Kia ora.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about video games. I used to play a lot; I play a lot less now as I get older. Part of that is shifting priorities; part of it is time; and a small part of it is at times I find modern video games exhausting.
Sometimes, I long for the simplicity of the old days, where you could switch on a console or insert a disk, enjoy some blissful escapism for an hour, then continue about your day. Games nowadays are an experience; one which I often love but one that takes so much more effort and energy.
I’m a 90’s kid. That, plus growing up in New Zealand where the early consoles weren’t available meant I missed the early gaming boom. My childhood next-door neighbor had a Playstation, on which we spent hours playing Crash Bandicoot; and my uncle had a Nintendo 64. Eventually I got one of my own, which I still have.
I still dust it off sometimes and go back to my favorites. Ocarina of Time & Majora’s Mask, Goldeneye & Perfect Dark, Super Mario 64, Wave Race, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - all these hold a nostalgic place in my heart, and I honestly still love to play.
If I go back even further, I have more fond memories in the PC realm: Myst, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Rebel Assault 2; hell, I had Wolfenstein 3D on floppy disk, if you even know what those are.
All this to say: some of those games still give me joy to this day, and not just the memories. Playing them too. What were some of your favorite games, and memories around gaming growing up?
Matty’s track of the day: Fifty-Fifty Clown, by Cocteau Twins
And now for your links:
Long watch: Alasdair Gold talks about Spurs, the match at Hearts, and who might be available for the remaining preseason fixtures
Atletico Madrid are also interested in purported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Conor Gallagher, according to Matt Law at the Telegraph
Sky Sports Transfer Center, where Lyall Thomas mentions Spurs’ links with Eze, as well as Leicester City interest in Oliver Skipp