Experience Tumblr like never before
I've just learned about the 15th anniversary of Xbox's "Summer of Arcade", which is the gaming sale of a lifetime for those that never heard of Steam sales before. But, for only six years, it featured some of most popular and highly acclaimed games at the time including Braid, "Splosion Man, and my favorite, Dust: An Elysian Tail. Obviously this post won't be about that stuff; this one's about my Xbox LIVE history. So, let's go.
Summer of 2007, a month after my 13th birthday. I was in contact with one of my classmates as we were holding up until the school year started and he yearned to convince me to join Xbox LIVE. Thing is, I was hesitant on even composing an online account due to privacy concerns and pricing (in terms of needing a credit/debit card) at the time. But I eventually discovered the world of gift cards as a bypass to those credit cards and jumped right in. Now, this isn't the first time I've had an online gaming experience; prior to Xbox LIVE, I've played online games on the PS2 and had some memorable moments there. But playing video games with a friend from a distance was a more extraordinary time.
When I started to play with random players, I expected a similar experience during my times with the PS2. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening. The players were verbally callous and short-tempered, even when I tried to have an insightful conversation. It phased me at first but I learned to tough it out since the idea of playing online progressively became more interesting because of IRL friends. With them, I've had some hilarious moments playing games online.
Continuing with my time on Xbox LIVE, I learned about digital releases of games purchased with the discontinued Microsoft Points. This is where the gift cards come into play again. So I got a bunch of games like Geometry Wars and Assault Heroes. This is where I first started to like the idea of buying games without going to the store.
I wanted all sorts of games in the marketplace, so bad that I would do anything to have them. That's how I stumbled upon one of the biggest scams on the Net: Microsoft Points generators. These used to be all the rage simply for the fact that they promised you free Microsoft Points. I download one of these generators, entered the credentials it asked for and...nothing. I was made a fool by this generator as I didn't receive any free points. Well, I could've been worse: I could've had my account stolen. There were real reports of that, too. These generators were mainly a "hacking" ploy that somewhat worked considering how gullible people were back then. Mind you, I was a teen so my choices weren't so sound. This managed to get Microsoft's attention, leading to a rewards program where you perform some tasks, like using the Bing search engine, to safety obtain points for free. And it's still used to this day.
Going back into playing with friends, I still kept in contact with them through Xbox LIVE while transitioning into high school. Some few months going in, I've noticed some changes in them. One of them in particular was so bothered by my tastes in videogames, I ended up demanding me to play the same games as he (typically, these were shooters. Yeah, the Call of Duty craze at the time.). Now, I've no problem with first-person shooters. I used to hate them because of having to move around in first person and aiming manually. But, that's literally all he plays compared to me playing a variety since childhood. Then, I had to put up with his insults and reluctantly played with him. I felt like lost some self-respect and wondered "why the hell am I still friends with him?" At least I had a better time with the friends I made I'm high school, but I was so emotionally charged about my other "friends", I couldn't even enjoy myself as well as I wanted. So, I finally cut those so-called friends out of my life after graduation. Never felt so free in a while.
Nowadays, I play Xbox LIVE less often since I've been PC gaming full-time if that makes sense to say. I only ever play with online friends. Plus, I have way better gaming peers I met in college. Wonder what great memorable times I'm gonna have in the future?