I’ve written a lot of articles on my changing tastes and interests over the years. I’ve even done getting to know me guides that are intensely outdated today. I think losing interest in things we loved and discovering new things is a natural part of being human.
This is my latest attempt to summarize who I am and what makes me tick. This is going to be kind of a list of things that currently interest me with notes on things that I have either lost interest in or would like to rediscover as time goes on. This is mostly going to be focused on hobbies and interests rather than personal experiences but I might also try to define my LGBT identity since it is Pride Month after all.
Comic books
This has always been a major interest of mine. However I have a confession. I don’t actually read as many comics as I would like. No, I don’t necessarily just collect for the sake of collecting either, however I often find myself lacking in motivation to actually sit down and flip through a book. Even when I do I prefer to stick to issues published in the mid 80’s through the late 90s mostly to reminisce over the things being advertised in the pages between the action.
Even as a kid when my interest in comics was at its peak truthfully I still didn’t read that many actual comics. Most of my comics lore knowledge can from sources outside reading the comics themselves. For starters I was a huge trading card collector so most of what I know about the Marvel and DC characters I am fond of I learned reading the backs of trading cards. I also watched a handful of Saturday morning an weekday after school super hero animated programs from the 90s which helped prepare me for the soon to be comic invasion of Hollywood. Every time a new comic book movie came out my friends were quick to ask me if it was anything like the comics. Often I just said mostly but they did change things and left it vague cuz frankly I didn’t know. To this day I am more interested in comic book characters as action figures or as video game characters than I am actually sitting down to read a comic book itself.
Video games and retro games
This is an area where my interest has never waned but my practical experience has diminished over the years. I love talking about retro games. I love watching YouTubers play and talk about retro games. I just don’t often find the time or motivation to sit down and play them myself. I also lost interest in collecting a long ass time ago.
As for current gen games I hardly know what is going on or who is even involved in the industry these days. It isn’t that I don’t care so much as I just don’t have the money to keep up so I avoid trying to stay current altogether. This helps me avoid the cognitive dissonance associated with not being able to afford all the games I would like to play but can’t.
Taking a step back into retro games for a second I have lost all interest in actually collecting or owning physical retro consoles and cartridges or discs. I used to have a very strong desire to own as many games as I could along with as many game consoles as I could. These days I am far more selective in where I spend my money. Sure I am perfectly fine and willing to use emulation to revisit some of the games from my youth that I still find pleasure in playing from time to time but my desire to hunt and purchase physical copies is long gone. At best I find myself picking up a PS4 game or a random Nintendo DS cart every once in a while but even those are rare occurrences these days. I would rather spend my time discussing and analyzing retro games than actually playing them most days.
Science fiction movies and TV shows
There was a time I would have told you I was a huge sci fi nut Then as time went on I slowly realize I didn’t have the proof to back this claim up. Yeah I always remained fascinated and interested in the main stream comic book flicks Marvel and DC were producing, especially since the rise of the MCU and DCEU respectively. Beyond that the most sci fi I consumed was within the realm of Star Wars or things like the Terminator or Aliens franchise with an occasional side quest into Robocop land. Then I decided to take stock in the over 1000 movies I own on DVD and realize I actually do have way more movies that fall under the sci fi camp than I realize, not to mention it turns out I actually have quite a few more sci fi films than I do horror films despite my undying love of the horror genre. This was kind of a shocker to me despite my previous assertions I was a fan of the sci fi genre I felt like I didn’t earn that title because of my lack of interest in things like Star Trek, Babylon Five, Doctor Who or even Battlestar Galactica. I realized it’s okay to like some sci fi but not necessary to like it all to be considered a fan of the genre.
Board games and Dungeons and Dragons.
I often used to tell people how much I love to collect and play quirky board games. In addition I frequently bitch and moan how I never get to properly play D&D despite my intense love of the game. Then this past year I discovered something I wasn’t fully seeing about myself until recently. I don’t actually enjoy playing boardgames or D&D with other people even at all. I started to realize my passion for board games was superficial and passive at best. I discovered I had more of a deep appreciation and interest in D&D lore, history and game mechanics than I actually did sitting down to actually play the game. I still buy, collect and read D&D books from all across the board from previous editions to modern rule sets including 3rd party offerings. I have a strong interest in D&D as a mythos and a product line I just don’t truly have any honest desire to actually play the game itself with others.
JRPGs and computer role playing games
This is another one I have flip flopped on as time went on. There was a time when I really wanted to like JRPGs and computer RPGs like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger and the Elder Scrolls. So strong was my belief that I was interested in these two things I spent way more time, effort and money than I dare to admit buying rare RPG video games only to discover as time went on I was never having fun and could never get into the games despite my constant efforts to try and force myself to do so. I mistakenly believed I was a fan of RPG video games partly because of my very strong affection for D&D as a game but also my interest in RPG adjacent games like the Legend of Zelda series or the Castlevania games. I incorrectly assumed because I had enjoyed Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy 7 that I must certainly enjoy other RPG video games, right? After trying multiple times to get into Elder Scrolls Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim and after multiple failed attempts to get into various Final Fantasy, Tales of… and other mainstream and obscure role playing video games I slowly discovered that I actually wasn’t as into the genre as I thought. Today I know I actually do have a strong desire to play story driven, fantasy video games but not necessarily those that fall under the RPG umbrella. I discovered I was more into games like Zelda, Maximo Dynasty Warriors and even Diablo than I was traditional RPGs.
Sega, Playstation and Nintendo
At different points in my life if pressed I would have told you Sega was the only gaming company for me. At other points it would have been Nintendo all day, every day. At still other times I would have told you I was loyal only to Sony and all others were inferior. As time has passed I have learned that I really am not as loyal to any single platform or brand as I previously thought. Sega has products that I will swear by to the day I day, they also have products I will assert are pure wastes of time and money. The same is true for Sony and Nintendo. I have a strong affection for PS1 and PS4 but have little to no interest in PS2 or PS3 as gaming platforms. I see PS2 as the rival to my beloved GameCube and the PS3 as nothing more than the most robust HD multi media player. I am all over the place with Nintendo having pure nostalgia and love for the NES and SNES, indifference towards the N64, undying love and affection for the GameCube, a fierce and fiery hatred of the Nintendo Wii, a modest interest in the Wii U, a vague feeling of sadness regarding the Switch and little to no interest in the Game Boy or 3DS despite a passion for the DS and GBA. What I learned is no gaming company or hardware unit is ever going to satisfy all my gaming needs and thus I realized I am not truly loyal to any brand as much as I am loyal to just having fun.
There are probably other interest I could dive deep into but as I sit here watching the clock tick away I realize this is enough for now. Perhaps some day I do a follow up where I take a look at other interest I have lost or discovered over the years but for now this should give you some insight into who I am as a person today.
Stephanie Bri 