There’s a meme going on over at The Faces Book where people list off 15 Albums that changed their lives. Or 15 movies. Or books. I haven’t seen anything about 15 videogames changing anyone’s life. But I wasn’t looking. Anyhow, here are 15 videogames that changed my life. Where I’ve felt like it, I’ve described why, somewhat poorly:

1. Pac-Man - A tabletop version of this arcade game was my first-ever videogame and, along with Star Wars and The Transformers, was my first introduction to the wonderful world of merchandising. Yes, I had Pac-Man on other things I consumed. Like board games, colouring books, and cereal. I still have the tabletop Pac-Man and it still works. Also: In the Scott Pilgrim movie, I almost died laughing at the Pac-Man reference. I would have totally used that line to pick up the ladies. Or try to.

2. Shinobi - Because a ninja going through 20 or so stages while fighting shit is just INTENSE, SON! One of the bosses is A FUCKING HELICOPTER!

3. Zillion II: The Tri Formation - It’s a crazy side-scroller for the Sega Master System, based on the Zillion anime which I have never seen, nor really want to see. But you have this bike that can transform into a robot mech suit. Then there’s on-foot missions where you have a really floaty jump. Those kind of suck. But it was the variety of play types that made this one blow my mind.

4. Double Dragon - if you’re a gamer and you have never played the original Double Dragon all the way through with a buddy, I just don’t know what to say to you. Not only does this game have totally bad-ass music, but the concept behind it is brilliant. Upon reaching the end of the game and realizing what had to be done, I was in total shock.

5. R-Type - This game scared me. It still kind of does. One lone ship against hundreds of deadly alien ships and… things. Big props to the designers - having a boss that occupies an entire stage is a rad idea. Also, I hate that boss. The final boss in this game is as close to impossible as a video game boss can ever be, because the longer you take to destroy it, the more indestructible discs it sends out after you. Spoiler alert?

6. Metroid - A stark game with a sparse but haunting soundtrack, leaving the player feeling very isolated while exploring a strange, often confusing alien world. One of the best games I’ve ever played. Also big ups to Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Prime for capturing the feeling established in the original while being their own standalone adventures.

7. Phantasy Star - Very likely my favourite game of all time. Every time I think of it, I attach that description to it. I played this game for about 5 years before being able to find the final boss, which was hidden well. In an age where strategy guides only paid attention to Nintendo releases, I had to rely on word of mouth for this one, and it took that long for me to meet someone else who had the game. But enough about that - the game changed my perception of what a videogame could be. Before playing Phantasy Star, gaming didn’t require quite that level of thinking, nor did games really draw me into their worlds.

8. Super Mario Bros. - I never had a Nintendo so I got my Mario fix when I would visit friends. This game still rocks. So many developers have tried to capture its magic and haven’t even come close.

9. Tetris - I spent many hours playing this on the original Game Boy, and a few more hours playing this on the Game Boy Color when I graduated to one of those in college. Some of my friends are scared to play me in Tetris, but that’s only because they stink at it. The Tetris song, Korobeiniki (if I remember its name right) is cool, and Ozma did a great cover of it as the lead track to The Doubble Donkey Disc.

10. Super Mario World - Still my favourite Mario game. The introduction of Yoshi, the new power-ups, and the giant world with multiple-exit levels kept me coming back again and again.

11. Star Fox

12. Street Fighter II

13. Killer Instinct

14. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

15. Resident Evil

Last night I was at the Comedy Bar to see Neil Hamburger. I had a beer so I had to pee, because that’s how my bladder works. So I went to the washroom and while I was at the urinal another guy entered and started to pee beside me. He looked over and asked if my band was any good.

What a jerk!

How can he recognize me from being in a band but not remember if he liked the band or not? And moreover, why would anyone ever ask someone in a band if their band is good? Would anyone actually say their band is bad?

He also then asked what I played. I told him drums. He asked if I was any good. I told him I’m the best fucking drummer in the world. Hahaha. Drunk people.

Every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have such an incredible job. This music video, which was shot for one of the songs I made with the Kaossilator Pro, is proof of that. I had originally wanted to put a link to the album on the show’s site, but one of the editors and my producer thought a video would be a better idea - and I agree! I love how it turned out and I can’t watch it without laughing. The fact that this was actually on television makes it even better. Enjoy!