How A Video Game Changed My Life

*Disclaimer: There are minor spoilers for the game Lost Odyssey in this post. I highly recommend that if you plan to play this game you only read this post after having played through to at least the second disc of the game as the spoilers pertain to the first disc of the game*

The power of media to influence and reach people can be seen throughout all of history. Yet certain media forms tend to be viewed through a different lens, where they wind up being seen as nothing more than some useless distraction at best. Most forms of media, from books to movies and everything in between, have borne their fair (unfair rather) share of this type of criticism.

Video games as a media form have been criticized as a waste of people’s time or even blamed for problems with youth and society as a whole. I’m not going to pretend that I can end that argument with anything I say here. There is a good chance that even if video games come to hold a reputation as an art form there will still be a vocal segment of society that argues against them. All I can really do is say how I feel on the subject, namely what games mean to me.

Games not only have the potential to reach people but they can be meaningful in a persons life as well. I don’t just mean as something that brings happiness to someone’s life. I don’t just mean as something that people can use to socialize with others or bond with friends over. Those arguments have already been made by others. What I mean is that a game can so deeply affect a person that it becomes a milestone, something that no matter how their memory may fade over time or their life change, will always be one of the most cherished and important moments in life.

To those who were involved in the making of Lost Odyssey, to Hironobu Sakaguchi the creative director of the game and to the game itself, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I will always be in your debt for the rest of my life.

That may sound unusual, sad or plain nerdy to some but its how I feel and how I will always feel and I can really care less how people see me for that statement. I will never be able to give an honest assessment of the game because my bias runs too deep. All I know is that I turned this game on with the expectation of just playing a hopefully good game. I came away with one of the most important experiences in my life. I played the game for the first time months after its release, not even having really anticipated it all that much.

I played it months after burying my older brother Manuel Angel Anton.

My life was a wreck by that point. I had slipped into such a deep depression and melancholy that I couldn’t go a day without feeling like my life was over. I wasn’t going to class and barely even cared about anything that was going on around me. His death had shaken me to my very core and all my goals, principles and desires meant nothing to me. I hid most of it from whomever I could but it didn’t change where I was headed and the fact that nothing I tried to do could help me break free of what I was feeling.

In Lost Odyssey there is a key moment in the story where the main character rediscovers his daughter (who was presumed dead from falling off a cliff) years later, on her death bed. It is an extremely emotional scene and a definite tear-jerker.

For someone still struggling with the death of a brother with whom there was an almost unexplainable link, it was almost too much to bear. I didn’t just cry. I absolutely broke down. The pain, the confusion, the anger but most of all the helplessness I felt came rushing in and there was no way for me to hold it all back. I don’t remember how long it took me to finally pick that controller back up again but this game had me hooked in a way that no other game ever had and I had to keep playing to see where things would go.

That is when Lost Odyssey did something that angered or annoyed many gamers. It forced them to put up with a segment involving running around and picking up random items, followed by a rather lengthy segment that just involved simple button presses and moving a flaming torch to light other torches (I would explain the entire segment but it would take too long to go through it in detail). It was part of a funeral process to send off the deceased daughter of the main character. For some gamers it was a great moment in the story; for others it was just an annoying segment of meaningless gameplay. For me it cemented my gratitude and debt.

For me it took away the pain.

At a time in my life where I felt nothing but confusion and hopelessness this one moment changed it all. No movie or book could have done what this single moment did. It allowed me to interact with a scenario I needed. It allowed me to send off my brother and move past what had happened.

It allowed me to do something about it.

That is where the meaning of gaming lies. The interactive nature of games is what sets it apart from any other media form and its what took a scene that I had seen played out in books and movies become something so much more. In time I may have found another way to get past what was going on in my life. That does not change what did happen. I was able to move past the single worst period of my life because of the interactive nature of a video game.

Even today I am already playing games less than I used to as I get back into writing, reading and other social endeavors. Regardless of whether I play a game ever again in my life I will always hold a special place in my heart for Lost Odyssey. So no matter what your stance may be on gaming just remember that a video game can change a person’s life.

A video game changed mine.