It really is a time factor. The only person I find to be discouraging about games is my old man, though when my sister decides she wants to be a ***** she throws some disdain in there about it. You grew up when video games were a simple fad. You got an Atari because it was "the new thing", the "new technology", but after a while everyone tossed it in the closet. To those people, a few years passed, video games died and the Nintendo was just something for their kids, something they'd grow out of when they decided they were too old for G.I. Joe.
Ten years later, I'm growing up with Nintendo, and now here I am. If I can't get a job making games, I am sure as Hell going to get a job writing about them. That's my stance, and it is what a good number of people have told me I need to do. Fortunately for me, when my relatives ask me about my plans or how school is, they actually ask me simple questions on how the game stuff is going. I give them few details of what I do with the gaming club at my College, but just enough to let them know I've done some awesome things. I tell them how likely or unlikely it may be that I can actually get into game development, and explain I have a backup plan for game journalism (yeah, if only plans worked out that well). Of course, most of these relatives also have kids that play games, and they look to me as if games are already my profession.
However, if I were my father's age? No, I would not be getting the same treatment. Or at least, it's not likely.
As time progresses, video games will become a more widely accepted entertainment medium...which itself has pros and cons. However, I'm optimistic enough to believe that more geeks with high standards are involved in the gaming industry than in any other industry, thus games will always have the higher quality. I mean, all the good stories and ideas are already coming up in games while abandoning Hollywood.
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