The Aging Gamer has been on hiatus for a while, getting older and wiser. I’ve leveled up and now have more tidbits of elderly information for all you young readers out there. For those who don’t know me, my brief biography is as follows, I’m thirty-seven and have been playing video games since I was seven. I grew up on the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo, and even a Vectrex, yeah Google that one. With all that history under my belt I try to link problems from back then to problems I have or could have in the future. Now I am not a parent, and one day I would like to be, but I’m told it is easier to have kids if you can get past a first date, so I’m working on that. I do think that my parents had it hard trying to pick what games to get me with absolutely no idea about the hobby. When I become a parent, I’m thinking that I will know exactly what to buy my offspring.
My poor parents had to figure out gaming on the fly with no Internet to help them. Every Christmas during the 80’s, my parents would buy Nintendo game after Nintendo game not really knowing what they were getting. I’m sure they were smart enough to ask the person at the store what games were popular and so on because I have some great classic games, but I also have some stinkers. My parents gifted me with Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers 2 and so on. They also saddled me with horrible versions of Joust and Gotcha! With the little knowledge they had and how young the industry was, I think my parents did an incredible job starting off my video game hobby. Even at thirty-seven they are still helping out by tracking down the knock-off Sega Genesis that’s out there, which works great by the way.
My parents were also respectful of my hobby, they knew I liked to game, but put boundaries on the Nintendo so that I wouldn’t fail elementary school. Their stern hand helped my college career as well. I purchased a Dreamcast when I was a junior in college so that I could play Resident Evil: Code Veronica. My grades did not suffer, nor did any of my extra-curricular activities; all was right with a Dreamcast in my world. Somehow they ingrained in my mind that life and responsibilities came first, and gaming came second. I honestly have no idea how my life would have turned out had I not been shown this path; I could be a homeless guy who flunked out of college or I could be a champion League of Legends player. Sadly, I will never know.
The children that I hope to sire one day will have less of a hit or miss with me. I’ve been gaming for almost thirty years, so I have a very good grasp of the industry and what children and adults of certain ages would like. I’m going to know to start my spawn with the Lego series and work them forward. That’s the best way to get them interested and to teach them how controllers work and so on. Plus, who doesn’t like Lego Harry Potter, perfect selling point. As the children grow, I would introduce them to the “mature” games that I’m sure they will be hounding me for as little ones. I’d never give in though; there is no reason for a 10 year old to play Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. The kids can wait for their violence fix when they are old enough. It is sad knowing that some parents don’t even take the time to see what their child’s hobby is, or what they may be playing. After how well I was raised by my parents, I owe it to my future children and the online gaming world.