- Joined
- Jan 3, 2008
- Messages
- 10,579
- Trophies
- 2
- Age
- 48
- Location
- From Where???
- Website
- wiki.gbatemp.net
- XP
- 5,535
- Country
Here I sit, my body comfortably resting on an 80s themed bed quilt, a laptop warming me, and a fan on to regulate the room. Looking back almost 6 years ago, I find it hard to recognize my new surroundings. I began this journey in a different place, with different equipment, managed by a different outlook from someone who thought they saw what might come next. Now, I can't help but recall a moment from Harry Potter, where his friends quickly sum up everything he accomplished in the last few years. His only response was something to the effect of "well when you say it like that".
GBAtemp was my first forum. I'm from the generation of BBS, guest books, IRC, and usenet. When you join a BBS you become really good friends with 10 or 20 people, because pretty much that was the membership count on most sites. We talked, traded warez (and porn), played games like LORD (Legend of the Red Dragon), and then went on our way. We didn't build bonds that lasted beyond the BBS because the BBS was the container. Things like e-mail clients and guest books were new concepts, ideas like text messaging, video chat, and twitter were science fiction. Forums always seemed like an intruding idea, one which pressured its users into reaching more people. It was difficult enough to let in 10 strangers who eventually you knew you would lose touch with, let alone a community of 100,000 or more. Joining, I can assure you, was only an exercise in learning.
I gravitated towards GBAtemp because of a love for gaming. I had pulled my Flash2Advance out of the closet, jumped on Netscape to find updated drivers, and then fiddled with getting it to work under Windows XP. The exercise taught me a few things, the most important of which was that I had missed out on a new generation of Flash Kits, namely Slot-1. The idea of getting a DS, loading it full of wonderful Homebrew and pirated ROMs, intrigued me. I jumped at it the first opportunity I had and ordered up an R4 and an M3 Lite Perfect as its companion. Then I set out to learn as much about using them as possible. At first, I gravitated to familiar surroundings, asking questions in various ROM channels on IRC. A good acquaintance walked me through the initial steps, a stranger taught me more, and then Google brought me to GBAtemp.
With my very first post I joined the on-going conversation. I tinkered, I learned, I made friends, and yet I carefully managed to construct a persona that freely expressed my personality while maintaining my anonymity. The rabbit hole, as they often say, was much deeper than I had anticipated. Homebrew quickly overtook my free time. I studied it, learned about it, sought it out, and made friends with those involved with its creation. I wanted to experience as much of it as possible. I can only blame my creators who invented me during a unique time. You see, I had the pleasure of growing up along side the invention of video games, seemingly always just at the right age to enjoy the next technological installment. These experiences instilled a passion in me that I held onto through my adult life, I continue to have a fascination with retro gaming, obscure video game systems, and the joy of sharing these experiences with a new generation of gamers. It was inevitable that emulation would overtake me and push me into new directions of Chinese handhelds, hacked modern systems, and IP-2-IP NHL 95 gaming nights with good friends.
GBAtemp, though, was a path I did not see coming. JPH (now banned, but then the Head of Mag Staff) and I got along fairly well. We talked a lot, and despite a drastic age difference, conversed similarly on a variety of topics. If I ever get a novel published or make it as a video game writer, I will have only JPH to thank. It was his initial push that got me writing reviews. His belief that I should share what I had learned about Homebrew as a GBAtemp staff member. His help alone that set me on a path which has now lasted almost 6 years. Without JPH, I would not have reached this point. I would not be sitting here contemplating my history with this forum while considering that this very post will be my ten-thousandth. JPH, if you read this, thanks. I appreciated it then and I do more-so now.
What culminates a person's worth across 10,000 posts? I like to think that I did not spam my way to this milestone. Yet, I am fully aware that without the years of front page service which I brought to this site, that I would be years away from such a mark. With the new direction the site has taken, I am not sure I would have ever cared to reach it. I am thankful that a large portion of my posts were bringing great news to the community. Probably, for a majority of you, I simply spammed the front page with Homebrew news, retro reviews, and junk you didn't care to discuss. I am OK with that. I set out to accomplish something for myself and along the way reach just a few people, help just a handful of projects, and influence a community that was here long before me.
Leaning back to rest my head, I am thinking about where to go next. I am inspired by so many great projects, but my heart swims in writing and a passion to invoke change. The day to day grind has me glimpsing the colorless weight pushing down upon life, and I want to burst out with a vibrant rainbow of passion fueled inspiration for those around me. What these feelings mean even I am yet not sure, but I am forever looking for involvement in the next project. GBAtemp will always be here, standing unique among the gaming communities, and I am proud to call it a home.
-Another World
Proud Member of the 10K Post Club
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