Things I’ve Done in The Name of Video Game Fandom

Do you remember falling in love with a video game for the very first time? That awesome moment when you’re floored and your eyes are glued to the television. Sometimes your mouth is agape in wonder. When the game ends, you quickly press ‘new game’ or order the other games/DLC available for the series.

It’s been a while since I felt this way for a video game series. Sure, there were a lot of great games that came out recently like The Last of Us or Bioshock: Infinite. I appreciate those games and certainly believe that they are strong GOTY contenders. However, they weren’t games that I knew that I would love ‘forever’ so to speak. It’s not a decision based on objective criteria. Sometimes a game sucks to both critics and fans, but it’s perfect in your eyes because it connects with you on a personal level.

I’m sure almost everyone can relate to being a HUGE and dedicated fan of a video game franchise. Somehow, you know you’re not just anyone who played the game when some of your financial and life decisions revolve around it. You’re also a walking wiki for the games you love. Quick to add in and correct vital information about the lore during conversations with friends.

Here are some of the things I’ve done and will do in the name of fandom. Have you done any of these stuff before? Do you have any you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments.

1. Made a blog that revolved around entirely one game

My old blog Commander Bedlam was originally tailored as a hub dedicated to my Mass Effect thoughts and fan creations. The name and design of the entire thing revolved around the video game. I meticulously worked on the design in the wee hours of the morning. I had no reason to, but it was a lot of fun. At that time, I was still shy being known as a geek since I grew up in a culture that labeled it as ‘weird.’ I used this blog as an outlet to voice all my theories, reactions, and ideas about a video game I loved so much. I would create posts, YouTube videos, and even podcasts. It wasn’t even my goal to have an audience. I just needed a space where I could express myself.

When you really love a game, you start to have a unique perspective on it. Sometimes it can be angles that most fans have missed themselves.

Right now though, CB acts as my online portfolio for all the video game related things I write about.

2. Planning to get a video game tattoo

Right now I have two candidates for a tattoo. First, I’d love to have the logo of Cerberus somewhere on my back. I don’t hate aliens, but I’m a fan of the Illusive Man and Miranda Lawson. The look and design of their organization looks so sleek and sophisticated in my opinion. The other contender would be the saint tattoo the Boss from Saints Row has on his neck. My family will kill me if I do this. However, as my friends say, do it now and tell them later.

Tattoos are permanent (well, if you don’t count surgery) and it’s one way to show how much a video game means to you.

3. Buying a trilogy in all platforms

Yes, I am ashamed of this because this absolutely makes no sense at all. I do own the Mass Effect trilogy for the PC, PS3, and the Xbox 360. I have all the DLCs for PC and a couple for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. They’re all collector’s edition and in physical form. I have a different variation of Shepard in each platform to make it at least a different experience for each. I usually pre-order the first copy of the game and it always had to be the collector’s edition and always physical. I once returned my pre-order from GameStop because they gave me the Standard edition. I went on Amazon the same day to get the one I wanted. I had to wait but it had to be ‘perfect’ so it didn’t matter.

Gosh, I am such an irrationally big fan.

4. Read and wrote fan fiction

I wrote a more detailed post about this here on Unreality. In short, you know how you have all these ideas and possibilities in your head that wished had happened? Fan fiction is the answer to that predicament. Most people just read it, and some like myself actually try to write one. It’s quite challenging for some people because you have to be knowledgeable about the lore and really attempt to stay true to the characters. Weird to say considering that there are a lot of fan fiction out there that totally throws out faithfulness to the characters and lore out of the window.

I really admire and respect people who use fan fiction as a way to expand a story substantially and faithfully. It shows how much they pay attention to detail and it clearly exemplifies their passion for a video game.

5. My fashion sense is influenced by video games

Ask my parents about this. They would be the first to tell you that I would rather buy video game themed clothes than spend two hours inside H&M.  I have shirts, hoodies, wallets, and what not printed with all sorts of video game brands and logos. I’ve never done any intense cosplay though, but I will go to class wearing all purple dressed up as a Third Street Saint. I don’t do this out of nothing. Like writing, my clothes also express my identity. Video games are an integral part of my life and it fills me with confidence when I can proudly show this to the world every time I step out of the door.