The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) [GAME]

"These are not for sale." - mus

It was night in the year 2000, and I was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bare wall in a room without furniture. We had just begun moving in to our new home that they had almost finished building at the time. All that was in it was a Nintendo 64, a CTR television, and the glow of my newly-bought copy of the first 3D Zelda gaming in game history. I was battling Ganon for the very first time. The outside world didn't matter as I swung the hammer at his head, attempting to crush this mutated demon; the representation of the evil in Hyrule. I killed him, and that was a moment to always be remembered, cherished and be a part of my life forever.

"A rare thing to see in 1998"

 The first time I saw the game in real life and in action was at my very best childhood friend's place. His father was playing it, and he swore as Link didn't swim as deep as he wanted to because he hadn't obtained the Golden Scale yet. I thought to myself, I need to play this, and I'll be good at it, and I'll enjoy it. I had the most intense urge to get my hands on the game, and to me, it wasn't just a game, but some spiritual experience that only I understood out of all the people that surrounded me during my childhood. It wasn't pixels on a screen, but something to connect deeply with. When I finally had it in my hands, the bond was immediate and permanent. It was a world that was better than this – a world filled with courage and emotion instead of dysfunction and perpetual distress, so it gave me hope, because if somebody really thought up this world (a world I preferred to consider real), then the real world must truly be beautiful after all, and all the bad stuff I'm suffering through is just filler and the result of the petty, non-thinking individual. And the fact that whenever I brought it up, the only response I got in return for telling people about this this godly, digital creation that I had found was neglect, ridicule and silly half-assed laughter, I knew that they must really hate beautiful things, and that I must continue my journey through it, and I so I did.  

"An artist's personal interpretation of Ocarina of Time's Hyrule"

A game is more than a game. A "game" is what the developers have to call it in order to be allowed to produce it, but more than anything, it is a saga created by and for people that love telling and creating stories, characters, environments and life-changing revelations, because especially during childhood (especially abusive childhoods), you connect more than ever and crave connection more than you ever will again. Today, games are more for business than for experience. I don't care much for them today, and to me, Ocarina of Time is no more a game than the best movie I've ever seen is a slideshow presentation. 

Source 1, Source 2