Why I Started Retrohalla

I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember. Not in the “I vaguely recall owning a console” way, but in the deeply ingrained, muscle-memory sense. Gaming has always been there, humming quietly in the background of my life, sometimes front and center, sometimes just a familiar glow in the corner of the room.

My earliest memories go all the way back to when I was around five years old, perched near my dad as he fired up his Atari 2600. The graphics were simple, the sounds were sharp little beeps and bloops, and yet it felt like magic. Those chunky cartridges and stiff joysticks weren’t just toys. They were gateways. More importantly, they were shared experiences. From the very beginning, gaming wasn’t something I did alone.

Around the age of ten, I received what felt like a crown jewel of a birthday gift: a then-current Nintendo Entertainment System. This wasn’t retro yet. This was the system. The NES was everywhere, and suddenly I had one of my own. From there, gaming became a constant companion through childhood and into adulthood.

Over the years, I owned what now reads like a highlight reel of gaming history. The NES gave way to the Super Nintendo, then the Nintendo 64. Handhelds came and went, including the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. Sony entered my life with the PlayStation, followed by the PS2 and PS3. Somewhere in there, Sega’s Dreamcast briefly burned bright, strange, and wonderful. Each system marked a chapter, a moment in time, a different version of who I was.

Gaming as a Connector, Not Just a Hobby

One thing that stands out when I look back is how often games acted as bridges between people. Gaming wasn’t just something I enjoyed. It was something I shared.

My dad and I bonded deeply over Myst, a game that moved at its own pace and trusted players to be patient and curious. It wasn’t about reflexes or scores. It was about exploration, observation, and quiet moments of discovery. Years later, that same game became a bridge between me and my son. Different generation, same puzzles, same sense of wonder. There’s something powerful about that kind of continuity, like passing down a well-worn paperback that still smells faintly of the past.

Then there was Pokémon. The first generation, especially, was more than a game. It was a social engine. Through Pokémon, I made friends who would go on to become some of the most important people in my life. Trades, battles, playground debates, and late-night conversations about teams and strategies all helped forge connections that lasted far beyond the cartridges themselves. Pokémon didn’t just bring people together. It pulled them closer.

Rediscovering the Past Through Retro Gaming

In my early twenties, something interesting happened. I started looking backward. Not because modern games were bad, but because I felt a pull toward the games of my youth. I wanted to revisit them, to see how they held up, and maybe to reconnect with the feelings they once gave me.

That curiosity led me into the world of retro gaming, and eventually into emulation. These days, emulation is my primary way of playing games. It’s not about shortcuts or convenience alone. It’s about access. It’s about preserving experiences that might otherwise fade into obscurity or become locked behind aging hardware and skyrocketing prices. Emulation opened doors and made the past playable again.

2012: A Turning Point

Around 2012, I found myself at a crossroads. I was already blogging, but the project I was working on had grown stale. I needed something new, something that actually excited me. At the same time, Let’s Plays and streaming were becoming increasingly popular online. The idea of sharing gaming experiences instead of just consuming them was floating around in my head.

Then life hit hard.

At the end of 2012, my dad passed away from smoking-related lung cancer. Grief has a way of draining color from everything, and it took a long time for me to process and heal. Eventually, I realized I needed to focus on something. One hobby. One passion. Something that felt grounding rather than overwhelming.

For me, that something was retro gaming.

In July of that year, which also happened to be the anniversary of my website, I made a decision. I was going to rebrand. I was going to restart. The blog would become gaming-focused, built around the games and systems that shaped me.

A Blog With Many Names

Like many long-running projects, the blog went through multiple identities. The first iteration was Tonight’s Geek and Otaku Blog, a broad celebration of nerd culture. It later evolved into Hacker Labs: The Geek and Otaku Blog, expanding into a wider geeky space.

In its early gaming-focused years, the blog didn’t just talk about games. I also wrote about comic books, anime, and conventions. It was a reflection of my interests at the time, and it made sense then. But as the years went on, one theme kept pulling me back in.

Games. Specifically, retro games.

Eventually, that focus sharpened into what Retrohalla is today. A blog centered almost entirely on gaming, with a strong emphasis on retro culture, history, and nostalgia. Retrohalla isn’t a sudden pivot. It’s the latest evolution in a long lineage of writing, rebranding, and rediscovery.

Burnout and the Long Pause

Not every chapter has been smooth.

Around 2021, I hit burnout. Hard. Gaming wasn’t fun anymore, not because games were bad, but because the process had become mechanical. Play the game. Plan the review. Record footage for YouTube. Edit. Publish. Repeat.

What was once a hobby started to feel like a job. And when your escape turns into an obligation, something has gone wrong.

So I stepped back. For a few years, I drifted away from regular gaming and blogging. I needed time to reset, to remember why I loved games in the first place. Slowly, that spark came back. I started playing again without worrying about output or schedules. Just playing.

Why Retrohalla Exists Now

Retrohalla exists because gaming has always been part of my life, even when I needed to step away from it for a while. It exists because games helped me bond with my dad, my son, and my friends. It exists because retro games still have stories to tell, ideas to explore, and memories worth revisiting.

This blog isn’t about chasing trends or breaking news. It’s about looking back with intention. It’s about understanding where gaming came from, why it mattered, and why it still does. Retrohalla is a place to talk about games as cultural artifacts, personal touchstones, and shared experiences.

If you’re here because you love old hardware, emulation debates, gaming history, or just that warm feeling you get when you hear a familiar startup chime, you’re in the right place.

Welcome to Retrohalla. 🕹️✨