A beautiful girl I grew up with, to whom I had a huge crush on for years, who loved gaming.
A socially awkward childhood that lent itself well to the escapism gaming offered.
A serious injury that left me with little to do but play games for a long recovery period.
A lifelong affinity for technology.
All of these things certainly contributed in varying degrees, but quite often I come back to what my be the defining moment, the initial catalyst that kicked it all off. A moment I recently described to a new friend, and felt that it is a moment I would like to share with the rest of you as well.
During my 3rd grade year, when I was seven, my grandfather (whom, for all intents and purposes is my father, which is another story) entered me into a bicycle safety competition, which when you think about it is strange event in and of itself (does competing against other kids really encourage safety?). The goal of the event was to motivate kids of all ages to be more active, but also to educate them on the rules of the road when riding their bikes.
The event was held in a hockey arena, without the ice thankfully, and they had a number of challenges laid out on the cement floor in white tape. Some where mocked up to resembled traffic intersections and scenarios, while others were straightforward agility and skills challenges.
I loved my bike at that age, since I had been late to learn how to ride it, I appreciated it all the more. I flew through the challenges, and some days later was told that I had placed second in the entire city. They brought me to an office one night to receive a prize, which turned out to be an alarm clock (not exciting prize for a 3rd grader), and to ask me if I would like to compete in another round against all the other kids who had won in different cities across the province. The following weekend I was doing the same thing in the provincial capital.
Like the first time, the results had to be tabulated, so no one would no who won for a few days. I didn't think much of it, since I wasn't in need of another alarm clock, and went back to my daily 3rd grader routine. A few days later though, that routine took a sharp, and unexpected left turn.
One afternoon, while in the middle of our math lesson, two uniformed policemen arrived at our classroom unannounced. The teacher was visibly surprised, and they asked sharply if "James is present today". At the time, there were four kids in my class named James, three of whom used different names for ease of reference by the teacher: I was going by Jamie. We all sheepishly raised out hands while the rest of the class all ominously murmured that "Ohhhhh" sound that kids make when they know trouble is coming, like when you are called to the principle's office.
The officers, a little annoyed at the copious amount of James' in the class then asked "James Mouat?". The other three boys lowered their hands and the murmur from the class grew exponentially. The teacher set about settling the class and the policemen announced, slowly, that because of something I had done that they had come to see me today. In retrospect it seems clear now that they were playing to the crowd, but i'll be damned if it didn't work; the kids ate it up and ignored the teachers attempts to bring silence.
At this point, I suspect that I am going to jail or something even more terrible, and I don't even know why! After a pregnant pause in their speech, laid on for dramatic effect, they reveal that I had placed first in the entire province for the bicycle competition, and as such they were here to deliver my prize: a brand new NES videogame system, which one officer produced by learning out of the classroom door and retrieving it from it's hiding place in the hallway. At this point in my life was this akin to winning the lottery, in more ways than one.
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| Welcome to winning the 3rd grade popularity contest! |
Two things happened simultaneously at that moment: One, a huge rush of relief mixed with euphoria washed over me, and Two, the entire class lost their collective mind. Even my teacher, who was a an evil spawn of the devil on her best days, was uncharacteristically happy. The class was screaming, yelling and cheering at the top of their lungs as I ran up to the front of the room to claim my prize.
Remembering back to the days and months that followed this moment, I see the deep irony in the chosen award. Without a doubt it set me on my path to becoming a designer, as I took to gaming in a deep and important way, far beyond simply being entertained. The irony though came in my the form of my poor neglected bicycle. Practically overnight it went from my constant companion to a lump of rubber and steel that I passed by going to and from school each day.
I don't think I rode my bike for at least 3 months after that day. I suspect that this wasn't the outcome that the organizers of a contest meant to promote safety and physical activity had intended.
I look back on that moment as one of those moment that shaped my life, and is in large part responsible for why I know live in Paris and have a job that I love. Sure, I had been exposed to games before this, I had even had my own computer since the first grade (I learned Basic in the second grade), but until that moment it really hadn't been important to me.
Crazy huh?
