Defining the Passions of the Dedicated Gamer Part 8: Video Games Wrap a Warm Blanket of Nostalgia Around Us

This week we’re closing out the final part in the series that has dissected the internal components of video games that draws us from one title to the next. Focusing on the waves of nostalgia that flow over us as we play certain games, we’ll take a look at how and why these familiar feelings take hold during some of our favorite titles.

Most of us have felt it when playing retro classics or arcade machines. The sudden rush of familiarity and comfort from specific video games, whether they’re popular favorites, or lesser known personally cherished titles, it’s a feeling that sticks close to the gamer’s heart. Much of the gaming community stands victim to the nostalgic waves of emotion that comes bundled with particular games.

The older generations that started their gaming hobbies as young lads continuously build a relationship with games throughout their tenure as a gamer, whether casual or hardcore. Early titles like Pong, Galaga, Contra or Asteroids were known as breakthrough video games and found frequently in arcade halls and hangouts for all early gamers alike. These trademark titles provided an experience like no other at a time when gaming was still new and uncommon among everyday households.

Players of all ages are able to indulge on those older titles with the modern edge of today’s technological world, but the aged generations that sift through their dusty collection of classics feel a personal attachment with fond memories of timeless and exciting entertainment. Once these feeling rush over us, we can’t help but pop in those familiar classics and indulge ourselves on what we once knew so well, hoping to re-live those days of glory.

But the wonderful sense of our past time spending countless hours absorbing every pixel doesn’t stop with retro arcade classics. Many games from the past two decades serve as windows to previous stories we’ve experienced along a vast line of memorable characters and settings. And it’s not too far off to say in today’s world we’re constantly looking to play that next title to serve as a bookmark in one’s life; marking a memory and anchoring it to a specific game, forever embracing the feeling of that title etched into your brain for as long as you’ll let it.

Returning to old favorites just feels good to the gamer’s soul. Aside from re-living a time when everything felt new and exciting, years later your thirst for nostalgia may lead you to finally finish that one game that got away. The experience you’ve gained throughout the years of gaming may have honed your skills just enough to check another title off of the ever-expanding list conquered titles.

So whether you’ve come to video games for the unique sounds and scores that resonate through the graphics, to build the ultimate character and reign above everyone else, to play through the many stories surrounding the gaming community, or merely quenching your thirst with the memorable games that made you the gamer you are today, there is no shortage of desires that keep us dedicated gamers intact.

The “Dedicated Gamer” series wasn’t meant to show-off personal favorites or shove even more unwarranted opinions across the branching web of the internet, but to serve as a modest reminder of why we, as gamers, play what we play. Why we spend our precious hours on this Earth involved in countless stories and fantasies too good to give up. From one dedicated gamer to the many more surfacing across the globe – remember to enjoy the titles we play, and never forget how lucky we are to live in a time where these brief, exciting breaks from the hardships of life exist.