“The nostalgia I have been cherishing all these years is a hypertrophied sense of lost childhood, not sorrow for lost banknotes”
-Vladimir Nabokov
Hi. My name is Bill. And in about 40 years, I am going to die.
But that’s fine! That’s a good, natural thing. The way life is supposed to work. But now that I’m in the middle of my 40th year on this planet, I’ve been looking back. Indulging in nostalgia for the first time in a long time. And I realized much of my story involves games in some way, shape or form. And then it dawned on me.
Chances are, video games are an important part of your story as well.
So, why not tell them? Explore the history of games through the stories, recollections, and memories of the everyday people who lived it. That’s the point and purpose of A Gamer Looks at 40, a limited-run podcast featuring tales of video game passion, success, failure, personal growth, and good, old-fashioned reminiscing. Over the first run of episodes, I’ve shared stories of seeing The Wizard as a 9-year-old, office building-sized arcades, playground reputations, and the freedom expressed through the Nintendo Game Boy. Think of it as the This American Life of video games.
Podcast FAQ’s
Q) Time’s precious, sucka. Why should I spend my 45 minutes listening to you?
A) Because you are special and you’re interesting. We all are. Nobody walks out of this life without some stories, nobody invests themselves into a hobby without a few tales. Video games are still seen by the mainstream consciousness as a fringe, geek-centric activity, still relegated to the stereotype of a dorky male sitting in his mom’s basement, bathed in the glow of a TV screen.
A Gamer Looks at 40 aims to shatter that notion by sharing stories and recollections that go beyond the standard narrative. Sure, much of the show is fans being fans, but by showcasing the length and breadth of that passion, my goal is to display the soul behind the medium.
Q) When does the show release?
A) New shows arrive on the public feed on Monday mornings, just in time for your drive to work. You know. When we used to drive to work.
Q) Where can I hear the podcast?
A) Every podcatching site or app known to man. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Sticher are the most popular right now.
Q) Hit me with your socials!
A) Right now, I’m exclusively on Twitter at @agamerlooksat40 but I may increase my presence to other platforms down the line.
And since this is the internet, and everyone loves a good list, here are four wonderful stories or anecdotes shared on the show thus far:
A Sega Kid in a Nintendo World
A kid asks his parents for a game for Christmas. What could possibly go wrong?
Where Do You Go to Play Arcade Games?
Trevor from the New Dad Gaming podcast shares the unsavory places he went with friends to get his arcade cabinet fix.
Hot Takes on an Old Game
Everyone loves Duck Hunt, right?
Right?
Finders Keepers
Joey acquired his Game Boy games in the most unusual places.
So, what’s your story? How has the medium of video games shaped who you are as a person? If you have a story you’d like to share, a recollection worth recording, or just want to chat about the games that made you, drop me a line at agamerlooksat40@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter at @agamerlooksat40.
