The Watcher Origins

The Watcher

My love of video games goes right back to the glory days of the Atari 2600; 2 buttons and a stick, barely 2D images and a whole lot of addiction. I loved Centipede, Indy 500 and even Tank  Pong , but it was to Mario Bros that I lost most of my free time. I spent one intense Saturday squinting at a black and white portable screen to reach level 36, calamity ensued when I took my clammy cramped hands off for dinner... My mother proceeded to switch everything off. With no ability to save the game; the soul destroying anger ensured I never played the game again, it took days for me to forgive my mother.

After the Atari, I lost my way, enjoying passing games but with no real care. Golden Eye and Mario Cart for the N64 were played, if only to soundly beat my siblings. Need for Speed also took up some time, though I was never winning any records,(and preferred to bounce the car around corners). The music was also very catchy plus the Playstation 2 made for a handy DVD player.

It took almost 10 years before I was introduced to something that quickened my heart and made me competitive  The Playstation one was now all but a museum piece, but it showed me the wonder of Red Alert. I can honestly blame the boyfriend (aka the Controller) for this one, both he and his friends loved it, which meant it was played, a lot. I quickly found myself useless with the controller, but plugging in the Playstation mouse opened up a whole new world for me. I am one of the most stubbornly competitive people I know, so yes I did do well. I didn't always win, but I was no longer considered the handicap when playing teams and first base head starts were quickly abolished. My main achievement is never being beaten the same way twice, and having the longest losing streak.

While Red Alert 2 enhanced my love for the game with all the changes I had longed for in the original (apart from Hammer and Sickle I hated that map!), reality stepped in. Pregnancy hadn't proven a barrier to playing, but a baby really did. My gaming life was all but over and my TV time was sidelined. Thankfully I had a strong partner willing to pick up a controller and play for me. (At least that's the abstract view I chose to take).

It wasn't until the occasion that was Doom 3, on the Xbox, that I truly appreciated the heaven sent gift my man was. I might as well say I played the whole thing myself because I proudly watched every minute of game play. Helpfully making suggestions and accusations to guide him through the game to my satisfaction. There are some games he's on his own for, but there are essentials pre-orders such as Darksiders and Tomb Raider that he is forced into playing for my benefit.

These days my playable games are Bejeweled and all its ilk, where I can tune out completely.

I'm not sure if I've got lazy, but watching my man play through these story lines is like watching an interactive film.