Parents and Your Hobby

[Parkway91]

My parents don't really understand or accept my hobby. Both gaming and my recent taking to viewing highly rated films (Blade Runner, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Godfather etc.) my parents see as a big waste of time. I had a SNES console as a little kid growing up and the next console I had after that was my PS3, which now I game on much more frequently.

It is most likely down to the fact that they were never into games or, trading card games or any of the like. They are both somewhat technologically inept, which is most likely the largest fact of the problem. Neither have a real interest in technology/gaming etc.

 

[broadbandaddict]

Well my Mom is fine with my games. She actually likes watching some of them. I've been trying to convince her to play some Amnesia (She loves horror stuff) but since she hasn't really played anything else it would be too hard. My stepdad really likes some of my games, mostly racing ones although he did watch quite a bit of Fallout 3. I just bought my sister a laptop for her birthday and I'll be loading it up with games for her to play (she is pretty new at games, mostly played Wii, suggestions are welcome ) so I'm sure my mom will be thrilled about that.

The people that think it is the coolest is oddly my grandparents. My grandma has watched a lot of my games and seems to like a lot of them. My grandpa though loves to watch racing games and stuff like Splinter Cell or Rainbow Six cause they "are so realistic and cool".

It did make for one fun memory though, where I was driving a motorcycle really fast through the city. There were two more people in the room then, other than me and my mom. They said that I should be careful if I was driving that fast. I nonchalantly said that it was no problem, since I had done it before. Then I got hit by a truck and flew off the motorcycle >_> Everyone laughed at me. It was kind of embarrassing when it happened, but it's fun to remember it.

That is a great story, reminds me of when I was playing GRID at my mom's friend's house one Christmas. "Wow, you are really great at this game." *CRASH INTO A WALL AT 180* "...fuck." If people are in the room though I like to show off cause it's a rare occasion. I played Gears of War the same year at their house too and whenever I noticed someone in the room I would stop shooting and chainsaw people to death.

 

[darlarosa]

I've gotten to the point that I just remind my mother that unlike her I actually have a hobby. Poor woman doesn't do anything or try to do things she once liked to do, so I throw that in her face when she criticizes....it sounds cruel but she loves to nag.

That said she will get me game related gifts and things.

 

[SEXTON HALE]

Exact same thing with my parents,Im not complaining but they really hav'nt got a clue.
Its hillarious to watch them attempt something as simple as scanning plannets in Mass effect 3.
I mean really god forbid they actually had to control the camera at the same time shit would quickly begin to lose coherency.
Though I hope some day they manage to figure it out .

 

[LarenzoAOG]

My mom gets video games for the most part, my dad actually plays lots of RPGs, most recently is Skyrim, he's not very good though, mostly due to the fact that he can't push a thumb stick diagonally, opting instead to plot a battle ship style grid and then zero in on his x and y axises(?) separately. He was also a big fan of Fable, Mass Effect, KOTOR, Dragon Age, and quite a few JRPGs back in the Dreamcast and PS2 days.

I guess I can say my dad got me into RPGs by introducing me to Dungeons and Dragons.

 

[La Barata]

My parents could not understand video games less if they were text screens written in Standard Galactic Alphabet.

Now that I have some free time on my hands and play games when I'm not at work, they harp on me nonstop about it. My relatives have been forbidden from getting me anything game related because it's "FEEDING MY ADDICTION".

It's essentially "You do things that we didn't do as young people, that means the things you do are wrong".

Not only that, they're convinced everything resembling violence is horrible and going to 'desensitize' me.

Yes.

Because the 6'2" 250 lb. security guard who has been stabbed, slashed with bottles, hit with a rock and cries at sad movies is going to become desensitized by Skyrim.

It's gotten to the point where, for the past 10 years or so, every time they enter the room where I'm playing a game, I need to pause it and stare at them until they leave. This was brought about by them banning me from playing games rated Teen prettymuch permanently after they saw me playing Star Wars Bounty Hunter and decided it was far too violent for my 12 year old mind.

These are the people who showed me Star Wars episodes 4-6 at the age of 4. My entire CHILDHOOD was Star Wars, toys, books, movies, comics, everything. I watched Luke get his hand lopped off before I was in Kindergarten. I was there when Ben Kenobi be defeated by Darth Vader before I'd learned how to play Duck Duck Goose. I cheered when Lando and the Pancake Kid blew up the Death star, and gasped as The Emperor tortured Luke before, in the words of George Carlin, I was old enough to locate my dick.

Those movies inspired me and helped shape who I am, violence and all, teaching me that there must be sacrifice for good to prevail and to always do the right thing.

They taught me that the shot at success may be one in a million, but if you do your best and trust in yourself, you just might make it.

They taught me that no matter who you are, one person CAN make a difference.

But suddenly, I PLAY AS a character, and it's suddenly 'too violent'?!

The fuck?!

Just because it's a game and not a movie doesn't mean that it's any worse for me.

I've kinda lost my way a little with this post.

Summary:
Skip to 45 seconds.

 

[Veylon]

My parents made some effort to keep me and my siblings from playing too much video games (which I suppose was good as we were addicted and I had "Nintendo-itis"), but kind of lost interest once I moved to the PC. Especially after I explain why I didn't feel any particular desire to play violent games: why would I want to shoot one guy in a FPS when I can nuke whole cities in Civilization?

They do find some of the stuff I describe from Dwarf Fortress to be pretty horrifying, though.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I remember I was playing a game and my parents said I need to sweep the floor. Naturally they waited till I was in the middle of the game to ask me this. I told them hold on I need to finish this and was yelled at.

So I left the game on and swept. My parents told me I was getting shot at and I said "I know."
They asked me why I didn't pause it and I told them its online.

Then they were shocked when they finally realized those "enemies" were real people.

-sigh-

It was even worse when they thought I was screaming at the computer when really I was screaming at an idiot on ventrilo.

-----------

Generally thought I should of been banned from games. I was an addict and my entire social life revolved around online gaming. Let me repeat that... I was 14... and learned ALL social protocols online. -face palm- it made for some awkward moments in real life.

 

[Beliyal]

It's weird, but my parents don't really get it, despite the fact that they played games regularly with me and my brother when we were little (and sometimes on their own too). My mom still plays games, albeit casual ones because she's too busy for anything else (but I'm sure she'd get into something else too if she had the time). However, whenever I play something, they are judgemental say how it's a waste of time and how I'll "ruin my life" and "fail college" (just a note, I'm doing perfectly fine in college). Especially my mom, she just loses her shit if she sees me playing something in 3 am. Eventually she just gives up, but soon starts complaining all over again. It's kinda annoying.

The funniest thing is, she saw me playing Mass Effect a lot of times and each time she asks "Why are you watching a movie without me, we can watch together!" "Mom, this is not a movie, it's a game" and then she starts complaining. It's hilarious how it takes only one sentence to go from "Hey, let's do this together!" to "You horrible being, what are you doing?!". She just has a prejudice against games, apparently.

As for my other hobbies, which are reading and writing, my parents don't really get that either. I tend to read and/or write in weird times of the day, and that bothers them the most. They just don't understand how someone can be a "night person". They usually leave me alone lately, though. I guess finishing all exams early bought me some points.

 

[SirPlindington]

My Dad and I have sort of an ongoing argument about gaming. He's fine with me playing games, but he insists on calling it "doing your videos." It annoys me to no end. But other than that, they leave it alone. They don't get it, and that's fine by them.

 

[surg3n]

My mom plays more games than I do, my dad loves the Uncharted and Tomb Raider games. I grew up in a family full of gamers, we'd take turns playing Manic Miner on the ZXSpectrum - if we played Trivial Persuit then it was the Spectrum version. That continues even to this day - we still play games when I visit. I mean, my mom plays through Bubble Bobble almost daily!, like every single day for a while she would play through the whole game. I tell you, buying her a DS made me number one son . When we would visit our grandparents, we'd play games then as well. Usually the Summer Games series on the C64, as you could have as many players as you like, playing each event and taking it dead serious, like our own weekly olympics. Plus the platform games, Miner49'er, Frak, Bruce Lee etc etc.

It might be more of a UK thing though, I mean lots of people got the ZX Spectrum in the early 80's - most parents probably didn't get into it as much as my parents did, but I think that it's stupid really when people look down on videogames. For me, videogames are about the biggest part of my life, most of my childhood memories involve videogames - I even got my first piece of boob action in an arcade.

So no, I don't think my parents judge me for playing games at 37, that would be crazy - and I'm probably not the only aging gamer here - society probably dictates that I shouldn't still be playing videogames at my age, well fuck society ... I'll play games until I die, if I die - I might be too busy playing videogames to die.

Captcha: over cast sky - enter the following?, yeah, as if it's gonna work - why not just punch me and get it over with.

 

[lRookiel]

My mum will only play Aladdin for the sega mega drive, THAT'S IT!

My dad plays RPG's and RTS Games alot, he is especially prone to total war games.

 

[debra_ beretta]

I've been gaming for over 20 years now; my parents are into their 60's and neither have the slightest interest, which isn't really a surprise. I get the impression that they think I should be married with children and a mortgage and involved with such "childish" hobbies, but none of that stuff has ever really been of interest to me anyway-!

I took a Saturday job to buy my first bit of tech (an Amiga 500+, bought from a family friend) and from the word go, I was only allowed to have a couple of hours gaming a day, despite that it had been purchased with my own hard earned cash! I think my mother was a bit jealous of it, because I ended up with a gaming addiction which has continued to this day; I still have all my old tech in boxes in the attic for when I get all misty eyed and nostalgic.

I caught her playing online Solitaire not so long ago, so I think she secretly wants to play. Hahaha >;-D

 

[Comb0_Break3r]

Me and my dad run into problems. He likes to play the Fight Night series on my Xbox, so I would come home from work and he'd be on it when I wanted to play. I guess he has a right since he technically bought it (for Christmas), but still gets annoying. He has since stopped playing though.

Other than that either parent will stumble downstairs and compliment the game's graphics. It seems as though their never interested in gameplay. As long as the graphics become more realistic with each visit, they are convinced it was a good investment. You can only imagine their distress when they saw me playing Viva Pinata instead of GTA IV.

 

[Lunatic High]

LMAO that was a funny story I play female charcters with any RPG that allows it I've been asked why and I just repply that I find it more fanciful and pleasing to the eye plus chicks with guns/swords whatever are much cooler also I find the idea of playing as some hulking tower of masculinity somewhat emasculating despite my excersise routine and Road Warrior facial hair

My parents kinda harped on me about it when I was little and my mom thought it was a contributing factor to my personality disorder even when my councilor said there was no way to be sure and that most of the time it was hereditary when I turned about 12 they just kinda gave up then as luck would have Dad retired and discovered a love for RTS games (seriously fucking loves Rome) and I played Heavy Rain infront of my step mother and it pretty much blew her mind cause the last game she saw me play before that was Legend of Zelda Link to the past way more than a decade ago, which I thought was funny cause while Heavey Rain is unique (to me anyway) its far from the greatest game out there. I always thought it was funny that they had a problem with me playing videogames but NO problem at all with me killing a deer cutting it open and then removing its guts with my bare hands when I was 12 -13ish to this day. Go figure.

 

[Fluffythepoo]

My above 50 parents dont understand that you cant pause online games, which leads to them being annoyed that im not rushing to get off to help with whatever the issue du jour is and me being annoyed that the 25 man pug i finally put together is going to go on without me

 

[gonzo20]

well now my dad was the one who got me into gaming, via the sega megadrive and sonic the hedgehog, then the ps1 where i watched my dad play ff7 and other various rpgs. Then he got a pc and played red alert 2, he was pretty addicted to it, got top 10 in britain and top 50 in the world so he was pretty hot shit at it. He then progressed onto soldier of fortune 2 online and got me into it, did clan matches etc. next it was counter strike source which was great fun, had some funny things happen like me headshotting him from a distance with the pump action shotgun and him shouting to me "BULLSHIT!", he then proceeded onto call of duty and battlefield, the last game he played seriously was napoleon total war, completed that and never really gamed at all for now, he doesnt mind my hobby but he does say "why cant you get a job?" or "you need to get a girlfriend" which is annoying but still, he doesnt mind it.

My mum has never really been into gaming but she sometimes likes to watch but says all the shooting or slashing "does her head in" so i have to play with head phones. She generally sticks to iphone or facebook games, at the moment she plays song pop, shes really into it.

My sister has never been into it as much as me but she loves zombie games, i played resident evil: darkside chronicles co op with her, which was fun and shes also getting good at left 4 dead 2, not as good as me though

 

[Ghoti]

Well, my dad got a 360 before most of my friends and I did, and has finished Mass Effect more times than I've -played- Mass Effect. We even play Civilization V together from time to time. As for my mom, well, she learned English by playing The Legend of Zelda on the old NES with my dad, but she hasn't much dabbled with them since then. She'll play a few Wii games from time to time, though.

 

[CoL0sS]

They don't understand it and they don't respect it. I think it's safe to say they downright despise it. It always makes me very uncomfortable when they walk into the room while I'm playing something, like they caught me jerking off to giraffe porn XD.
Almost makes me ashamed of my hobby.
Gaming is something that's generally frowned upon in my experience.

 

[verdant monkai]

My parents have sort of learned to tolerate it, but they both think it is a waste of time, and they make fun of me for doing it. They go on about how in their day they were out with their friends doing stuff and flying kites and building stuff.
I would love to hang with my friends but it is hard when they all live on the other side of the city and my only local friend is a computer type, who believes fresh air/sunlight is bad for him. As for making stuff, if I want it I will make it, I wont make stuff for the sake of it.
They have gotten better recently especially my mum, but my Dad can be really awkward.

What they do not understand though is that a video game is more than a book or a film, it can be a completely immersive experience where you are more than a spectral observer you are central to the plot and the keystone of the whole thing. It is to my mind a far more sophisticated method of delivering a story.

So any comment on my gaming that they make,that is in anyway negative or derogatory, angers me as they have never experienced it themselves, and are therefore simply being ignorant. They often say I am wasting my time playing games(they are wrong however because gaming is the best method of story telling). I have never told them but I have similar thoughts about their hobbies. My Fathers is utterly pointless he likes sailing around on a lake, he doesn't go anywhere in his boat just around the lake, I find it maddeningly dull. I have more respect for my mothers hobby. She likes to weave/spin/knit. I can see the point of this as she is making something, and will have something to show for it. However she does not need the clothes she makes, and the repetitiveness of the craft would be dull.

They say I spend too much time on games I do not agree, it is merely a form of entertainment. If I have any school work to do I will do it. If there is work around the house to do I will help. I only game in my leisure time.
My Mother wishes I was more productive, I can see where she is coming from but when you are young you are not interested in things like work and learning to do things. You live a more hedonistic existence.

Maybe in my older days I will look back and think ohh I wish I had listened to my mother and learnt a skill like netball. I think it far more likely I will be adjusting my spectacles with shaky arthritis cursed hands, stroking my beard and thinking to myself "Now then. Which of the new starter Pokemon from generation 21 shall I pick?"