Gamelife: A Memoir Review

Title of the Book: Gamelife: A Memoir
Author: Michael W. Clune
Number of Pages: 214
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Review: Video games affect everyone very differently, but our experiences with video games all have something in common. We all learn something from the game; that’s why they are fun to play. In Gamelife, Michael W. Clune shares his experiences with the video games he played as a kid. Clune shares the way the games changed his perspective of himself, the people around him, and the world he was living in.
Throughout the book, Clune plays 7 different games, all with different lessons to teach him. With the game Suspended, he learns his own self worth. With The Bard’s Tale II, he discovers the importance of fantasy. In Ultima III, he finds the importance of leaving your comfort zone to allow discovery. When playing Wolfenstein, he finds comfort in becoming one with the games he plays. Playing Elite taught him the difficulty of overcoming urges to better himself. Pirates! showed him that every good experience has a bad one to end it. Finally, with Might and Magic II, he defines what is truly real, and what separates a game from real life.
The beauty of the book is the way that Clune explains the lessons he learned. Until you understand the way this book is written, it may seem like it doesn’t make any sense and that the author goes on a lot of tangents. If you take note of these tangents and keep them in mind while reading, the book will make more sense as you continue. The lessons he teaches throughout the book are shown from the perspective of the game, as well as real life. By doing this, he is able to make subtle references to his real life with the mask of the game. Clune’s style is like nothing I’ve ever read before. He describes games in ways that I would never have thought to. From 1990 to 2001, Michael suffered from addiction to heroin. I believe that his experiences with the drug helped him visualise and explain the thoughts and ideas that were in his head as a kid. Based on the way he describes playing video games as being one with the characters and losing himself in the world, I think that he is able to explain the games in this way because of his addiction.
This book is great for anyone who is willing to think outside of the box and jump into the creative world of someone who thinks in a way no one else does. This is no run of the mill memoir. On the surface it’s a tangled mess, but once you dive in and immerse yourself, you can experience the world from the perspective of a kid again. With its comedic moments and unique storytelling, this book has more than earned it’s five-star rating.