Video games have changed a lot since I was young. They have always been an expensive gift for most kids, so when we (“we” being me and my siblings) were gifted our Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo on the various Christmases throughout the late 80s and 90s, they were always a “family gift.”
This process made me feel bad for my sister, who among her three brothers, was the only girl in the house growing up and was not much of a gamer. But being the only girl in the house, she also got her own room and I had to share one with my two brothers. So sorry sis — you win some, you lose some.
I think most who grew up in “The Oregon Trail Generation” have fond memories of opening that box and pulling out your new NES or Sega and realizing you don’t have to save up your quarters anymore for the local arcade, because the arcade was now in the comfort of your own home.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed going to the arcade. But as a gay fat kid in the suburban 80s and 90s, anytime I was out among the people it was a chance of being outted, ridiculed and, on occasion, getting in a fight … and by fight, I mean pushed to the ground and mocked. Kids can be assholes sometimes.
At home I was free from the hate and the hiding. I was able to be someone else on the screen, exploring different worlds and being able to fight back when a bullying Koopa Troopa or a homophobic Goomba came at me. For those who don’t know, Koopa Troopas and Goombas are enemies in the “Super Mario” games. Also, contrary to “Super Mario,” you cannot make your bully disappear just by jumping on their heads.
As I got older, joined the Air Force and came out of the closet, I found that I needed the safety of the virtual world less and less. Eventually I stopped playing games.
Well, I didn’t stop playing video games entirely. I enjoyed the occasional jump scare of playing “Resident Evil” or “Silent Hill” when they first came out. Also, I did play a game called “TimeSplitters 2” when I was in the service. I sucked at it and I only played it because I thought the guys who were playing it in the dayroom were really hot and I just wanted to hang out with them.
For the most part I fell out of touch with my childhood. Then I saw a trailer for the new “Spider-Man” game on PlayStation 4. Being a forever comic book nerd, I thought there is no better way to revisit my older gaming habit than through the eyes of Spider-Man.
I gotta say, everything about video games is so much better than when I was a kid. Graphics, storylines, game play, and wow, grown-up Peter Parker is sexy as hell!
One other thing that made me want to pick this game up was something pointed out to me by my fellow Bureau Chief and gamer, Ryan Williams-Jent (no relation). In making “Spider-Man” the game developers wanted everyone who played to know that they are a part of this virtual world.
As Spider-Man swings through New York, he comes across rainbow-colored walls and perches on flagpoles displaying the Pride flag. For that scared little gay kid who escaped to the world of video games back in the day, it’s nice to see that the virtual world is still accepting and that our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is an ally.
Speaking of allies, in this issue we look at the ally filmmaker from Lakeland, Kevin O’Brien, and his LGBTQ-themed film “At the End of the Day,” which has been selected to play at this year’s Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
In A&E, we talk with one of the co-editors of a new poetry anthology “Pulse/Pulso” and we look at the Oscar Wilde play “Gross Indecency,” which is coming to the Footlight Theater.
In news, LGBTQ Christians are preaching the gospel in Orlando at the sixth annual Inclusion Conference and Pasco County is throwing its inaugural Pride celebration in New Port Richey.
Oh, and now that I’m back in the game (so to speak) keep an eye out for me in your virtual world.
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