One of my earliest childhood delights was mythical creatures and video game monsters. I'm not sure what started it or why it's persisted, but here it is.
I was in grade school when the Pokemon fad hit the United States, and I was sucked in along with what seemed like most of my classmates. I collected games, cards, toys, and facts along with rumors of the next generation and secrets hidden in the games waiting for players to unlock them.
Within a few years my interest spread. I used to read my father's encyclopedias looking for legends and creatures of legend (Norse mythology was a favorite), and video games opened a gateway to fresh and interactive material. I sought out games like Azure Dreams and Dragon Quest Monsters, and not even the facts that accompanied enemy monsters in the popular RPGs of the day was safe from me. My brothers were diehard Final Fantasy fans, and I'd often nick their guides and manuals to flip through the bestiaries.
These days I play very few video games, but I sometimes still find myself drawn to the old art, to updates to favorites, and to fan creations. More importantly, the fascination with fantastical creatures lives on in my writing. I find myself creating my own creatures and my own legends as well as my own architecture and culture, and I credit at least some of it to the time I spent playing in fictional worlds. I struggle to see it in real-life, but it's painfully obvious on screen and paper.
11 Jun 2013, 2:44 pm
