Ryan Johnson
Written by Ryan Johnson (RyanDJ) Sunday, 03 October 2010 18:37
Hello, my name is Ryan Johnson. I'm a husband and a father. For me, gaming has always been a social experience. Starting with memories of my parents loading us up to visit another family two hours away and lugging my Atari 2600 along; my greatest gaming joy is seeing others enjoy themselves. I grew tired in the college years of everyone keeping their doors locked and only getting together to get drunk. So I opened my dorm room door and *gasp* said hello to people. That random smattering of walkers-by became my best friends, and we spent hours multiplaying everything imaginable, from Goldeneye to Kessen (yes, we even figured out ways to multiplay single player games). We would plug in two televisions and have two four-player games going on simultaneously in one room, while a few other people watched anime on a third set. I was honored as some of my friends actually said that gaming and our social community changed their life. They would have ignored their college careers and focused on the drunken parties, but instead found solid friendships amongst a group in which they could be stupid and be themselves, no alcohol required.
Since the college years, I married my beautiful wife and have had two children Gaming life has evolved: no longer can I put in 80 hours and finish the next great RPG in a couple months... I had barely scratched Final Fantasy 12 when 13 came out, and I've sadly put barely any hours in on 13 now that its sequel is here, and it's not because I don't like it. I have learned how to continue the gaming lifestyle through epic single-player games with smart save systems allowing me to continue my wonderful home life and my gaming passion.
As I struggle to complete some of the AAA titles out there due to time management, I am finding a new gamer friend in my six year old son, and looking forward to getting my newest into my hobby. I have written a plethora of Evolution of a Gamer articles, and plan to write many more, as I've LOVED watching him get the hang of the controller. Also getting used to a controller is my lovely wife. You get to see a few articles about her as well. Through the course, you'll probably learn a lot more than gaming about me. My wife's open heart surgery from an infection, my child's epilepsy, my own battle with the bulge, I approach everything through a gaming standpoint, and I usually end up writing about it.
It's been a blast writing for GoozerNation so far and I love supporting Goozex through my opinionated blathering. I hope you enjoy my articles!