Meet Ryan (Rob) Regelbrugge
Rob has helped to coordinate retro game nights with NIU Esports and has volunteered his own retro gaming equipment. We spoke with Rob to learn more about him and his interest in retro gaming.
Thanks for speaking with us! Can you share a little about yourself?
I’m a senior getting my bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in biodiversity and restoration work.
I like to be actively involved with the activities and events in the NIU Esports Arena, mostly lending a hand at events hosted by clubs in the arena, and playing retro consoles that anyone can join in playing.
I am from St. Charles, Illinois.
How did you get involved in playing video games?
I got involved with video games from a very young age. I used to live near my cousins and would frequently go to their house. They were older than me, so I got exposed to consoles that were made either before I was born (Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox) or were made when I was a toddler (Nintendo DS, Xbox 360). Due to them being older than me, they didn’t really want to play with me, so they would sit me down in front of a small CRT (box) TV and let me play video games on my own. Sometimes we would play games together, like Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 64 and Super Monkey Ball 2 for Nintendo GameCube. This eventually led to my parents buying me a Nintendo DS Lite when I was in kindergarten, a Nintendo Wii in 2010 and a Nintendo 3DS in 2011. Those where the only consoles my parents bought me. Everything else, I bought with my own money. Although the very first video game I played was on my cousin’s Gameboy Color and was either Kirby’s Dream Land or Pokémon Yellow, which they eventually let me keep because I played them so much.
What are some of your favorite games?
Listing favorites would take all day, so I’ll just cherry pick a few: Super Mario Galaxy, Dark Souls, Resident Evil 2 (1998), Pokémon Emerald, Castlevania 1, Super Mario Bros 2, Binding of Isaac, Team Fortress 2, Terraria, Borderlands 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Super Monkey Ball 2, Legend of Zelda Oracle of Seasons, Paper Mario 64, Vampire Savior (Dark stalkers 3), Street fighter 3, Super Smash Bros Melee, Nuclear Throne.
Why is playing video games important to you?
To me, video games are important just as books and movies are important. Video games give people the ability to be fully integrated into a world or gameplay system and just have some fun! Just as people read books for a good story or movies just to see something cool, videogames allow a wide range of experiences that movies and books just can’t really give. Some stories only work because it’s a video game, like Bioshock or Dark Souls. Some games are designed to make you feel as if you have stake in this story, you make an impact. Books and movies can’t do that. There are many aspects of video games that I like about them besides the games themselves: history, hardware, development stories, game designers, art styles, audio direction, competitions and many more! Nearly everything in relation to video games I enjoy learning and partaking in. They mean so much to me because I wouldn’t have met such amazing people who equally enjoy games, and I wouldn’t have been able to learn certain skills that I have picked up from playing games for so long. And most importantly video games just provide amazing experiences in general.
What kind of retro games and equipment do you use for NIU Esports retro gaming events?
So much of the stuff I bring to events was made between the 1980s and 2000s. Due to the era these consoles were made in, they require equally old display technology in order to properly play them, A.K.A, a really heavy CRT TV!
Just some of the consoles I’ve brought to events are (in order of release date): Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Sony PlayStation (PS1), SEGA Saturn, Nintendo 64 (N64), SEGA Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2), Nintendo GameCube (GCN). Each console has a wide variety of games, so I try to bring some popular ones and some not so popular ones for people to experiment with.
Why is retro gaming fun?
Retro gaming is fun because every game is just the “finished product.” You don’t have to worry about downloading the game or wait for the game to update or buy downloadable content in order to get the full game. You just take your cartridge or disc and just put it in your console, turn it on, and play! Plus, you physically own the game! Most games these days you don’t actually own, it’s just a license to own, which means the company you bought it from can legally take it away from you.
Retro games tend to be less brain intensive in the moment to moment reaction time but instead make you think harder to solve problems that arise during gameplay because there’s usually no guide to point and tell you where to go (in other words they don’t hold your hand), leading to the ability to decompress from the chaos of modern life and just explore and experience what the game has to offer. They also tend to just be more enjoyable than newer games due to the design mindset at the time they were created. The games industry has changed a lot, and many popular games nowadays are designed to keep your attention instead of providing a quality experience worth your time.
Why is it fun to share retro games with the NIU community?
I love bringing my collection in to show the community at NIU because many of these consoles/hardware have never been seen or experienced by a majority of people who play games. For example, The Sega Saturn sold horribly in the United States (there’s not many of them out there), so many people have never seen one nor played one ever before, and I like to provide that opportunity for people to experience a little of gaming history.
Another thing is that some people, for example, grew up with a PS2. Growing up they probably sold off their PS2 to get a PS3 then sold the PS3 for a PS4 and then sold that again for the PS5. These events give those people the opportunity to experience a piece of their childhood again, experience the feeling of nostalgia, and remember how awesome these consoles were. I like giving people the opportunity to experience games like they’ve never experienced before, forming connections, and having conversations and teaching about video games.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I started collecting video games in the fourth grade when I was exposed to consoles and handhelds I had never heard of. Nowadays I probably own close to 700 games physically. If I were able to turn my passion for video games into a job that I enjoy, I would love that. I love to compete in video game competitions, mostly held outside of NIU. I believe there is a video game for everyone out there to enjoy, yes, even your grandparents.
