Poll: Your Parents on Gaming.

[JohnnyDelRay]

This is a weird one, I don't know quite how to answer the poll. Because my dad actually GOT me into video games, he was the one who introduced me to computer hardware, Wolf 3D and Doom, and we actually played early RTS games together (warcraft, C&C, Red Alert, etc).

But now he's like...totally anti-games. He's not against me playing them unless I do it too much, but he seems really against games nowadays and doesn't play anymore nowadays, besides windows card games occasionally. So where does that fit in the poll? =S

 

[Mallefunction]

I made my mother try to play Portal, Katamari, Heavy Rain, LBP, and other non-combat type games (She's not a huge fan of violence) and she only came close to liking LBP. She was too confused by the controller and therefore was frustrated. I told her it's the same with using her expensive and ridiculously complex cellphone (i.e. you have to LEARN to use it over time) but she wasn't willing to learn and she just gave up after two hours.

She doesn't mind me playing them, but she does not recognize them as art. She sees them as toys.

My dad on the other hand is much more open. He talks about plot points that he's seen me play through and is particularly interested in Assassin's Creed since he watched me play out the opening sequence in Brotherhood where the Borgias fuck up Ezio's shit. He doesn't show much interest in actually playing them himself, but he promised that he'd try Portal and maybe a few other games just to see.

 

[wrightguy0]

my dad, as he says, can't understand why somebody would sit in front of a TV all day when there are other things to do, believes games are a big part of why i swear now and thinks i'll be more open to violence. on all counts he's wrong, i started gaming because there was nothing else i could do (i sucked at everything else i tried to do) i started swearing because i figured why the fuck not, i look like a pussy, may as well disarm them with words the bullies understand, and sometimes releasing an expletive laden shit storm can be therapeutic, especially after years of mental anguish, as for violence, i have a weak punch and blood still makes me weak in the knees.

as for my mom, she thinks the graphics are pretty, some of the jokes in my games amuse her, and she plays casual browser games from time to time, but seeing as she can barely work the TV and fails to grasp the concept of tabbed browsing, i know she's not going to master a controller, or WASD movement systems even if you tell her how to do it.

as a gamer in a family of non gamers it's frustrating to be excited about things like LA Noire, explaining the interesting story, the cool tech behind the game, and how the experience feels like it's helping the medium grow and mature, only to be met with blank stares or the standard "mhm" or "yeah" or my personal favorites "don't you have enough games?" and "you want to spend money on another one?" god that last one pisses me off, my money, my hobby, not your problem.

 

[fishy009er]

My Mum played Super Mario Bros 1,2 and 3 with me when I was a kid. I always had to get her help to finish the Oil Ocean and Metropolis zones from Sonic 2 and she would always whoop my ass at Pokemon Puzzle League (mainly because she played it the whole time I was at school). And she was the one who got us through Gannon's castle in our first play through of Zelda Ocarina of Time. She doesn't play games all that often anymore but she did help me solve a puzzle in a temple in Zelda Twilight Princess a few years ago.

My Dad, not so much. The only games he plays are the odd arcade racing games at clubs every now and then but thats maybe one game ever 3 months.

 

[War Penguin]

My mother knows little to nothing about videogames, which I can't blame her for. It's not marketed to her. She doesn't care if I play, though, which is good.

My dad has shown some interest in gaming, but not a whole lot. He was interested in Portal and was exited when he heard I got Portal 2. I'm gonna get LA Noire, soon, and I think he might like that. Sometimes he'll watch and observe me while I'm playing Zelda or Oblivion, but he always gets a little lost while he watches.

Again, can't blame them.

 

[Omey]

My dad tells me to "grow up" when he sees me gaming

 

[Sarynroth]

My parents don't mind me playing games just as long as I still do other activities as well. Now I'm at uni I can play whenever I want to, but at home I just play later on in the evenings when there's nothing good on tv.

My Dad will usually play racing games with me and my brother and is pretty good at wii sports, my mum on the other hand doesn't really have time to play games but will happily chat to me while I'm playing them.

 

[Mistermixmaster]

My mom was the one to introduce me to gaming with Super Mario Bros 3 for the NES back when I was 3 or 4 years old. However, she stays with the casual games like Solitaire, Bejeweled and Mahjong as of late. Both of my parents however aren't big fans of gaming because of how much time I spend playing and how large part of my life gaming has become. I do suspect that my dad doesn't like gaming because he did try Super Mario Bros 3 once back when I was 5, but he got to the first level of the Dark World and it quickly became That One Level [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThatOneLevel] for him and he hasn't touched a game console since...

Bit of a shame, but hey, I do occasionally convince my mom to play Super Mario Bros 3 with me for old times sake. Hell, we even tried New Super Mario Bros Wii, even though that didn't go to well once we got past World 6.

 

[scorptatious]

My mom told me a few times that she beat the high score on "Space Invaders". Besides that though, she's not really into games.

My dad used to play Super Mario Bros. with my older sister before I was born, and when I was little, I remember him playing Mario Kart 64 with me. He also attempted to play a game of splitscreen Halo 3 slayer with me. With hillarious results.

 

[Random Argument Man]

My dad once said that it's a waste of time. I called him an idiot since he was watching T.V 4 hours in a row. He didn't say much except when I played WoW.

My mom use to forbid us gaming until the weekends when we were kids. Didn't work that much when I became a teenager.

 

[berettastorm88]

my dad really enjoyed games like motocross and madden.
but for the most part hates most other games.
my mother dosent hate any games more just doesnt cair for them but she did love WoW alot...
she was good.

 

[SilentCom]

My dad likes to play games although he is usually busy with work. My mom has never really been interested in gaming.

 

[Warlord211]

My dad plays COD and thats about it. He is actually pretty good at it. My mom hates how much time me and my dad spend on games.

 

[hurfdurp]

My stepfather saw Dead Rising and exclaimed, "and you wonder why people are killing each other!" He also saw the new MK and said it was just a way for boys to get "their jollies".

Other than that, the most I get from them is a casual glance at the TV and a cheer for whatever I'm doing. Mostly they just want the TV.

Despite having played Mario Kart and such with me when I was younger, you'd be surprised how easy it is to get out of tune with games, especially with all the advances since SNES. My sister stopped all the way up to the GameCube and even she has trouble finding her way around an xbox controller.

 

[R4ptur3]

When i was really young, my dad used to play fifa 98, banjo-kazooie and duke nukem on the N64. He doesn't play games now a days though.

 

[Caisu]

My parents are the type of people who are instantly dismissive of gaming, calling it a "pointless waste of time".

...
This.
I don't even need to fucking post.
But I will - because YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

This also. My dad would play some rally games and Timesplitters when he was alive, but mum always called them a waste of time, and that escalated to 'warping my brain' when she saw me a little too happy about sneaking up and stabbing guards to death on Assassin's Creed XD;; I think the idea of her precious little girl giggling like a manic while murdering people scared her a little bit. >D That was around the time she decided that making me pay for my own games/systems would stop me wasting so much time on them, actually just made it 'worse' since I didn't have to ask permission any more! Now I'm studying Games Development at uni and she reckons I'm wasting my life on a useless career I'll regret in a few years... we don't talk much any more.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

My parents are the type of people who are instantly dismissive of gaming, calling it a "pointless waste of time".

My parents used to be like that.

My mum started changing her mind when I showed her Little Big Planet. She loved it, even when just watching me play it - and when I let her have a go, although she struggled to pick up the controls at first and understand how to control her Sackboy, she really enjoyed it. She still doesn't like how many hours I spend playing, but she's a lot more understanding of why I do it, and why I enjoy it, now.

My dad started changing his mind when we went up to visit my uncle, and he got us all playing his Wii. My dad fell in love with racing games, so again, he's much more understanding and accepting of the fact that I like to play games. He's actually the one I have to be most worried about when it comes to console hogging. :3

 

[El Poncho]

My dad doesn't really game, he used to play the older games I think every now and then but has never been big on it. He doesn't mind me playing them though as long as I work hard.