How do your parents view video games? (or just gaming in general)

[wooty]

My mum doesn't mind them really, she likes playing theold Tomb Raiders and Prof Leyton games. I guess its the puzzle aspects. She also liked playing LA Noire and Saints Row 3.....oddly.

She can't stand FPS's though, I've often been playing one and shes like "whats the point in this?", "you just run forward and get killed all the time", "whys that guy hiding in a corner? Is he scared or something?"

She doesn't play fps, but even she knows that campers have no bollocks.

 

[Daft Time]

My father spends more money on gaming than I do, and probably spends more time gaming these days. My mother plays some awful F2P browser MMO and had definetly spent more money on it than I have. They never gave a damn about my gaming habits unless it cause them to do any work.

 

[Ticklefist]

My 60 year old dad is a racing sim enthusiast. He buys $400 racing wheels and runs a 3 monitor setup as part of a racing cockpit he's built. He's in no position to judge.

 

[V TheSystem V]

My mum used to play computer games with me, but would forget the controls. Playing From Russia With Love on the GC with me, she threw my controller at the wardrobe because I stopped letting her win. She plays the Wii now, but is confined to Just Dance. I never wish to play Mario Kart with her...

My dad isn't a gamer, never really takes any interest. The one game that interested him was Lego Star Wars, and he didn't even play that, just liked the look of it.

Don't think either approve of how much I play them, but seeing as (when I lived at home) I would always do my work too (and got into uni, so it's not as if computer games took over...after first year of college), they don't complain as much now.

 

[Olas]

Pretty much indifferent. My dad at least has said that he'd rather me play videogames than watch TV because in his mind videogames are at least engaging and interactive, whereas TV and movies are passive. Anyway, neither of my parents really care what I do in my free-time so long as it isn't dangerous or harmful.

 

[Angelowl]

My mother has been fairly neutral, but did get me a Pikachu-N64. As well as tried very hard to find an expansion pach, the result being me having a transfer pack, a memory pack and a rumble pack. She doesn't get it, but has been supporting now that I think about it.

My father thinks it is childish and that I should do something more productive with my time, namely watch sport on the TV and drink beer. He pretty much complained that I wasn't behaving like a real man, how ironic considering boobs.

 

[Revolutionary]

My mum is kind of indifferent as long as it doesn't interfere with other aspects of that horrible thing called reality.
My dad is roughly the same except actually willing to try some games (mostly FPS').

 

[Ambitiousmould]

My parents aren't really too bothered either way. My dad'll have a bash at Doom or Forza 4 (still can't beat his ruddy Kia C'eed, top gear track lap time though, one year later) but he'll joke about games being all the same or something and I'll joke that his football is a load of shaved apes chasing balls. I have been banned off of games until after my exams though, which is fair enough because I do play a lot, and that can be bad when I'm meant to be studying.

 

[Dominic Crossman]

My dad likes playing computer games with me BUT I am unfortunatly a very good gamer so he is unable to play against me as I outclass him at all games.
Also coop doesnt really work as I generally just end up telling him where to go and what to do.

Off topic a bit, can anyone suggest a game where general gaming skill won't be put me at large advantage over him?

 

[sanquin]

My dad used to see it as a 'game'. Not a little kids game and that it was oh so anti-social and such. But as a pass-time in between doing actual things. Like other hobbies you could say. He didn't understand much about games though, and didn't get further than patience/mahjong himself.

My mother understands that it can be a pretty serious business. And that me and my brother don't see gaming as just a simple pass-time. And she respects our choice in that. She even tries to understand a few things here and there so she isn't entirely clueless when we talk about games. Other than that she keeps out of it herself though.

 

[Saulkar]

Total apathy. My dad plays the default card games and mine sweeper on the computer with a little Angry Birds thrown into the mix but otherwise it does nothing for either of my parents and they personally do not care what me and my brothers play.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

My parents support my gaming habit. I was raised as an only child (my sister and one of my brothers lived with me, but they are much older than me) in a 'rough' estate, and I was bullied quite a lot whenever I decided to play outside. Video games gave me something to do while I was indoors (and something to do with my siblings when they were home).

My parents became a bit worried about my love of video games when I got a bit older, and when I was unemployed my mother started criticizing my love of games, believing them to be the reason I didn't have a job.. but she relaxed a lot once she started playing casual games herself (stuff like Bejeweled and hidden object games).

Now, she's supportive of me. Presumably because I have a decent job and I still love games.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Yeeeaahhhh apparently games are the cause of everything that is wrong with me. Seems legit mother... Seems legit.

She even tells me to get a hobby. Gaming doesn't count. Welp you're grown up now Daniel, Why did you not immediately drop all games the moment you hit 18? That's how shit works right?

Pretty sure I every so slightly fell into that "virtual babysitter" category of parenting for a while, I say in the nicest possible way. I don't hold anything against her, I have always been fine in just my own company anyway. She's a single mother with a really intensive career. Don't know and don't care whoever the fuck my dad was.

 

[ultrabiome]

my dad was the one who introduced me and my younger brother to video games, he was playing pinball before video games existed and he eventually picked up an atari 2600 second-hand (when i was really young - for reference, i'm 29). since then my dad, me and my brother were always were always playing... even in elementary school, they let us use an old black and white to play NES with an eventual upgrade in middle school to a 13" color, although i was always a little obsessed (to the point that me and my brother got grounded from video games for 6 months for fighting). we also did play a lot outside when the weather was nice (basketball and mountain biking in the back yard...), and we were both straight A students, so there was little reason to keep us from playing through high school.

my mom on the other hand wasn't too fond. she knew the music as well as we did, and that was a bad thing. but as long as we were good, she'd rather have us play than get in trouble. and as long as we stopped when we were told. she still gets me games for birthday and christmas so she's accepted it at least.

when i visit my parents, i spend 80% of the time playing whatever old games i want (atari, NES, SNES, N64) while my dad watches (my mom usually goes on the internet to both escape the video games and my dad's nonstop talking). in grad school i also subjected my dad to probably 75 hrs of FFXII (including yiamat (sp?), which took me 6 hrs to beat XD).

so pretty accepting, but if we had ever stopped doing well in school (i have a master's, my brother almost has a Ph.D)... they wouldn't have been so accepting.

 

[hazabaza1]

My mum's alright with it for the most part, but it's pretty clear she'd prefer I spend my time doing something else a lot of the time.
Don't get to talk to Dad much but he seems to enjoy chatting about them, and gives the odd modern game a shot, but he's really a retro guy at heart.

 

[EeveeElectro]

My mum doesn't really take much notice of anything I do. She doesn't seem against it but she doesn't support me, but then again she's never supported me in anything.
She'll go "Eurgh" if she sees me playing a violent game and nothing else. She and the rest of my family seem to think me having an interest in games makes me lazy. They thought my ex was the biggest slob because he was on his xbox a lot.
I don't know how it's different to her watching hours and hours of shitty TV, and the fact that I'm one of the few family members who actually has a job, it's just hypocritical.

I can't express how much I'm looking forward to moving back out and having my own TV and consoles again.

 

[Sonntam]

When I was younger I couldn't get through most games by myself, so me and my sister just watched my dad play RPGs we liked. Top family bonding moments right there.

We still get crazy excited when dad plays games we like, like Mass Effect or lately Bioshock: Infinite. We tend to sit and watch him play even now with the difference that now we give tips on fighting, where to go and help him out whenever he has trouble. Since lately he started playing in English and we speak English a lot better than him, we also translate a lot of stuff he doesn't get.

However, he doesn't really like MMOs, since y'know, all the "it will suck out your soul, time, money and destroy your life" connotations.

My mother on the other hand doesn't play video games at all, but she is very level-headed about it. Whenever I used to play an MMO and she needed help with cooking/taking care of my little brother she'd ask me whether I'm busy right now and when I'll be available, so I didn't have to quit any dungeon or battleground I just recently entered. I really appreciated her patience, especially since my father is a lot less considerate and tend to be all like: "if I need something done, you drop everything and do it immediately".

Also my mother seems to be a bit interested in the various races/interesting designs she sees, but not enough to play herself which is a shame.

 

[Saitexx]

My dad likes playing computer games with me BUT I am unfortunatly a very good gamer so he is unable to play against me as I outclass him at all games.
Also coop doesnt really work as I generally just end up telling him where to go and what to do.

Off topic a bit, can anyone suggest a game where general gaming skill won't be put me at large advantage over him?

Lol that feel, it was the same for me when i was like, 5yrs old, my mom would offer to help me but she would just die instead and waste my precious lives!

Off topic, play a fighting game! you should both be on even grounds if its your first time. Street fighter is all about luck when masshing all the random buttons