Denver gamer opens game store in memory of his mother

Colorado's 9News reports that 18-year-old gamer Elijah Taylor has opened a new game shop called Game On in Denver (located at Alameda and Zuni). While that in itself might seem ordinary, it's the circumstances that prompted him to do so that are extraordinary. Taylor grew up with a single mother who was only 18 when Elijah was born. The two of them would often use video games as an escape from the everyday problems they faced, with Elijah saying he was "raised ... on the games she was playing at the time."

Taylor opened his store in honor of his mother, Dani Jo Perko, who died at the very young age of 35, when he was only 17. "You know, I can either just grieve and wallow for a while and just feel sorry for myself," said Taylor. "Or I can do what my mom would've done and do something with my life." He noted that many of the games at Game On were part of he and his mother's personal collection, saying, "I can look through here and be like, 'Oh, I remember playing that with my mom when I was just a kid."

Taylor said he hoped his mother would have been proud of him.