Video games have always been a big part of my life since childhood. My earliest exposure to video games was when I visited my older cousins and watched them play Secret of Mana on their Super Nintendo, and that was a time when backseat gaming as a term wasn’t really a thing. I also recall playing Space Cadet pinball, Caesar 3, Jazz Jackrabbit and many more titles on the PC. I wasn’t any good at them, especially Caesar 3 because I had no idea what taxes were, but I still have fond memories as with anything that one reflects upon with nostalgia.

Then video games really became a passion when my older brother somehow duped my parents into buying a PlayStation console from a school auction, which was miraculous considering how tight on spending they were, and I got to play the games on the demo disc that came with it – Tekken 2 and Destructo Derby were the games that I remember playing most vividly. Thus the beginning of console gaming for me: Playstations 2 to 4, the PSP, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and the Nintendo 3DS and more recently the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 are all consoles I’ve dabbled in 

I must also mention that PC gaming had also continued from my younger days. Notable games that I remember include Flame Dragon, Rich 4, Age of Empires 2 and a plethora of MMORPGs such as Ragnarok Online 1 & 2, Flyff, World of Warcraft and the now defunct Terra. Nowadays it’s mainly Final Fantasy XIV but very casually.

There is one stain I have to mention and that’s mobile gaming. Yes, I’ve been on the bandwagon, and unfortunately a lot of money has been sunk while in it, but thankfully I’m off it for good.

So as you can see, the list of games that I’ve played is going to be quite lengthy, but the list of games that I’ve bought but not played is growing at a fast pace as well. In addition, as I write this, I’ve got a little baby who I had just put to sleep after nursing from 3:45am in the morning, and I’ve got 2 months left until I return to my corporate slave job. How to fit time and energy for video games has never been more difficult, especially given how tumultuous parenthood is, so I really want to chronicle my journey as a new parent, a gamer and a corporate slave, I mean, worker, as a way of dealing with the related anxiety. 

Welcome to my blog, Gamer Mama’s Life, where I plan to post my thoughts on how gaming and parenthood mix. Work will be added to the discussion as well to make it a triple whammy. I might also post about anime, Chinese dramas, and other things in life. Basically, I’ll post whatever I want.