Introduction

Like others have stated, I didn't have much experience with gaming consoles and such when I was a child. I do recall buying one of the early Need For Speed games for PC at around age 12 or 13. After this, I began to further my interest in computer games. I honestly haven't had much interaction with gaming consoles though. The most I believe that I have used a console would be when I was around 8 years old, and would play Zelda on my cousin's Nintendo 64. :) In high school, I had a strong interest in the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games for computer. What I really appreciated about those games was the creativity in regards to layout. For example, the game starts out with one city/map that you can navigate around, but as you work your way through the game, other maps are "unlocked". Each new map that can be unlocked has a unique layout. In addition to this, one thing I really enjoyed about the GTA games was how customizable everything is. When playing on the computer, for example, you may add your own music for the radio stations, change players/vehicles, and manipulate the playing environment to function as you wish. This, I believe, I thoroughly enjoyed because you can make the game more realistic to everyday life.

Since starting college, I honestly haven't had much time for gaming. In regards to myself and how electronic gaming has affected me, I believe there is a correlation between the creativity of the map layouts and the art world. I feel that, through the layouts of various games I've played, I have increased my appreciation for spontaneous design. This could be for both electronic forms, such as graphic design and digital photo editing, as well as with freehand sketching and artwork.