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I'm New Here

CyrodiilWarrior

Hey there,

My name is Brad and I was diagnosed with autism late in my 30s. I am in the area of Cambridge, England. My hobbies include playing PC games, visiting the cinema, dining-out, and going for walks.

Throughout life, I have struggled maintaining friendships and relationships. I have struggled to maintain my own personal boundaries, whilst having a healthy balance of socializing with others. I have found it difficult to connect and relate with others, finding it difficult to find a mutual interest to engage in. I have experienced a lot of disrespect and bullying, which at times has been very difficult to avoid.

In early years, I would play PlayStation 1 games. I then got a PlayStation 2, but I did not have many games for it. I moved on to PC gaming which really enhanced the graphical experience. The disadvantage with PC gaming was whenever any friend(s) was round the house, we could not play together. Game consoles are more user-friendly for couch cooperative Multiplayer. Not many of my friends had PCs and I feel this affected my friendships. My parents were not keen of different kids sat in the house playing videogames.

In Middle School and Upper School, I was regularly playing - Empire Earth (2001) - Multiplayer with a good school friend. I have many fond memories of the base-building, real-time strategy game. The game had various epochs to play in, such as the Bronze Age, Atomic Age: WW2, and the Nano Age. The game has aged ever so much and I have never found any other game like it. I was also fixated on TES IV: Oblivion, absolutely loving the open world and voiced dialogue.

I hope to make new friends and new connections, hoping to establish a healthy balance of socializing.

Please don't feel scared to reach out.

--- Brad

  • in reply to Lotus

    Thanks Lotus! In the past, very little knowledge of autism existed. Diagnosis is increasing nowadays, though. I'm happy to hear you found a partner whilst young and it worked out. The Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga sound interesting, way before my time though. We hold fond memories and nostalgia for such old consoles, even if they age through time.

    A regret of mine was not having an Xbox 360 to play local split-screen Multiplayer with any friend(s) at the house, it may have helped maintain and strengthen existing friendships at the time. I suppose I've been very introverted though, seeking my own alone time and social isolation. I had 1 really close friend who I enjoyed to hang out with, he was an Xbox 360 gamer, whereas I was a PC gamer. PCs are good for online Multiplayer, but not as user-friendly for local split-screen Multiplayer. It's good to play a game together, if possible.

    It's nice to reach out to other people with autism. Forums somewhat died out compared to the early 00s internet, but it's nice to have a forum here with likeminded individuals.

    Thanks for the warm welcome!

  • in reply to Elfilis

    Sounds nice. As a child, we got a 2nd hand Nintendo NES with Super Mario Bros 3 and some Zelda LINK game, and my brother had a Gameboy Advance, but we didn't really play on Nintendo consoles. However, playing the Nintendo Wii at someone's house, I did enjoy it!

    I was playing the Sims 2 a lot - mostly Open for Business expansion pack. I had played the Sims 4 a little, but by then my games interests had changed.

  • Hi and welcome to the community. 

    I'm a woman in my sixties and I didn't discover that I was on the spectrum until I was in my fifties. I was lucky to find a partner when I was young and we've stayed together and share interests, but I've always found family relationships and friendships difficult - always seeming to be me who had to initiate contact and keep in touch, and not really having a lot in common much of the time.

    I also like gaming, but it's something I've done on and off over my lifetime. I started with a.Commodore 64 in the 1980s, then later a Commodore Amiga. My partner bought a PS1 in the 90s but I didn't really get into it then as I was busy working and studying, although I did like playing Scrabble on it. I got an XBox 360 around 2010 and played a few games but sold it a few years later. However I bought another one a few years ago and started to really get into gaming and have since upgraded to the series S. I enjoy Sims 4, mainly for the building, and some RPGs - my favourites are Assassins creed Origins, Odyssey & Valhalla, BioShock 1&2 and Hogwarts Legacy. I like to play single player mode, not with others.

    I hope you enjoy chatting with us and find the forum useful.

  • in reply to CyrodiilWarrior

    You’re very welcome. Server seems to be quiet at the moment but I’m here lol. 

    Yeah I tend to play Yoshi, Kirby and Mario games. I’m a real softie for the cuteness of the Yoshi and Kirby characters and the Mario games are super fun to play and it helps when I can play as Yoshi lol! For simulation games I tend to do more animal crossing games but I’ve been into the sims4 lately too. 

  • in reply to Elfilis

    Thanks for your welcoming, Elfilis.

    Family friendly games probably the best.

  • Hiya Brad and welcome to the community! I am nearly 26 and I got diagnosed fairly recently with autism as well as CPTSD, EUPD and now BDD. I am a big gamer myself but I play more family friendly Nintendo games. I do have a PlayStation 2 but I only play Simpsons hit and run on it lol, I also have that game for the pc. Quite a few of us are gamers here and there are some threads related to video games too. 

    Im sorry you have also suffered with bullying and being disrespected as well, I can tell you that is horrible and it’s much worse when you don’t have friends or family or anyone for support or comfort. I have also struggled to keep friendships lasting, for me I’ve always been like the “extra” that people went to when their bffs weren’t in or something and that wasn’t very often. Or if I made friends they would betray me or turn on me for whatever reason. I’m sorry you have struggled with friendships as well, I do tend to think school can be to blame as well maybe but I went to really bad schools and they don’t seem to accept there are bullies there, I got bullied by the staff even. 

    I hope you find this forum useful. I joined just over 3 months ago and found it helpful so I hope you enjoy it here too! 

    Elfilis