AK was the first game I was introduced to by my brother. Growing up, I always held on to him — no matter where he went, we were always together. And most of the time, it was at the Net. My big brother, Punluer, used to play a lot of games — but honestly, he kinda sucked at all of them! Whether it was AK, DOTA, GTA, or even those Chinese games (I don’t remember their names, but they were super famous around 2009 -2010), he was just bad at them all. 😆
From what I remember of my childhood, my brother would spend all his lunch money and allowance at the Net just to enjoy playing games with his friends. They would meet after school and play until sunset. I used to think they were so cool — I always wanted to play with them, but my brother never let me. So instead, I’d sit next to him and watch them play. If they won enough games, they’d sometimes buy me a few hours to play Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, or GTA. I enjoyed it a lot. Such nostalgic memories.
As a curious kid, computers were magical to me, the shiny rainbow lights on the big square thing (PC), the glowing keyboard, and even the mouse! Literally, any game you could think of was there. You could talk to people without even needing a SIM card, or watch movies by inserting DVDs or CDs — sometimes you didn’t even need that. It was like a TV + cassette player + phone combo! Basically, a magic tool to me.
I remember asking my brother, “Bong Kae, Bong Kae, why doesn’t our TV have any games like the Net?" ("Kae" is his nickname.) But he never answered — too focused on the game. That was when a little spark began to grow in me.
One day, after spending the whole noon playing, we were about to go home when my brother’s friend suddenly turned pale and sweaty.
“What’s wrong? Why the face?” my brother asked. “My bike… I can’t find my bike,” his friend said, almost in tears.
His bike had been stolen welp. This kind of thing was so common at the Net. Sadly, he never found his bike, and nobody saw anything. Later, his mom scolded him badly for both losing the bike and playing at the Net. We never saw him there again. I always wondered where he went. My brother casually told me his dad beat him badly and warned him not to play again. That was it. We never saw him at the Net anymore.
In late 2010, before our local Net shut down, everything was fun and exciting — especially for teens and their little gaming world. Then one day, we heard a loud banging.
The police were here.
They had been going around shutting down Nets one by one, and today, it was our turn. Everyone froze — we were stunned. I was scared.
“Are we going to jail?” I cried — loud enough to break the silence.
The police threw everyone out and spoke to the Net owner. My brother wiped my tears… and then our dad showed up.
Double nightmare.
You can guess the rest, right? My brother’s fate was the same as his friend’s. Our dad spanked him pretty hard.
Now, he has a family and no longer touches computers. But every time I play a game, those memories come rushing back. I'm not a good player myself (well, you can guess that from my brother’s skill level — AHAHAH). But thanks to those times, I’ve become who I am today.
Currently, I’m pursuing my bachelor's degree in Information Technology Engineering at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and working as an analyst at a Japanese startup company.
I’d like to thank my brother for introducing me to the world of computers. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. Thank you bro.( i am too embarassed to say this to him face to face)
