Column - Darris Talks About Games : Thinking of the Past

So, it was Mario's 25th a week ago, and since that time, I've been thinking back on my gaming memories. My first game system, my first game completed, and my first Mario game. Looking back, there's a lot of thing's I have seen and played, and I would share some of those memories with you.

Even though I might not be the oldest gamer (I was born in 1989) I still consider my upbringing with video games to be one that some younger gamers today might not fully grasp. There's always been console wars, title characters, and overused game types (yes, even zombies). But there is a few things that getting into video games early help gamers adapt to, and that's the constant of gaming.

It's easier than ever for anyone to get into gaming, and thank God for that. Back in the early 90's you were hard pressed to find someone who would have been just as into gaming as you. But I think that the ease of gaming today will make gaming slightly weaker moving forward. Back then you had to convert people, show them why gaming was great. Give them a controller and let them interact with something they never knew could be.

I remember my first gaming moments very clearly. I was three years old, and my older sister Heather had an NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I would spend time constantly playing Track and Field, Bart vs. the Space Mutants, and Super Mario Bros.. I wouldn't really know what I was doing, but I did know that I was in control. I had direct involvement with my character, and I could make them jump, run, and attack.

When I turned four I received my first Game Boy. That's when I started gaming. I would play just about anything, and I can clearly remember putting so much time into Ghouls 'n Ghosts that I knew just about everything about it. Then I received my SNES, and another evolution occurred. My gaming interest grew to a point that I would go out and find as much news and information about gaming that I could. My Super Nintendo collection was solid, and filled with amazing titles that I loved to play. The Super Nintendo also allowed for an even more engrossing collection of games that focused on something more than gameplay, and that's the narrative.

The Nintendo 64 would be that last system that I would receive as a gift, as every system after that I would buy myself. From my youth to now, I have always been involved in gaming in some way. Thanks to gaming I am now a fan of anime and manga. Because of video games, I now constantly think of stories and poems, and I push myself to think outside the box. Because of video games, I have a greater appreciation for what can be considered art.

Recruitment - How to Join Raptor Inc.

In case you haven't noticed Raptor Inc.'s website at the moment is really just a blog. In fact it is a blog, we just don't treat as such because we refuse to accept that fact. I have recently been approached on the subject of joining Raptor Inc. and realised that we don't really have an official way of registering and tracking members except through tribal knowledge. Of course there is no descrimination on who can join, anyone can if you have the drive to colaborate with like minded individuals and get something accomplished for profit or entertainment purposes. Hopefully for both.
Until we can come up with a more formal recruitment method any person interested in joining and engaging in company projects should do so by downloading Steam from http://store.steampowered.com/ and setting up an account. Once this is done you can look up the Raptor Inc. group, find all the members through the group page, participate in company meetings and contribute ideas through the comment section or the group chat therien.
If you can't get on the chat unless you download a game or whatever may be the reason go up to the search bar and type in Alien Swarm and download it. The game is free and once you have it you'll unlock all the features for Steam. You don't have to be a gamer to get into what we do, we're so eclectic we end up dipping our paws into pretty much everything, this is the most convenient way to communicate, come together, and hang out with all of us until we can get a website with a forum up and running which will come, oh yes, it will come.
If you don't feel like doing any of this you can email us at raptor.inc.email@gmail.com and tell us your interested and we'll keep you posted. Word.