It was a place where I kept all my video gaming treasures and a place where I spent countless hours discovering new lands and new characters whilst saving the world or managing my favourite football team to glory.
My bedroom as youngster holds a dear place in my heart and rightly so.
Man Cave Required
The thing is, as you grow up and move out and get married and then have kids the bedroom becomes less of a space for you and more of a shared space where space is generally at a premium.
This is why we like to have a "man cave", a shed or a "gaming room" as we get to a certain age and want to get our space back.
I started thinking to myself, If I had the opportunity (and the space) to recreate my ultimate bedroom setup which would include all my favourite video games systems, toys etc from when I was young what items would I pick to go into it?
Imagine making your own personal bedroom sized time capsule in the style of an IKEA mock up but from the 1980's or 1990's , what would you fill the room with?
Well here goes my attempt at recreating my ultimate Retrogaming 80's / 90's Bedroom!
Video Games System
I have to choose one system as at this age I could only ever afford one system at a time. Of course this is a tough decision and it turns out that it's a duel between my Commodore Amiga 600 and my beloved Super Nintendo
The Commodore Amiga felt grown up, I mainly used it for gaming but it also introduced me to Wordsworth which was a word processing program of the day where I began to write short stories.
My Super Nintendo however, was my ultimate gaming machine that I am most fond of.
It's probably my favourite purchase of all time (that includes buying a house!)
For me the SNES is my childhood sweetheart that I could happily stay with for the rest of my days so for that reason, it has to be....... SUPER NINTENDO
Video Games
I never owned masses of games as I would have to save up to buy them and I spent a lot of time reading reviews before purchases were made. I never made a rash purchase of a video game.
My collection probably consisted of 10 games maximum. Those 10 games were guaranteed to be nailed on classics though. For the purpose of my recreated retrogaming bedroom I will limit myself to five games for the Super Nintendo.
- Super Mario World
- Super Mario Kart
- Street Fighter 2
- NBA Jam
- International Superstar Soccer Deluxe
Lock me away in a room and I will happily play these 5 awesome games endlessly.
Put me in a room with a couple of friends and a multi tap and my time would be spent smiling whilst playing 4 player NBA JAM!
Video Games Magazines
My video games magazine collection was always a massive feature of my bedroom.
My collection took up the majority of my shelf space in my room.
I didn't just buy one main magazine, I bought them all I'd collect C&VG, Mean Machines, super Play, SEGA Force, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Gamepro, Control and later on I'd move onto Official Playstation Magazine.
For my retrogaming bedroom I will allow myself two sets of video games magazines.
The two sets of magazines which brought me the most joy and inspired me to write about video games and they are......
MEAN MACHINES & SUPER PLAY
BOOKS
I have always been and avid reader and wherever I can fit the time in I will read a book or two.
Back then I was well into ordering books by mail, this meant I had a great collection of awesome stories.
I will attempt to pick five books from back in the day and populate my virtual bookshelf with the cream of the crop...
1. Fighting Fantasy The Forest Of Doom (Ian Livingstone)
Fighting Fantasy were always my book of choice and Of Doom was my fave.
2. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4 (Sue Townsend)
Adrian Mole's life was hilarious to read about as a teenager and I made sure I read all of Sue Townsend's books.
3. The Denton Headmaster (Gillian Cross)
The Demon Headmaster reminded me so much of our new headmaster at the time I felt compelled to read this terrifying book!
4. George's Marvellous Medicine (Roald Dahl)
Roald Dahl's stories always amuse me and this one tapped into my love of making mixtures and potions in my dad's shed!
5. Osborne Book Of Ghosts
I was always a big fan of true ghost stories and this marvellously illustrated book scared the bejesus out of me.
Board Games
It wasn't all about video games for me, back in my youth I owned so many great board games.
I loved to play these awesome social games with my friends and family.
There were definitely five go to games that I still play to this day let's get them in my virtual bedroom...
1. HeroQuest
The classic RPG board game that fuelled my imagination
2. Monopoly
A stone wall classic and I genuinely believe that Monopoly taught me how to deal with cash. What a great game, we still play this every Christmas without fail!
3. Scrabble (Junior)
I've always been obsessed with words and Scrabble was always a joy for me.
I have a really cool travel version now, but Junior scrabble is where I learned most.
4. Cluedo
I love the whole process of finding the 3 parts of the puzzle, an absolutety awesome game.
5. Armchair Cricket
This is a card based version of Cricket. A game that I adore. You could even name your own side and keep individual scores Brilliant.
Toys
Alongside my books were a mass of toys. So many different types of toys. I was into everything. I had figures from all manner of franchises alongside some really entertaining toys.
This is another tough call but here goes...
1. Lego
A Massive bag of Lego is at) t needed to remain happy. I would create to my hearts content. I still think it's the greatest toy of all time,
2. Yeearrgh!
Guide a ball bearing across about 10 different obstacles in a frustrating but awesome game of skill and patience.
3. Super Cup Football
Better than Subbuteo as you didn't have to iron the pitch, this game was and still is perfect
4. Test Match Cricket
This was tike the Subbuteo of Cricket, oh how t loved this game, the bowling action was
awesome and there was an element of skill but it wasn't too tough to play.
5. Johnny Ball's Chemistry Set
Not really a toy but I had so much fun with this and it grew my love of science like nothing else. Awesome gift that i'll never forget.
Posters
My room contained only two types of posters, Football and Video Games. That was my only interests in life. Football wise I had all the footballers of the 90's that I admired and Video Games wise I had posters taken from CVG, So which five would make it onto my wall for the room...
1. Paul Gascoigne
My all time footballing hero. The magic 8 was unplayable.
2. Erik Thorstvedt
My all time favourite goalkeeper. This guy was a man mountain.
3. Gary Lineker
A goal machine like no other, so happy that he played for Tottenham during his best years.
4. Eric Cantona
The best player to grace the Premier League.
He oozed class and even though he played for Man United you couldn't deny loving his style.
5. Jurgen Klinsmann
When Tottenham signed this legendary striker, I was shocked. Watching him play live is the greatest experience on a football field that I have ever witnessed. The most complete striker ever.
I know they are all footballers and they are mostly Spurs players, but that honestly represents my interests of the late 80's early 90's.
Everything was Tottenham Hotspur! (with the exception of King Eric)
Music
Music has always been a massive part of my life and was even more so the year that mum and dad bought me my very own hi fi.
It had a CD player and I got Rave 92 with it! I loved my stereo and I loved having a CD player and a tape deck. So many hours were spent creating playlist tapes.
What five CD's / Tapes would make sure I had in my room.... ?
Let's take a look shall we...
1. oasis-- Definitely Maybe
2. Guns & Roses— Use Your Illusion II
3. Eminem —Slim Shady LP
4. Bluetones — Expecting To Fly
5. The Beatles --- Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
A perfect mix to accompany a gaming session. A bit of this and an bit of that. Oasis have always been my favourite band and Eminem has always been great to play games to!
Videos
It was around this time that my Video collection was beginning to grow and I loved to watch videos from the world of film and sport. I had my own blank tapes to tape films and I always asked for films at Christmas, these are my five faves that would make it onto my shelf.
1. Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino at his finest
2. Trainspotting —A story that opened my eyes to what a film could be about
3. Boyz N The hood Gritty and unforgettable
4. Waiting For Gascoigne — My hero shown at his best
5. Botham's Ashes —An inspiration for those people who say "it can't be done!"
Furniture
Every cool bedroom had some key pieces of furniture to finish it off perfectly, Here's my three key things that I would furnish my bedroom with.
1. Captains Bunk —This bed was awesome. It was a bunk bed with a desk built in and shelves. It also had storage space underneath the bed which housed stacks of board games and toys. It also had a wardrobe. I loved this bed. Climbing up the ladder each night felt cool and t had rigged up a pulley system to enable me to switch off the light once I was in bed. Awesome
2. Gaming Chair— The chair I owned was the squeakiest, most uncomfortable chair that you could imagine so I think I would like to get myself a new comfy chair BUT this is a retrogaming nostalgic bedroom so t have to stick within the confines of the time. My squeaky wooden office chair with wheels wilt have to do the job once more!
3. Gaming Shelves— I had a set of metal shelves that were bright red. My Dad constructed them so as they could take all of my gaming magazines and my gaming system. They were awesome and would still do the job today. BRING BACK MY SHELVES!
A.N.Other
It feels like I have covered all elements of my bedroom from 80's & 90's but there are another couple of things that would really complete the look and feel of my recreated room.
CB Radio — I spent many hours making new friends on my CB. All my mates had one and it was loads of fun. This was pre mobile phones and meant that the only way to contact each other was through the use of land line telephones. To have the option of chatting to your mates from your bedroom CB was so cool. Obviously I loved the convoy film and this made it even cooler!
Dart Board — I always had a dart board in my room, so even though it never made it into my games or toys it deserves a place on here.
So There You Have lt.....My Virtual Retro Gaming Bedroom Is Complete
What Would Definitely Make It Into YOUR Recreated Retro Gaming Bedroom?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Like what you see in the Games Freezer?
Why not tell us what you think with a few well-chosen comments? :)
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.