Strategy video games are near and dear to my heart. My childhood was full of long nights playing Age of Empires II, Empire Earth, and Civilization III. Later, when my friend’s older brother decided we were mature enough to appreciate one of the greatest in the RTS genre, we were introduced to Starcraft. We might have been too young to appreciate the great works of art these games were, but we played them with as much dedication and energy as any devoted fan. Whether it was two boys sharing a computer while arguing over tactics, or a LAN party in a basement, we were always ready to sink an entire night into one of our favorite games.

As we matured into adults, so matured our video games. Gone were the days of dial-up lobbies with terrible ping. We now stared at HD graphics with mind boggling telescopic zoom in Supreme Commander. Our little pixelated troops became fully developed 3D personalities in Company of Heroes. Flat empty maps became grand 3D environments in Homeworld. These strategy games showed us that a good game is like fine wine, it only gets better with time. Maybe that explains why Age of Empires II came out with a remastered HD edition 14 years after the original release and became one of the top selling games of the year and one of the most played RTS games every year since its re-release. (It then re-released again with 4k graphics 6 years after that and topped the sales charts).

When college came around, it provided a new hurdle to gaming with friends. The early 2010s transformed into Hamachi virtual game lobbies from all over the US. Summers became LAN parties at our houses. A cheap $10 switch with a half dozen ethernet cables became the lifeline to play with minimal lag. My  Black Friday laptop, affectionately known as “The Paper Weight” for its mediocre performance values, managed to somehow stay alive for 3 years of incessant, rough use. Age of Empires II was still one of our main games, but we had slowly transitioned to bingeing Company of Heroes most nights. We realized at this point that consoles would become an afterthought for us as the metamorphosis to the “PC Master Race” left us forever enamored to maxing framerates and CPU performances. We learned the value in studying game mechanics and watching pro matches to improve ourselves and outsmart each other. We developed out of our blissfully ignorant Dark Age and grew into our Renaissance Era in video games. Rapidly we each painted our unique gameplay styles with such fervor and individuality that even Leonardo da Vinci would be proud. 

After a few strong years our Golden Era started to wane. I joined the military and traveled the world, my fancy new gaming laptop often left untouched for days—or even weeks—at a time. Some friends went to graduate school and became so absorbed in their studies we wouldn’t hear from them for months. Professional careers and long-term relationships started to replace long nights learning new tactics and fine tuning our early game build strategies. The endless nights of trash talking and meticulous ledgers recording personal and group bests, overpowered by the chaos that is life. We still played the occasional games here and there, but it wasn’t the same. It had devolved into two friends passing some time and catching up, not four or five allies that boldly created empires and destroyed civilizations. The Golden Era of video games had quietly come to a close.

Our Golden Era may have ended, but that doesn’t mean our history has disappeared. These games created a time-honored bond between friends. The patience and critical thinking skills learned from our many gaming sessions gave us vital skills for us to use in our careers (I personally thank these games for my ability to effectively manage many different tasks at once). I’m happily married to the greatest man I’ve ever met, but I still find time to occasionally play online with my friends. My husband knows that an hour or two planning attack formations and discussing economy planning gives me a form of stress relief and camaraderie you can’t find anywhere else. We love exploring the world and starting new adventures, but some days all I really want is a headset, a bourbon on the rocks, and a great strategy game. My friends and I developed a culture so unique that we are still inseparable 20 years later. Some people may look at this as a bunch of nerds wasting away their lives, but we were making memories and friendships that would last a lifetime.

~Shane Battles