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Talk Nerdy to Me

Vol. 1 'Ready Player One'!

By Brittany RegayPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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So, to kick this thing off… I’m Brittany Regay! I play games by day, read comics by night, and run around tomb raiding on the weekends. I decided to start this column to provide a platform to discuss, ponder, and illustrate the complexities within the game community and industry. If there are any topics you’d be interested in reading about or seeing discussed, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

WHY GAMING?

At an early age, I recognized that video games were an unprecedented form of entertainment, used to not only connect and engage players but create ownership over an authored experience that no other medium can match.

One of the truly amazing things about video games is their capacity to inspire. Games give you the opportunity to embody characters who go to wondrous places and have exciting adventures, and as a player you get to create and actively be a part of that experience. I was seven when Tomb Raider was released in 1996 and quickly Lara Croft’s adventures began an inescapable desire within me to explore.

One of the reasons I immediately identified with Lara is that she is such an inspirational character. I saw in her, not only a little piece of myself, but someone I aspired to be—adventurous, strong-willed, intelligent, articulate, resourceful—all of these great qualities that led me to embody her and tackle the world with the same level of fearlessness. The fact that something as complex as self-discovery can be found in a video game exemplifies how unique a medium video games truly are.

Since the humble beginnings of Pong, games have tremendously evolved and have shifted from being a fad to an art form. This is because the medium itself is able to offer something that no other form can—visual cues, auditory cues, and player engagement. The reason video games are completely unique in this is because: they allow players to determine their own stories at their own pace, implement new perspectives while allowing the players to experience the consequences for themselves, and reinforce independent thought and personal growth.

Games create a sense of presence that we control the way we take in the experience and balance engagement and interactivity. There are some games that transcend their medium and transport you into a different world that is so engrossing that it actually starts to feel real to you.

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is a masterful example of weaving together storytelling and gameplay. The game’s macabre world recognizes your every ounce of hope and joy and slaps them out of you with frighteningly cold indifference, but in the end, you’ll be glad for the experience. Because, other games aside, no other entertainment medium can evoke such raw emotion and can make you care so passionately about its characters. It’s this level of engagement that differentiates video games from any other form of media.

This was why video games have always spoken to me and what inspired me to try to turn my hobby into my dream life. In visiting these fantasy worlds, battling these imaginary enemies, and exploring uncharted lands, I discovered my true self. Through these experiences, I recognized that I want to be a part of an industry I feel passionate about and be involved with this community. With the video game industry continuing to grow at a rapid pace, it will be interesting to see what the next level of gaming will look like and how the medium will evolve.

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Brittany RegayCommunications Executive | eSports JournalistPharaoh's Conclave (PCX)Follow me on Twitter/IG: @brittregay

"I am a gamer not because I don't have a life, but because I choose to have many."

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About the Creator

Brittany Regay

I’m Brittany Regay! I play games by day, read comics by night, and run around tomb raiding on the weekends.

IG/Twitter: @brittregay

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