How do I convince her games have merit?

[feather240]

Looks like you're screwed, parents in general seam to feel that their first thought has to be their only thought otherwise it hurts their authority. I'm sure some parents on this website would argue no though. (They're lying! )

show her extra credits and zero zero punctuation.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

 

[sb666]

Looks like you're screwed, parents in general seam to feel that their first thought has to be their only thought otherwise it hurts their authority. I'm sure some parents on this website would argue no though. (They're lying! )

show her extra credits and zero zero punctuation.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

I didn't mean to do that.

 

[thublihnk]

show her extra credits and zero punctuation.

DON'T LISTEN TO THIS. I'm mostly kidding, but Zero Punctuation really shouldn't be gaming culture putting its best foot forward toward a biased public. EC, yeah. Not ZP.

 

[sb666]

show her extra credits and zero punctuation.

DON'T LISTEN TO THIS. I'm mostly kidding, but Zero Punctuation really shouldn't be gaming culture putting its best foot forward toward a biased public. EC, yeah. Not ZP.

Its to show her that you can get a sweet job out of gaming and that its not pointless

 

[Gudrests]

Tell her she's right and you'll spend your free time hanging outside instead. Then go break the law or get caught doing drugs. If she isn't an idiot she'd put two and two together.

Or just demonstrate the above example to her verbally.

Wow!

So so far I have:

?Sing Italian Music
?Break the Law

...next?

Have you struck her with your pimp hand......JUST SAYIN...that or make her watch Extra Credits..... imo tho... Pimp Hand > Extra Credits...unless you cant hit that hard..

 

[CasioCoal]

You need to think in video games farm more than in books and film. In a book and a film you set your mind to simply "read" - you take in things but you don't act on them, in a game you react to whatever you are being shown.

Recent studies suggest that FPS players make the same correct decisions as non-gamers, but do so much quicker. So thats good.

In the end haters are going to hate, that is, people want to be able to blame something that is not them. Thats the point of a scapegoat. Society has problems, always had, but its much easier to blame a specific thing/type of person, than to even out the blame on everyone.

 

[archvile93]

I'm sorry, but it's obvious your mother is so dead set in her horrendously uninformed and honestly stupid view that nothing short of god himself descending from heaven and saying she's wrong could change her mind, and even that might not do it.

 

[Hurray Forums]

Challenge her to a match on some extremely complicated strategy game. When you inevitably win since she has no game experience mock her intelligence and say that maybe she would be smarter if she played more video games. Then get grounded for mocking your mother's intelligence. You still won't be able to play video games, but at least you can sit in your room feeling smug and superior.

 

[cairocat]

Thanks for all your advice, guys, it really helps. Some ideas are really great (Spending time at friend's, Handheld) Some are a little repetitive (Extra Credits is good and all, but she's too busy) and some are... not so much *couch*Pimp Hand*cough*.

 

[twasdfzxcv]

Stop playing games and start smoking crack. When she tell you to stop just tell her that you'll stop smoking crack if she lets you play video game.

 

[NewYork_Comedian]

My Grandma thought this, until she heard me singing along to some Italian music from Mafia 2 (she's Italian, and it's from her time era). Now she's okay with them.

Soooo..... is you're mom Italian?

Hehe, Mafia 2 does indeed have a good soundtrack.

OT: Ask her why you are a savage, bloodthirsty teenage killer because of playing video games.
OR, go play a casual or racing game [F1 2010, peggel, ect.]

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Ask her if she remembers the people who wanted to ban rock & roll. Then ask her how stupid she thought that was. If the answer is something like "That was silly", tell her she is the same type of ignorant person who is scared of anything new, or of anything changing. If she says the opposite of the previous statement, show her Extra Credits. If all else fails, go to a friends house to play Halo: Reach, or whatever else is hip at the time, she'll either miss you, or you get to be social and play video games. It's a win-win scenario.

THIS!
Every time she says it is stupid, just remind her that that is what her parents said about her interests.

 

[JavaJoeCoffee]

I suggest Bookworm, she may even like it. However, if you get her addicted to casual video games she may not make dinner.

I think that you need to negotiate. Maybe if you do some "together stuff" you can get some "me space". I suggest you ask her to play gin rummy or backgammon in exchange for getting your game on.

 

[Broken Boy]

Wish I could help my mom is the one who put me in front of the tv and my atari when I was a kid. ; P

 

[crudus]

My mom is dead set in scapegoating video-games for all my 'inadequacies' (no innuendo intended). She feels that all video games are useless and mind killing, even more so than television. She believe I have an 'addiction' which she has to cure, and my modest 10-hours-a-week playtime has been reduced to zero. I usually play Halo and I'm ecstatic about Reach. All my friends love it and we play together every night. Since they live far away it's a great way to spend time together and socialize. On the contrary, she sees it as antisocial and useless, so now my four-player Legendary runthrough is a three-man game and I'm stuck hearing stories of 'epic kills' the next day. How do I convince her it isn't killing my soul?

A. There is no innuendo. You just think there is.
2. She is right in certain extreme cases but that is enough to convince her she is right.
C. Quite simply, you don't. This is a belief she holds very strongly and no amount of evidence will make her disbelief it. Think of this like a religious debate. Imagine instead of video games it is the fact that you are an atheist and she is Christian. No amount of one person spouting nonsense will make the other believe their point(if you followed that). You mom seems dead set on thinking video games kills puppies and eating babies. There is nothing you can do at that point. The most you can do is present your argument. If she listens then great. If she doesn't listen then you should just move out and live the way you want.
D. Don't even get me started on D.

 

[Wing Dairu]

Sit her down with a copy of Ocarina of Time. Not only did that game NOT harm me, but it was a big part of why I came out the way I did. Link is the perfect role model.

 

[Agayek]

My mom is dead set in scapegoating video-games for all my 'inadequacies' (no innuendo intended). She feels that all video games are useless and mind killing, even more so than television. She believe I have an 'addiction' which she has to cure, and my modest 10-hours-a-week playtime has been reduced to zero. I usually play Halo and I'm ecstatic about Reach. All my friends love it and we play together every night. Since they live far away it's a great way to spend time together and socialize. On the contrary, she sees it as antisocial and useless, so now my four-player Legendary runthrough is a three-man game and I'm stuck hearing stories of 'epic kills' the next day. How do I convince her it isn't killing my soul?

In all honesty, there's really not much you can do or say that will get through to her (most likely). I know a number of people like this, and their minds are made up, regardless of anyone else's facts or opinions. Probably what will have the best effect is if you can talk to one of your mom's good friends and try to talk them into explaining the facts to her. She may actually listen to them.

If that doesn't work, I would suggest simply telling her to fuck off and playing anyway. Explain to her that even if gaming really does completely annihilate any and all of your social ability and it turns you into a drooling retard, it is your choice to do so, and she can go suck on a lemon.

Or, alternatively, smack her upside the head every time she starts to complain about games. Not very hard, but enough to get her attention. Then when she gets mad about that, smack her again. Repeat until the point is learned.

PS - I wasn't serious about that last one, that will likely just get you grounded.

Edit: Or you could try to get her addicted to some random PopCap game, that seems to work for some people. Talk her into playing Bejeweled or Peggle or whatever.

 

[TestMonkeyNo2]

What you need to do is find a way to relate to her.

3 Ideas to relate to Mothers:

Idea#1
Talk to her. Get her to talk about her favorite movies/books/music/tv. Then ask her WHY she likes those things, and if any of them have left a lasting impact on her.

Everyone will have at least one piece of media that they identify with.

Next all you have to do is show her how much your favorite games impact you in the same way, and use the same words and terminology that she used.

She should see that gaming is a reasonable hobby.

Idea#2
Cut a deal. You can play games as long as you keep a certain grade level (A/B/C). You can play games as long as you spend an equal amount of time studying (the more studying you do, the more time you get to play). You do one chore for every hour you get to play.

She will see you as quite the entrepreneur and hopefully reward you for the initiative.

Idea#3
Find a Mediator. Find someone who your Mother respects and who also happens to understand games as an entertainment medium. Ask this person to speak on your behalf. Often they will be making the same arguments you do, however, your mom will actually listen this time because she views this person as a peer.



Above all, don't say you hate her, and she doesn't understand you, and start fights.
Let me know how this goes for you, and I might have more ideas depending on her reaction.

 

[Ftaghn To You Too]

Your mother either is old fashioned or wants to spend more time with you.

I'd recommend studies or trying to get her to play.

On a possibly related note, is she very religious? If yes, you're fucked more then likely.

 

[flim.geek.chic]

have her play something she might like with you. something cute easy to play but addictive like Super Mario Brothers Brawl. or Something Chanlanging and Brainy like Portal.♥