Every gamer has one: a collectable; a gaming-related possession that fills them with nostalgic pride.

It’s blue. Trans-Atlantic blue. Size 10 (for kids), bright yellow stripes on the sleeves, cloth patches all over…

Ask me when I became a gamer—when I moved from being a kid who played Hanimex sets that plugged into your black-and-white TV and had 7 variations of Pong; when I ceased being just another primary schooler who’d begged their parents for an Atari 2600 for Christmas; when videogames ceased being just games and actually became ‘important’ in my life—and the best answer I could give would be, ‘The day my first patch was sewn onto that tracksuit’.
    Some thirty years ago, Atari had a thriving kids club in Australia, and one could earn a cloth patch from Activision by simply sending them a photo of your TV screen displaying a particular score.
    Each patch announced your achievement. And, over time, I earnt 19 of them.
    I joined the Save a Chicken Foundation. I became an official member of the Activision Ski Team. Became a River Raider, Flying Ace and Trail Blazer. I got inducted into the Explorers Club (alongside Pitfall Harry), and the Bucket Brigade. And I even made the rank of ‘Leader’ in the Order of the Supreme Starmasters.
    But the greatest commendation of them all was one without a name; a tiny rectangular patch with a one and six zeroes–each haloed by exclamation marks–awarded to anyone able to score more than 999,999 points on Laser Blast.
    It took eight hours of solid gameplay with a friend on an oversized, old black-and-white TV that was originally my grandfather’s. There was no pause button on an Atari 2600, no save points, no guarantees. Just the same few patterns over and over and over again.

Ask me when I became a gamer and I’ll happily open up my wardrobe and show you. There, hanging alongside my gamer tees, my hoodies and business shirts, is a blue tracksuit.
    A trans-Atlantic blue tracksuit.
    Size 10 (for kids), bright yellow stripes on the sleeves, cloth patches all over.

Words: Drew Taylor