Baneleaf wrote:
Aestu wrote:
It's no more or less true of playing video games than engaging in any hobby other than sitting and staring at the TV.
In my house, my wife used to hate that I played WoW, XBpx, or whatever was not sitting there watching TV with her. So I quit all of the above for a while, and the arguments started about what to watch, which resulted in her going "just go play a damn game or something". Heh heh, I win. I actually sit in the same room as my kids watching cartoons with them if I play when they are up. It is very common for my 5 year old to be in my lap while I mine, asking what certain things are on the screen. I have even gone as far as to let her run around towns. My 10 year old has shown some interest in the game but if I were to let her play I would strictly limit her play time. My wife plays Facebook games and CSI on her laptop so I dont have to worry about her deciding she wants to play WoW anytime soon.
As a young child, I used to do pretty much the same thing: play SC2K or SimFarm while the family watched TV. My mother kind of liked SC2K (although she never played it) because she thought the music was tasteful and appreciated the intelligent nature of the game. My brother felt that how we played the game reflected the difference between us: he was never really able to wrap his mind around it and made small, pleasant towns; I invariably created what my mother and brother called "ant farms".
Years later, driving around the city, they remarked that they felt like they could hear the SC2K jazz overview music in the background.
I do not like to
watch TV because it is too passive and slow-paced for my liking, so being able to sit out of line of sight of the TV and listen to the dialogue worked well for me. Since my father could not see well my mother often had to narrate things anyway.
My father loved Rodent's Revenge and Minesweeper, although despite being very smart he was never able to develop any skill. My mother had no opinion of video games.
I will say that playing Persona II definitely helped me get an A in Introduction to Mythology, which was one of the most enlightening classes I have ever taken.
Moving forward to today, my parents believe that my playing WoW helps keep me from becoming a threat to world peace. They know very little about the game and have no interest in learning more. My brother knows quite a bit more about the game (he is very restrained and secretive by nature and it is very hard to tell exactly how much he knows about anything), but is contemptuous of it as being "full of ridiculous nerds" and below my level. He enjoys Starcraft but is frustrated by others' superior skill. To both my parents and brother I say only that I enjoy the game itself.