Parent's reaction to video games

[Mouse One]

I do intelligence in the Air Force and your dad is wrong about that Modern Warfare thing, plus that game is in the future. You can somewhat control rockets you fire out of a rocket launcher with a little keypad on the launcher now too actually.

Been a couple of years since Uncle Sugar's let me blow up anything, but with a laptop? We had integral keyboards called INCOS trays (for the life of me, can't remember what that stands for) to set up our weapons (mostly the Harpoon for my bird). A laptop sounds like so much FOD in the cockpit.

I dunno, maybe it's so they can email their girlfriends while circling around on combat air patrol. Kids today...

 

[The Lawn]

My parents both played video games, and my dad is the main reason I'm such a PC fanatic.

Though I knew at the age of 3 that I wanted to make awesome video games.
I learned to read because of video games, I leaned to write because of video games.

By the third grade I was at a high school level for reading and writing, because all the RPGs I played made me want to read more books and play more.

Hell, for a 4th grade book report I did a report on the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, not just one book, the whole trilogy.

I probably read on average, two to three full books a week, and if it were not for my early introduction to the world of gaming. I would have no idea where I would be now.

But ever since I started making my own video games in middle school, my parents have been supportive of my efforts.
They know I play games for fun, but they also know I play them to study them.
They ask to see the stuff I'm working on, and while I may not be becoming a doctor like my little sister will be in a year or two, they know I'm doing this because I want to inspire people with my creations just like the people who made the games that inspired me did.

 

[Warlord211]

My parents are okay with me playing video games as long as I still have a social life and do my schoolwork. My dad was the one who started got me started on videogames anyways. He has bought all of the systems that I have and we used to play madden together all the time. Now we play COD together. My mom doesn't really like them but she knows that I love it so she doesn't say anything.

Even if they didn't like video games they would have to get over it, considering I'm going to be a game programmer when I graduate college in a couple of years.

Now on to your problem. Your dad sounds like a douche bag, no offense. There really isn't anything you could do to convince him. He sounds really stubborn so I wouldn't bother anymore. Just ignore him when the topic comes up.

 

[Xman490]

Occasionally, my mom yells at me for sitting at my computer all day. I don't really see what's wrong with gaming like that, besides failing to develop socially, which I can't do on summer break.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

one how old are you ?? two did this happen when your a kid if so shit happens. Parents can be dicks but guess what I am 25 and this is my answer to people that bring up games cause this or d and d causes that. My parents can't do crap but if you want to argue with them be my guest. This story also sounds familiar...

 

[Zakarath]

Well, they don't really care one way or the other about games, and they haven't complained about me choosing to major in game design, so good enough for me.

They did use to complain about me wasting all my time on them, but in all fairness they were kinda right.

 

[Not PvP Flagged]

My parents both play video games, not as much as me, my mom plays WoW and a bunch of games by Big Fish Games and whatnot, and my dad used to play WoW, but he plays games like Zelda and Mario, and they both laugh when I tell them that *insert video game here* got blamed for *insert tragedy here*, they just don't believe it's the video games fault that someone who could be influenced so easily by playing GTA went on a rampage.

 

[nicholaxxx]

my friends game about as much as me, which is to say, a lot. And while my family doesn't 'get' video games, they let me be. The only times I've been harassed about video games is by some random kid at school. When I told him that my playing video games is better then his sitting on his computer all day on facebook is worse because I'm actually 'doing' stuff, he had no counter-response and shut up right there.

So basically, my family and friends are awesome, and everyone else can blow themselves.

 

[Blindswordmaster]

My parents have been fairly receptive of video games. My mom heard about L.A. Noire and wanted to see what it was about. Now she likes to watch me play it and wants to give it a try, along with Red Dead Redemption. My step father saw me playing Batman Arkham Asylum and said,"Holy shit, is that Batman?!" Earlier this summer he saw me play Mortal Kombat and after commenting on the brutal nature and excessive gore sat down and wanted to play.

 

[kannibus]

My parents were cool with games, so long as it didn't get to the point where I'd be dodging homework and stuff to play. Hell, my dad loved Flight Sim when it first yes FIRST came out. Also, I remember back when I was just a nipper, playing Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis with my pop.

Now though I'm a grown up and so can do what the hell ever I want. Advice: Just wait. You have (according to statistics) sixty plus years of parent free gaming to look forward to.

 

[Turigamot]

My Dad used to play the original Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo well into the next morning, leaving 2-3 hours of sleep till he had to go to work.

He got me into video games. My very first was Dragon Warrior for the NES, which he taught me how to play.

 

[Kajin]

The worst my parents ever did was ground me from playing Unreal Tournament if I ever got into fights at school. They pretty much knew I only ever got into fights because other kids were picking on me and the quickest way to get them to stop was to shove their heads into the nearest wall. And they only did it because the principle at the school I went to was freaking out over the violent media pandemic and insisted my parents take action.

The other kids stopped picking on me shortly after that, but that had more to do with the fact that every time they did I asserted myself as Alpha Male and knocked them flat on their asses. Once they stopped picking on me I stopped getting into fights and I haven't been grounded from video games since.

 

[BRex21]

Technically all forms of art are frivolous, Games, movies, music, television, books and so on, but then again, planting flowers in your yard so it looks pretty is frivolous, so is golf and learning to cook beyond the basics you need to survive.
Perhaps we as a species need to grow beyond such frivolities and live in a drab uninteresting world in which we work throughout the day, return to our drab generic homes at night and procreate solely through efficient German style sex.
Also the imagery in the above text was frivolous.

y'Know seeing all these people whose parents grew up on the video games I did makes me feel old.

 

[SilentCom]

I learned a little about Renaissance Italian culture and history when playing Assassin's Creed 2. Then when I took a class on the Renaissance I was already ahead of most of my class mates...

 

[Riddle78]

My way to argue that games aren't poison is to...

a)Be EXTREMELY ASSERTIVE about my following arguments...
b)That a large amount of them have the potential to tell an enriching,intriguing,and well written story
c)A method of stress relief and catharsis
d)And to serve as a means of simply occupying otherwise dead time.

And,as outlined in step a,I'm being as assertive as possible. I'm making it clear to them that this is what I believe,and I,personally,will not be moved in my opinion,while trying,in no subtle way,to impress upon them that I want them to,at the very least,think on my position and do some valid research into it.

My argument tends to at the very least,get people to retract their caustic anti-digital-entertainment statements,and assume a neutral standpoint from then on. At least whenever I'm in earshot.

And if they bring up "Duke Nukem: Forever","[PROTOTYPE]",or "Call of Duty"? I tell them that they fall exclusively under the purview of stress relief and catharsis,while the older (Pre Modern Warfare) Call of Duty titles have the added bonus of attempting to educate a (glorified) viewpoint of the second World War to the players.

 

[PureIrony]

No offense, But I'm just gounna assume the OP is fabricating stories and move on. I know theres a good chance you're not lying, but frankly, I'd prefer to believe that someone with a fucking phd would have a little more common sense. I only have so much faith in humanity.

If you're not making this up, you have my everlasting sympathies.

 

[mental_looney]

You can't convert everyone though like the fifties and rock and roll old folks just think it's noise for the kids and will never get into it.

My Grandad(he's 73) plays games. Whenever I go over to his we sit down and play some split-scren PS2 games, although his eyesight isn't good enough to play next gen "visually busy" games.

I beg to differ

I don't disagree with you in the slightest. I didn't mean no one older can like them it's just as a generic example, could ahve said rap music or movies, as I said you can't convert everyone, there will be plenty of people who loves games but there will always be some who don't. Pretty cool your grandpa plays tho.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

My parents don't condone it, but they don't exactly praise it. My dad's fine with shooters and GTA for some odd reason, but if either of them get a wiff of Japanese games like Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts, they instantly find it detesting. It's weird.

 

[espada1311]

Here is a general list of responses when someone decides to stir the shit-pot.

Videogames are stupid.

If we are to judge other mediums by the standards we judge videogames, then yes, all art forms are absolutely stupid. if we look at impressionism, hell, look at Jackson Pollock he has some cool-ass art in my opinion, but to an outside observer, it looks "stupid". Or better yet, no one can deny all the sociological and political situations confronted in the Harry Potter saga, right? well, Harry Potter is a story about a kid who has a scar on his forehead that helped save him from the most overpowered death spell since being locked in a room with John Wayne Gacy. Stupid, right?

Videogames create Serial killers.

No... Just no... anyone who knows an inkling of psychology can tell you that the formation of a serial killer takes years, and is due to mistreatment, psychological disorders, and generally having a VERY messed up childhood. Videogames have nothing to do with that. Your killer probably also has seen something like Matrix or High-paced action films, i don't see them getting blame?

Videogames are a common denominator between most modern serial killers.

because Videogames are so widespread now that line of thinking is flawed, I'm sure they also found bread and milk in their house but no one give bread and milk industries shit. Plus I'm sure Jack the Ripper didn't have videogames to pump him up for murder.

You just sit there and stare at a screen.

Sorry to break it to you, but that's also what watching movies and shows entail, at the same time, reading a book makes you sit still for hours at a time staring at pages of tiny block letters. I that really better?

Games aren't educational.

Unfortunately, games really haven't been around long enough to be able to argue this as I'd like, and i don't have many examples, but i can certainly point out that not only are there very educational games out there, like Portal, Mass Effect 1-2, Assassin's Creed 1-2. But also, they don't HAVE to be educational, maybe games can just be? i don't think Cowboys and Aliens was very educational, but it was pretty fun to watch, does that mean films should burn in hell for not being so educational?


Back on Topic, most of my family dislikes that i play videogames, and give my a lot of crap for it, but whatever, they're just really stubborn on this.