of my friends are female, and both are gamers to some extreme. And while I can kick their asses in rounds of ODST, I am still battling the one thing that they can’t seem to get past: I’m a girl, and to them my opinion doesn’t matter as much as my other half.
One of the Guys 