Some people game every once in awhile, and for some other people, it envelops them.  I believe I am part of the latter.  I love a good story, can appreciate the artwork, and (of course) am an avid listener of video game music.  All that has led up to this: 

my little girl, Taylor Aeris Pike.

My wife actually loved the idea of having her middle name as someone so beloved in the FF series (I know, she's a keeper). 

Here's a couple of my favourite pics:

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 … yRocks.jpg

Yes, that's me in the background but you can't see my face!  ha ha!

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 … aylor2.jpg

That's her sitting next to me while I'm playing a little FFVII:Dirge of Cerebus.  Kinda fitting, no?

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 … tyeyes.jpg

This one's just cute.

I can't wait until she's old enough and I can start having her play some Super Mario Bros. on the virtual console.

I have game music albums based on games I have played.
My ebay password is based on a Neo-Geo game.
I have cosplayed as the Red Wizard from Final Fantasy 1.

Other than those, gaming does not have a significant impact on other parts of my life.

Didn't someone name their baby Sephiroth a few years back?

I doubt I'd ever cosplay, so to me that seems somewhat significant.

As for me, most of the game related stuff is limited to usernames/passwords on the internet, VGM, old game magazines, and old strategy guides.

Gaming really doesn't affect my life as much as it did because it really isn't a great a part of it anymore... I sold a lot of my games off, kept a select few favorites and swore off buying new consoles. Gaming (or other people's gaming) does affect me in what music I buy though, I still enjoy VGM quite a bit and do keep an open ear.

Still, looking at the past there were a few points were I did allow gaming to gain the upper hand in my life. When I was in high school (which I didn't enjoy) I seeked solice in games and my grades took the hit - of course, my parents came down hard on me for that. Later in my senior year I got so utterly addicted to Diablo II despite actually having good grades at that point but managed to annoy the hell out of my family since I tied the phone up (playing games on dail-up sucks!) Basically, you can get yourself into trouble if you're too involoved with anything, I was trying to fill voids and dodge issues on a personal level.

My screenname is a combination of varied Street Fighter history knowledge. I get awkward when I feel an explanation coming on from people who have no idea what it means so I then devulge into a long, nerdy explanation of sorts.

My online friends group (people I've never met in person) on Trillian is listed as "Frequency 140.85", main one is "Central Dogma."

Most of the music I listen to is game music and arranged, so naturally I feel like I'm in my own musical world, especially when I've got something stuck in my head.

Everytime I walk into a store that sells jackets of sorts, I continually try to find a Leon S. Kennedy jacket replica from Resident Evil 4. I've succeeded to finding two, closer and closer I get without breaking $100...

Sometimes I make "footstep" sounds when I walk around, but most of my friends and such get it and jeer me for it.

Once made a cardboard Arwing (from Star Fox 64).

Whenever I'm on the highway, I occasionally hum or whistle the "Mute City" theme as I pass people (preferably the Smash Bros. Melee arrange).

Occasionally I imitate NES-era Mega Man (mostly in front of friends), walk like him and do the "ballet jump" complete with dropping sound and lunging forward to shoot pellets (with sound effects).

My buddy and I do a bit with how awful guards from GoldenEye are with aiming and even the animation flaws played out in full (complete with shooting a guard while rolling and not reacting until they complete the previous animation).

I make lots of game related sound effects, and sometimes when I don't know where to go in my car, I do the "choose path" thing from a SEGA racer of choice.

Sometimes when I walk in parking lots, I hum overworld themes usually the one from TMNT on NES.

And many, many more.

I buy a lot of games and I buy a lot of game soundtracks.  I read a ton of game industry news on the interweb.  I also play some games from time to time, but this is difficult since I'm usually too exhausted from working to really get into it -- I probably only have one day a week now when I can concentrate on an involved game for any substantial length of time, but I diligently work through the games I really want to finish (halfway through Phantom Hourglass now).  I love getting into heated discussions about the past, present, and future of the game industry with my friends, and my dream job would be to run the entire marketing/sales department for a major game company.

To get back to the original question, I think that the way gaming affects my life is that it is forms a subcultural backdrop for who I am and how I enjoy my life.

I grew up around games and game music, I play games and listen to game music, I like talking about games and game music, I like using games and game music to refer back to certain points in time (ex: early 90's = 16 bit wars), I like following the politics/marketing involved in gaming and I constantly envision owning my own video arcade.

Oh, and every year at work around this time, I get about 2 dozen questions from parents/co-workers asking what to buy their kids for the holidays because I'm the only one in the office who knows about the stuff. I even set up a sign in front of my cubicle that reads: "Need help buying videogames for friends and family members this holiday season? Inquire within." I've even gotten phone calls from people in different departments about it.

I've thought about naming my future daughter (still a ways off) Celes, after the FFVI heronie. I have been trying to get my hair like Yuri's (circa Shadow Hearts 2).

Not really game, but I do Gundam noises sometimes when I walk (apparently, sometimes I don't even know when I'm doing it), sometimes I'll randomly yell out "SHINING FINGAH!", or "BAKURETSU GODDOH FINGAH!" when I wrestle with my little brother. Those are both references to G Gundam, of which I am a huge fan.

When something confuses me, I'll do my best Snake voice going "Metal Gear?!"

I have the Steel Samurai theme as a ringtone on my cellphone.

I bought Ridge Racer for PSP, and don't even own a PSP.

And that's how gaming affects my life. Probably will think of more ways later. Bed for now, though.

Gaming affects my life in large amounts. Basically, outside of watching The Office and reading the occasional book, my entire life is affected by games. For example, today is casual Friday at my work, and I decided to wear my Katamari Damacy t-shirt because all of my t-shirts have some sort of gaming logo, character or reference on them. My favorite is the "Body by Nintendo" t-shirt that I have.

http://www.myteespot.com/Body-By-NES-Ni … -6846.html

I basically only listen to VGM. I talk about games and reference them a lot. Most of my jokes revolve gaming conventions or quotes from games. When the prospect of travel comes up, the first thing I think of is what game I will play during the ride. Aside from "Zane", ironically enough, all my handles and usernames are somewhat related to video games or VGM. So, basically, a huge chunk of my life and entertainment is game related, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Hmm, apart from the fact that gaming is my number 1 hobby, and that all I ever listen to is game music, I am also writing a thesis on video games at Osaka University (Video games are a big part of why I started studying Japanese in the first place) and I try to work in Video Game quotes whereever and whenever I can.

So yeah, it's been a MAJOR influence.

I have to say...My days of listening solely to game music are pretty much done and I'm pessimistic about the direction of game music in the future and I think I spent a lot of time/money on soundtracks/artists I wouldn't have cared about other than the fact that they were "game music". I love a lot of the "other" music I've gotten into the last couple years (though MUCH more this year than last) but I definitely don't regret any of the time spent listening solely to the stuff (especially during the 90's!) and it's been a great background to help discover "music" in general. And there's still much I need to find out about...SNES/Genesis rips, other formats I know nothing about, some upcoming releases, doujins, rips, etc. Just like there's so many bands I need to find out more about. So while my iPod only reads about half-full of VGM (original and arranged), it has the stuff that's important and nearly-untouchable and the other half probably wouldn't be there if not for it...

Plus, it just rocks to slap together a custom "On-The-Go" playlist on my iPod and throw "Legend of the Mystical Ninja", "Megaman 2", "Marvel vs Capcom", "Final Fantasy VI", "Thunderforce III", "Ys IV PC 3" etc in with Megadeth, Great White, Poison, Slayer, etc.

Gaming affecting my life ...

well, my part-time occupation and personal love is writing reviews for RPGs. So that's pretty big. I'm pretty much entrenched in the industry, having been to E3 twice and receiving promotional materials from gaming companies on a regular basis.

Also, gaming affects my "gaming" life. I'm "Tonelico" in Final Fantasy XI. You can guess where that came from.

Game music affects my life in that i try to associate songs with my current surroundings.

my iZod has helped me out a lot with this, hmm letsee..

As most people here probably know by now, i'm a very moody person with constant personality shifts. it's a blessing and a curse, i suppose.

Because of my moodiness, i am frequently drawn to sad/melancholy songs of yearning and pining during the autumn and winter months. i revel in walking around by myself at nighttime while listening to the quality tracks from Resident Evil 3, or Disc One of Para-Parasite Eve 2.

i love walking through foresty-wooded areas at sundown while listening to We Form In Crystals (arranged), watching the leaves of the trees shimmer in the wind.

a lot of people tell me that i remind them of 'That really weird guy from American Beauty'.

And the truth is, they are 100% right.

I am coming to terms with the fact that my personal experiences thus far in my life have left me a truly bizarre individual who would probably be happier living in the magical-eccentric Land of the Rising Sun.

My eventual dream is to quell my inner demons that have haunted me for so many years so that i may focus my mind on becoming at least semi-fluent in Japanese, and Getting The Hell Out Of Dodge.

-Fin

Gaming used to be a much bigger part of my life than it is now. While I still keep up with it, I don't find myself actually playing the games that much. There simply isn't as much time as there used to be and honestly, the games just haven't delivered. I'm especially burnt out on the JRPG genre, finding myself bored with the usual paper-thin plots and characters (although there's the occasional gem that's released).

Every so often though, something happens that reminds me why I got into gaming in the first place. Last weekend, I went over to hang out with one of my closest friends and he surprised me by unveiling his new 43" HDTV. We played Halo 3 and the back-and-forth banter was great. We had this running joke going where I'd shoot him... and then he'd shoot me back. This might not sound unusual until you understand that we were playing cooperatively. In theory, at least. I doubt the game would be nearly as fun in single-player and I'll admit the gigantic television and pretty graphics helped a LOT.

Gaming dialog doesn't pop up in my everday conversations....

However, gaming in general seems to be a total pre-requisite for any of my genuine friends. 

If they don't "get" gaming (or even a surface-level knowledge of basic JP attitudes/culture), then chances are they aren't going to get much else about me either...

Good job, I remember when you were totally anti-non-VGM.  I just think it's dumb when people listen to something just because of what it represents, as in they like it because of the stigma associated with it.  My only criterion for music is that is has to be good, I don't care if it's made by a guy in Mexico, Japan, or Egypt and I don't listen to music to make myself feel special or elite.  I benefited in the same way as you though, my musical tastes weren't necessarily limited, but VGM helped expand my horizons and now I can listen to some Nas and chase it with Mortal Treason (I guess that isn't a good example in relation to VGM, but the point is I basically listen to absolutely everything now but country).  BTW, anyone who likes Prog-Metal, Riverside created another classic record with "Rapid Eye Movement".

I remember many moons ago we were playing a three-player two vs. one match in GoldenEye and we were taking turns being the odd man out.  Well, when it came time for the least experienced one of us to be the odd man out, he thought he was doomed since our other friend and myself were so much better than him.  What he failed to consider is that the two of us have a tendency to accidentally shooter each other in team matches and that sometimes this, coupled with lots of trash talk, ends in vendetta matches.  Unfortunately for him, the match ended up going on forever because we kept finding and killing one another before he could do anything.  By the time he got the five kills he needed to win the match, we had racked up a team score of -43 killing each other.

I don't see a problem with listening to something for what it entails as a form and function of music.  A big part of the reason that I favor score music in general is because I like the association of context that comes with it.  I enjoy the way that visuals and specific circumstances can be represented and/or supported through musical accompaniment.  So while I agree that there are universal elements in music which can be judged similarly across the board, and that those things are always important, I believe that the context connection means something as well.  It's not unlike how lyrics can also provide a context for music.  How much it does or doesn't matter in terms of personal enjoyment depends on the individual, but it's not necessarily a matter of lacking open-mindedness and modesty.

Also, I wouldn't refer to some of the things that have made VGM distinctive in the past as "stigmas", unless you're one of those people (and I know you're not) who claims to love VGM and yet likes to remind everyone that "we've come a long way since the bleeps and bloops".  Things like the looping and the brevity can be seen as positives.  There are also the unique sound elements of various chiptune music. (SNES for life)  It's possible (and it's not a crime) to be fond of those aspects without adopting an attitude of contempt towards non-VGM.  Anyways, it's odd to be talking about this when it's still so much more common for people to dismiss VGM based on the videogame connection than to embrace it for the same reason.

Thanks. I think around April, the realization set in that VGM composers were no different from "regular" artists. Sakimoto putting out a new album is no different than ACDC putting out another release...and the only reason I'd note the Sakimoto release is the fact that he was a VGM composer, not because I'd like his actual music (or in the case of Odin Sphere, it ended up being a factor in passing on buying the game altogether). Just too much of that...Too many composers I can't care less about outside of the novelty of being VGM composers (including all but maybe two outside Japan...and all the ones I actually like are inactive, save for the Atelier team) coupled with the more realistic direction VGM is heading in and the novelty of VGM kinda died right there (not assisted in any way with some of the god-awful releases this year). Hopefully for good.

I don't think I was ever totally 100% anti-non-VGM...I've always said I had a deeply-rooted liking for 80's rock just from casual listening and I don't think I ever turned my nose up at VGM that showed traits of it. I just have more of a motivation to explore it, and as a result, other types of rock music closer now. I was never  a huge fan of rock vocalists, but given the choice between what comprises "modern" VGM and getting used to Axl Rose, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Vince Neil and the like...Easy choice as to which is more rewarding to stick with (still many I can't tolerate though...). The old-school VGM was there for me in the 90's, where all the groups (save for 3-4) I would have liked anyway went to shit and I was able to turn a blind ear while the decade did its thing...Grunge/alt-rock, rap, pop-princess junk, etc. Thankfully, now there's the retro craze, wikipedia/Youtube for a great history lesson and many of the groups that struggled in the 90's are doing pretty well (not to mention modern groups I'll actually follow), so it seems my timing couldn't have been better. A little Iron Maiden here, some Poison there, a healthy and extended dose of Guns'N Roses there, Vixen there, some Helloween there, Tom Araya screaming in my ear and me trying to keep a straight face during "Angel of Death" there, early Metallica fun here, some Van Halen/ACDC for good measure, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Vai/Malmsteen/Satriani/Johnson, a couple wikipedia visits to learn what "Bay Area Thrash" (Death Angel!), glam metal, or "NWOBHM" are and what groups they include, some guys I picked up from Guitar Hero that I wouldn't have heard of or paid attention to otherwise (Friedman-era Megadeth, Wolfmother, Danzig, Horton Heat, Krokus, Avenged Sevenfold) and even Dragonforce, who draws inspiration from classic game music (seriously, any group that calls the Wonderboy series a musical inspiration gets my money, no questions asked)...All goes a long way and look good next to my "keeper" VGM on my iPod.

So, a little of this:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a57/Go … Rockin.jpg

led me to this:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a57/Go … nHalen.jpg

And when their powers combined, things get even crazier:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a57/Go … erwith.jpg

(It's been fixed since I took the photo, BTW. Sounds really good too, even through a practice amp. I can't do much more than power chords, "Smoke on the Water" and some basic messing around with scales and chord fingering, but it's a start. ;p)

It's interesting to read how we accept it as part of our lives, and we're perfectly sane (for the most part).  I believe it's up to us to shake off this negative stigma about gamers:  not necessarily the EA Madden 'XX sports playing gamers (EA can go eat s*** and die), but the ones that enjoy RPG's and still enjoy Mario after all these years. 

Thanks for letting me share part of my family with you all.  I figured if there was anyone who wouldn't automatically call me a fanboy, it'd be you guys.

I'll be honest, I'm quite jealous of the people my age that can play games on a regular basis and enjoy them - I just can't anymore.

.

Define regular:  if I'm lucky, I'll get in an hour or two on Fridays and Saturdays.  I know my Wii is just aching for me to be finished with school, and so am I. 

I know it seems like the same ol' stuff is coming out lately, which is why I was so happy to see Odin Sphere on US shelves and the likes.  It's hard to keep up with the slew of releases.  Most console games have a completion time of 20-40 hours and require a good 2-3 hours of dedicated gameplay to make any sort of cohesive progress.  This is why I think I'm spending a good deal of time on my DS and PSP.

I guess I shouldn't have used the word regular, I'll put it this way: I envy people who can play games and not get the urge to turn the system off 15 minutes later.

I think I can agree with the general consensus that VGM is getting much more boring.  Though the Wangan 3 OST is pretty sick and I love that FF7 remix album that came out.  But I don't think I listened to very much from the past 2-3 years asides from that.

As for gaming, I recently had to move across the ocean, so I left all my gaming systems behind since they're region locked and would require PAL adapters to work here in London.  Thus, I've relied on my DS and PSP for the odd bout of gaming that I've had time for in between my Masters.  Unfortunately, games in the UK are so bloody expensive that the prices are putting me off from trying the new Zelda DS.  I think when AWDS2 comes out, I'll have my sister send me an NA copy from home.

It's interesting to see that many people feel like VGM is losing its identity as the sounds and compositions become more movie-like or less melodic.  That means that although some people get mad at folks who consider VGM to be a genre of sorts rather than just "music", it does seem to function as a classification and grouping which for some people has consisted of certain positive things that are no longer present to the same degree.  I think personally that what's missing now are those imaginative attempts to make the most of what you have.  The unique and transcendant qualities that give many VGM classics their charm seems to be missing.  I must admit that I haven't been too thrilled by VGM in the PS2 era.  The 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit eras all seemed much more memorable.  That isn't to say that a great soundtrack doesn't come around now and again (I <3 BoFV), but I can understand why people worry about the direction VGM is taking.

Very well put! Instead of having a small amount of resouces and making the most of them, it seems that nowadays composers have a huge amount of resources and usually end up coming up with something either more generic or less enjoyable than older stuff.

Another thing to remember is that most of us were between 5 and 15 during the NES/SNES times, where our brains were much more malleable and our lives permitted much more time to get sucked into games, which is probably why it's much easier for us to get nostalgic about something we played ten years ago than it is to get nostalgic about something we played ten days ago. Also, the "times" were different back then in the industry. Think of it this way - do you think that a 13 year old that is playing through FFVI Advance for the first time is going to cream himself over the music the way that I did when I was 13? Probably not.

I don't even know if I'd cut the cake that thick...More like, I'll listen to a piece of VGM and I just ask myself, "Would I listen to this if it weren't VGM?" and if the answer is anything between 'maybe' and a resounding 'no', I use the recycle bin. Just helps home in on what's important and what stuff I was keeping around for the novelty factor.

Or rather, I prefer to think of much classic VGM as having unique colors and tones (as opposed to simply being an antiquated means of compensation, in terms of technology). If you go in thinking "Well this is good, but I'd like to hear it on a real guitar instead", it kind of cheapens the experience, as opposed to appreciating both the sound and the composition. So in my case, it's not just nostalgia...The emulated sets are like unearthing a gold mine right now.

Personally, the one thing I like is broadening my horizons hasn't cheapened the experience for anything I liked in the past. If anything, it's given new life to much of my older albums. I was listening to my King of Fighters 96 Arrange album the other day and I thought, "Man, that guitar tone sounds a lot like Slash's...I wonder if the guy's using a Les Paul". I swear that album never sounded as good as it did the other day. And it's fun picking out all those JDK Band references...I knew I recognized "Crazy Train", "Speedy's Coming" and "Steam Rock Fever" after seeing them on Ozzy Osbourne and Scorpions albums.

True.

Yeah...  For us, it was something unprecedented in gaming.  A benchmark score.  For someone playing it for the first time now, it may simply seem dated and inferior.  I think the quality is absolutely still there, but people nowadays may have to look for it, and that means fighting through biases and expectations in the process.  Something that not everyone will care to do.

That's exactly what has turned off music fans to VGM in the past.  The sound bias alone prevents people from ever considering the composition, nevermind trying to appreciate the nature of synth.

Topic derailed officially!

It's interesting, because I made a thread exactly like this on another site awhile ago.

http://www.ffdownloads.com/entertainmen … ntity.html

I honestly believe that when Koji Kondo, Hiro Tanaka and others were first creating video game music, that there wasn't any sort of set "standard" of what VGM should sound like.  It would be interesting to think that they were having fun seeing what music they could make out of such a constraining device.  Wouldn't this play into their personalities translating well into the music, something we don't see alot of today?