Original Gamer

I’ll admit it, I’ve been in a bit of a lull lately. As much as I’d like to blame it on having to sell most my consoles and most of my games, I fear I would be telling a bit of a porky pie. I’ll be honest – my 360 had gathered a fair amount of dust before I sold it, and the last game I’d actually completed was Tomb Raider Underworld. Quite a recent game, yes, but as someone who describes herself as an “avid gamer” that’s pretty poor! I’ve been failing my own gaming standards.

Games just seemed to have lost their sheen for me, first person shooters all seem like the same game in a different case. Playing online just seems like the same screen names going over and over. RPG’s are just rinsed and repeated. Beat-em-ups? Same game with prettier graphics. How about some hack n’ slash? Nah, It’s all just the same monotonous button-bashing-bull… nonsense. As for MMO’s, well, everyone knows how much of a grind-fest they can be.

It doesn’t sound good, does it? Pretty bleak. I was still talking the gaming talk to customers and staff at work, but I felt as though I was a fraud. What is a gamer that does not game? No amount of forcing myself in front of the TV with my PS3 could get me motivated again. I had feared that it had happened, that I had grown away from games.

Bitterly I talked of a “better game” something challenging, engaging, exciting. Something different.

My kingdom for a game as intellecually stimulating as this picture…

Something like Portal, or it’s early incarnation, Narbacular Drop. Or maybe something fun like Katamari. Perhaps something with a bit more user-based creative input, like Spore? I know the games I love, but did I know what I was looking for?

Desperately, I clung to the few games I was still enjoying, forcing myself heartlessly through these simple things. Guitar Hero was booted up again, Harvest Moon was loaded, a little bit of cooking mama was dabbled in.

I was losing hope.

But then, it found me.

Echochrome. It’s rainbow box and interesting blurb drew me in (Well, in all honesty it was just the rainbow, you should all know by now how much of a sucker I am for bright colours!) , and with that it was purchased.

All this, and I didn’t even need to give my Kingdom!

At first, it looks so innocent, so simple. I loaded it up and played a couple of test mazes, “It’s alright, I guess.” I said as I put the PSP back down.

10 minutes pass. 20, 30… The PSP is picked up again. I get stuck on a map, down it goes. 3 minutes, 4, 5, It’s back in my hand. Before I know it an hour has passed and I’ve frowned my way through just a couple of mazes. It was beautiful. Challenging, and simple, an interesting idea, executed marvelously. The clean lines, the elegant music, the eery echo of the narrator, it all fits together in a wonderfully on a little screen I can take everywhere with me. I don’t want to gush too much about the game, as I think it’s something that you’ll need to try to understand (read: I don’t know how to explain this game.), but trust me, it’s utterly inspired!

Just like that, with a little bit of inspired game creation, my passion is re-ignited.

Than you echochrome, you’ve saved my gaming soul!