Written by Swarnava Banerjee
Edited by Mehul Shah
Illustrated by Shresha Kumar
How many of us remember running through a heavy foliage-based terrain in the game Contra? The dreamlike dystopia of Fancy Pants Adventure. The purple background of the website Friv as we scroll through the tiles trying to remember what we had played the last time.
Nothing matched the feeling of sitting down at your device, plugging in a modem to access the internet to boot up chrome, and looking up your favourite flash player website. To go on a literal game binge, going from one to the other depending on your whim, no worries about paywalls or microtransactions, no factor of researching the new meta to have a standing in the game.
Those times were when games were always enjoyable and didn't need an end goal, just pure enjoyment. There was something for everyone, and it was all free! You could have a friend over and boot up Fireboy and Watergirl, then argue about who gets the arrow keys and who gets the WASD keys.
The fall of Adobe Flash Player was a blow to all of us. It was like a whole part of our childhood had just been redundant, decommissioned or maybe even eliminated. From well-made shooters to digital pets, Flash games had everything. There were multiple-choice games before games from Telltale Games became a phenomenon. Many game series received their fame firstly through Flash. The popularity of stick figure games was first noticed in Flash, as they were simple to code, thus delivering a quick and entertaining punchline.
Diverting from Flash games, we also had games like Amnesia that gave us nightmares and forced us to keep the lights on while we slept. For many, video games were an escape to a different reality or a different world. A world where one could be anything, and as a kid, that feeling was euphoric. The visuals might not have been as good as they are now, but the storylines and characters still are unbeatable. They have remained as templates for games to this day, and we still hold them to be the greats; the soundtrack of Undertale is revered as one of the best soundtracks to date.
For car enthusiasts, we had the timeless Need For Speed series, which was honestly why some of us got into cars in the first place. These games instilled creativity in ways no other entity could.
That brings me to the legendary game, 'Minecraft.' It is a perfect example of how a game can withstand the test of time. From being made public in 2009 to being the most streamed game in 2022, its legendary status is justifiable. Even though it underwent multitudes of updates, the premise remained the same throughout. Creators like Technoblade, Stampy Cat and DanTDM have been immortalised through it.
Video games facilitate mental well-being. Being a distraction in itself, it helps in improving the player's mental state at that moment. Bringing back good memories of playing with friends and family helps us think of the good old times; playing street fighter with your best friend, flexing the cars you have in NFS or your progress in Grand Theft Auto. Playing games as a kid has been or maybe still is an integral part of our lives. One we can hardly leave behind or forget. Sitting there, witnessing something that was done by you, even though it was in a game, changed how you think, left behind a sense of accomplishment, and sometimes even built a code of honour for one.
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