I was thinking about the first video game I ever played. Reaching far back into my memory, the one I recall is Space Invaders. Not the stand-up arcade one, but the small handheld version. Yeah, that’s right, there were small handheld video games back then.

Space Invader handheld by Entex Electronics, 1981.

I received it for Christmas in 1981. This was one of the best Christmas presents I ever received as a kid. I played this game for months. Because of this game I soon discovered arcades and a whole host of new video games.

I guess you can say the Space Invader handheld was my gateway drug to video games and gaming in general.

When I was a kid living in Oak Harbor, WA, there was an arcade (called Bears) not too far from my house. Me and some other kids from my neighborhood would ride our bikes to Bears on the weekends and spend our afternoons playing anything and everything we could. Games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Centipede, Tempest, Zaxxon, Yie Ar Kung Fun, Excite Bike, and Karate Champ.

These games fueled our imaginations. They excited us to the possibilities of fantasy, science fiction, and adventure. These games were a form of technological mythology. Because of video games we hungered for further adventures. We dove into the cheesy fantasy and science fiction movies of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We read comic books. We purchased science fiction / fantasy books and we sat together in the summer sun reading for hours and discussing (debating?) the finer points of the stories’ plots and hidden meanings.

I don’t know what happened to those kids. I’m sure they have families and careers of their own. I don’t know if they continued to voraciously consume fantasy media, or if they abandoned the dressings of youth for more adult things.

As for me, I’ll continue to dive into the worlds of science fiction and fantasy and video games. Those worlds allow me to dream of adventure and keep that flame of childhood kindled just a little bit longer.