Shoot, Jump, Run: Born into Metroid and Cocaine: A Video Game Essay

by Caleb J. Ross

"Shoot. Jump. Run. Samus Aran and I, we both came into existence this way. For video game creator Yoshio Sakamoto, those three verbs described all he knew about the project he was told to create , a game that would become 1986’s Nintendo classic Metroid, a game that would seed a cherished series and inspire an entire video game genre. Sakamoto handled the responsibility of those verbs with dignity. My father--never one to care about the gratification of others nor one to welcome responsibility--handled the experience of creating me with the same verbs, though in a different context: shoot (impregnate), jump (get dressed), run (leave). Samus and I, we might as well be siblings, right? " This begins this short essay in which Caleb J. Ross, author of numerous books and short stories, explores the role that video games may have played in his fatherless childhood, dropping in some interesting video game trivia along the way.

16 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2018

About the author

My fiction and nonfiction has appeared widely, both online and in print. I am the author of five books of fiction and one book about the video game What Remains of Edith Finch. I am a co-host of Tales of the Lesser Medium, a video game podcast that pokes fun at video game narratives.

I am also the creator of a YouTube channel that encourages people to not just play games but think games.

Visit my official website at www.calebjross.com

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