The game. The story. And you in the middle.

All of us know the magic that comes with stories. The fantastic. The magnificent. The brutal. The logical.

For many of us (myself included), gaming bestowed countless hours of joy and the very real gift of friendship through fiction or otherwise.

I started with video games through the NES system but my love for it truly blossomed when my mother gave me my Super NES. I started out with the Ken Griffey Jr. game package and it came with only one other game. Chrono Trigger. That pretty much meant that a whole baseball game had to sit it out on the bench during most of the 90's for me.

Chrono Trigger is considered a gaming masterpiece up to now. It helped raise and shape a whole generation of people the same way Mario and Zelda did years before. And what's wonderful about it is from an age standpoint - it is truly timeless. I played it as a kid and the whole story still made sense to me, the emotional impact of course was what truly came alive off the screen, but for someone so young to understand the gravity of what was happening - and feeling responsible for the lives he's zipping across the 16-bit landscape - that's an achievement. It was my first RPG and I am not ashamed to admit I named the hero after myself. I've done so every single time since then. Because when I play - it becomes our story. Not mine. Or just theirs. Ours. Hopefully you guys feel the same way too whenever you play.

Let me jump a bit first to another form of gaming. Specifically TCGs. Why? Well just to reiterate the friendship aspect of gaming. I have no idea what would have happened if I wasn't playing this one particular game at this one precise moment in my personal history. Because if I wasn't - I can't imagine what my life would be like now. I don't even think I'd be writing this particular article.

I was playing VS. It had Marvel characters duking it out with DC characters in team-based combat. I wasn't much into comics back then but I loved Spider-Man as a kid. So this game was a no-brainer when he was part of the Starter decks. And truthfully, I myself had no brains and zero manners when during my first year in college I just found a group of people playing in the cafeteria and basically crashed in on their place. I had no idea who they were. All I knew in the beginning was they were playing VS. That was all I banked on. It was fortuitous that they didn't kick me out because it was well within their right. But all in all, that's usually how a TCG goes. You get into the game, you build your own deck to represent yourself in the community and then you attempt to integrate into their society.

That is most likely the scariest thing about it because if you aren't careful you can become an outcast fast. And news travels around in the gaming circles especially in TCGs. If you have bad habits as a player or as a trader, people will know about it sooner or later. For me, VS became a bridge I can pop-out of a deckbox. It was a way for me to talk to people without really starting a conversation. Playing against them helped me build a foundation based on good vibes and the competitive spirit we all share when we really get into a game. Sometimes the competitive spirit flares up a little too much but when that happens you have to remember that it is a game. And the purpose of a game is for the players to have fun.

Now I shall attempt to tie everything up with a nice little bow. Chrono Trigger showed me the power of stories. I felt for the characters onscreen. I did my best to make sure that everyone was in top condition, wearing their most powerful weapon and armor sets as well as fulfilling every inch of their storyline, because they were my friends. Whenever I plugged that game in, I was in an adventure with my friends. And I needed to see it through to the very end. All the more since it had multiple endings. At the end of it all, you'll come to understand Frog's determination, Magus' desperation, Robo's optimism, Ayla's compassion, Lucca's drive, Marle's love and Crono's quiet strength. This game taught me about heroes, villains and people from the very start. And I can say the very same for VS as well.

VS introduced me to the same variety of people but with real world results. I saw kids getting picked on, adults getting cheated out of money and everyone just getting a raw deal by some fast hands. I saw the kind ones who taught newbies how to play, traders who'll give you freebies just to welcome you to the community and wonderful gaming groups who actually protect players from the dark side of things.

In VS, I did the same thing as I did in Chrono Trigger: I made sure my decks were in top shape and whenever I played I always felt like I was among friends. The difference is the life this game gave to me outside of itself. The people it allowed me to meet and know. The stories of their lives that laid bare as they willingly shared it with me under friendship. I saw the end of my friends' stories in Chrono Trigger, while VS gave me a part to play in the ongoing adventures of my friends. I consider myself lucky to have found such people through a game.

I take it that in the current generation or even in the generations that have passed, I'm not the only one who'll be able to say this about their life. Gaming is a story with you in the middle. It's as important as every other aspect of our lives that shape us and teach us about each other. The only bad thing about it is when you allow it to overrun everything else, but giving in every once in a while isn't so bad. It's best enjoyed with family and friends anyway.

Thanks for reading and cheers to you all.

(Header image by Butt Johnson)