I
think we all need at least one really nice positive thing about the
entertainment business every single day of the year, including weekends.
Sometimes it may be something simple, like a video that showcases
something fun and sometimes it may be a movie poster that embraces the
aesthetic we all want Hollywood to aspire to. Sometimes it may be a
long-winded diatribe. Sometimes it’ll be from the staff and extended
family of CHUD.com. Maybe even you readers can get in on it. So, take
this to the bank. Every day, you will get a little bit of positivity
from one column a day here. Take it with you. Maybe it’ll help you
through a bad day or give folks some fun things to hunt down in their
busy celluloid digesting day.

9.16.10
By Nick Nunziata (Author Page, Facebook Page, Twitter Page)

What I’m Thankful For:

This game.

History has a way of molding memories.

I fancied myself a handcore RPG game person when I was young, going from Zork to the Gold Box D&D games to Final Fantasy and Shining Force games with relative ease. That was a golden age, but even the most ambitious of those comes off remarkably primitive now. That said, I think there was more wonder and imagination in some of those than every World of Warcraft game ever played. But that’s just me.

Along similar lines, I always felt like the world was changing and growing when a game would come out that melded the world of arcade games with the high falutin’ deep-minded PC games. Airborne Ranger, release in 1987, was a game changer [pun intended] for me. Looking at it now, it’s basically Commando with a brain but back then I felt like it was enough to qualify my to run the military with it’s fancy keyboard overlay and interactive assault missions.

It was basically Commando, which had as much in common with military strategy as acorns do with werewolves.

But it grew me up a little. It was a milestone leading me away from the thumb busters and coin-op time eaters and towards Commodore 64 and Amiga games that made me more whole. I was fifteen years old and reading a 50 page manual for a PC game, snacking and learning while I installed twelve floppy disks onto the drive. It led to stuff like Birds of Prey and A-10: Tank Killer and all sorts of other games that got me heavily involved in genres, interests, and hobbies I thought I’d never care about.

Now as I have reverted back to a primitive playing things like Peggle and Angry Birds it’s good to look back and wonder if I have another round of intelligent brainy computer games in me.

Want to contribute one? Send me the text and links to materials for your own ‘What I’m Thankful For’.

Requirements:
Well written, fun, and not self-promotional. Also, no pseudonyms or
fake names. Stand up and be proud of your opinions.
MESSAGE BOARD SUBMISSION THREAD or EMAIL YOUR IDEA TO ME.