187: Like Gamer, Like Son

[Robert Sullivan]

Like Gamer, Like Son

Many politicians and talk-show psychologists would have you believe that videogames are the single greatest threat to the American family. But for Rob Sullivan, games provided the foundation for a strong, lasting relationship with his father.

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[Clemenstation]

Nicely written, and I think you make a good point in emphasizing the bonding merits of gaming.

I always bring the Wii home for Christmas for this very reason. My sisters are Very Christian (and I'm not), but we find common ground in Mario Kart. My youngest sister (15) also has a strange fascination with watching me play survival horror games, even though they freak her out. We stayed up til 3 am finishing Eternal Darkness one year, and most recently Resident Evil 4 was her spectator sport of choice. It's a strange kind of connection - me blasting away furiously while she yells for me to pick up more ammo and falls off the couch in dismay when zombie dogs ambush me - but it's good.

 

[Kiutu]

Gaming is my family's reason for bonding too, among other similar interests. I grew up with a NES in my room, and the SEGA Genesis in my parent's room. Im the best and most hardcore gamer of the family, but my mom is better at Zelda than I am (any Zelda, from first to Twilight Princess) and my brother and father both are better at RTS games than me. Was alot of fun playing Gauntlet on the Gamecube as a family, and I just barely beat my mom to getting my character to level 99.

 

[bitzi61]

Sadly, me and my family never did begin to bond over gaming... that is until I got my parents to try Wii Fit.

The Wii Fit had actually been an attempt by my girlfriend at the time to get me to be a bit more active (as if I wasn't active enough after a 12 hour work day at the pool... I am in no way 'out of shape').

But I was actually playing it one day when my father came home. He asked me what it was, and I let him try it out. He was hooked. He called my mom down and she tried it. Same thing!
For a man who said videogames were a waste of my time and life, and that I should do something 'worth while', this was a miracle.

So now, after him buying a second tv, a Wii, and a Wii fit for himself and my mom, we all play together! (Although sometimes I will be playing something more my speed... like a shooter, or something else!)

Videogames, even for people that think they are a waste of time, can bring people together.

That's it. Now my dad plays video games at least once a day, for at least an hour a day, and he'll usually bring up that we should play a video game together...

Next stop, FPS!

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

Only game I ever got my Dad interested in was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father. I'd attribute it mostly to the game's history and southern backstory, but it was fun to see that he at least understood why I played all those adventure games so much.

And nice Gold Rush! reference, easily one of the best historical games to this day. I always avoided the land route though, gotta take the ship and hit up the Panama Canal. Be sure to pack oranges and avoid the pork.

 

[Graham]

Great article.

I'm looking forward to hearing these bonding stories from the next generation of gamers, the kids who will grow up not knowing a world devoid of metroids and blue shells.

 

[Irridium]

Thats how my dad and I bonded. When I was little, like about 5 years old, we always played DOOM on the PC together. I sat on his lap and we took turns. I even gave him my xbox when I moved to Vermont because he liked the Crimson Sky game and a few others. He even likes Rainbow Six Vegas and when I visited I brought my 360 over to his house, I would wake up and see him playing it.

 

[rohit9891]

nicely written dude...u've done a great job by sharing this article....

we should show this to all those people out there who thinks games are making people violent and all those stuff they're claiming

this is one perfect example of how we can use games for good purposes rather than linking games with whatever bad incidences that has happened in their life

 

[Bagaloo]

Nicely written, and I think you make a good point in emphasizing the bonding merits of gaming.

I always bring the Wii home for Christmas for this very reason. My sisters are Very Christian (and I'm not), but we find common ground in Mario Kart. My youngest sister (15) also has a strange fascination with watching me play survival horror games, even though they freak her out. We stayed up til 3 am finishing Eternal Darkness one year, and most recently Resident Evil 4 was her spectator sport of choice. It's a strange kind of connection - me blasting away furiously while she yells for me to pick up more ammo and falls off the couch in dismay when zombie dogs ambush me - but it's good.

It used to be the same for me, only with my brother
He loved watching me play the RE games, it freaked him out too!

Some of my fondest memories of hanging out with him consist of me sitting at my computer playing WoW, and him sitting to my right playing my Xbox 360. We would sporadically take turns to say "watch this, this is so awesome!" and involve each other a little in what we were doing. Good times.

 

[Aptspire]

Sierra...I'll make 3 holes, but only so that the priest can fa- sorry, train of thought there
...
By the way, Riven (or any other Myst game) won't make your brain explode, but it WILL make you compulsive with the button pushing in elevators
hehe, Mario Kart 64, I would do the races with my father, sister and some of my cousin and do battle with my other cousins (I still haven't told my dad that I ROM-loaded his Achilles talon on the computer )

 

[mooncalf]

A fine article...

My father (60) and I have enjoyed plenty of games together, Transport Tycoon and Battlefield are the favourites.

 

[zoozilla]

It'll be very interesting to see how these "game-centered" relationships evolve over the next few years, as the next generation (Gen X? The Millennials?) becomes parents and games become a much more "normal" part of everyday life.

I wish I had a time machine.

 

[Mister Benoit]

Kid in the picture is holding an original small Xbox Controller >.> Good article though, highly enjoyed.

 

[Midnghtjade83]

This article reaffirmed my suspicion that teaching my kids how to play Lego Star Wars and showing them how to loot a corpse for fun and profit in MMO's will not only NOT turn them into adult deviants but will also give them good fuzzy memories of me when I'm old and gone. ^_^

 

[Beetlejooce]

Me and my dad always used to play the one game i will never forget - Wild Metal Country.

It was an awesome tank game. Old and virtually unheard of though it is, I consider it one of the best if not the best game i ever played. My dad would drive and i would shoot.

Apart from that we used to play Star Wars battlefront on Xbox.

WILD METAL COUNTRY FTW!!

 

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

Well, first time I got a console (PS2) one of the first games I got was Star Wars: Battlefront.

I asked my dad on his thoughts of "Should I buy it?" He said "Do what you want, I'm not a fan of video games, so I won't be playing it with you."

The next day, after buying it, i ask him if he wants to join me on Bespin. He couldn't figure out the dual-stick thing. (He kept running around looking straight up.) But he surprised me when I asked, "Wanna stop?" and he responded with "No, I'm gonna get this." It took him a few days, but when he figured it out, he was havimg more fun than me. Then for the next few months, it's been my Dad who asks if I want to play. We soon got bored of both SWB 1 and 2, so I looked into Timesplitters 2, I bought it, and we were having the same fun as the first time I bought Battlefront. Then a year ago, I bought a 360 finally, as I read the Halo books, curious as to what they could be, and I was more than hooked. So naturally the first game I bought was Halo: CE. My dad of course wanted to play, as he read the books as well, and wasn't as immersed as me, but still pretty hooked. We were having a blast. And then his birthday came up. I wanted to get him something good. And I remembered how he always wanted to be able to change the number of soldiers on each team in Battlefront. So we would change it to just us two vs. 30 others.

My natural desision was Army of Two. And it was the most fun we've ever had.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Isn't the Wii like the ultimate boardgame console?

 

[WrcklessIntent]

When i was 6 my dad bought 1080 for the N64. We always had battles racing each other trying to hit the short cut before the other one did. It really brought us together