Husband. Father. Gamer.
The work day has ended. You had a rough day at work and cringe at the amount of work you will have to pick up with at the start of the next day. You take that 2 hour commute home, including the time it takes to grab the train that you hope is on time, and finally collapse on the couch. You reach for your gaming controller as you hear the familiar sound of a car pulling in to the driveway. You're left with a pick-your-own-adventure story at this point. Either play the game, although you know your wife and kids will be inside any minute, or go start dinner. This is one of the many complications of being a husband, a father and a gamer.
My addiction to gaming started decades ago when I received an NES one Christmas. My parents, to this day, recall having to drag me away from the TV just for things like lunch, dinner, sleep, things they considered more important than playing games.
As I grew, my expertise and knowledge of games expanded at a rapid rate. I was frequenting local arcades to play classic games and to check out the latest releases. I recall dropping endless amounts of quarters in to games like The Simpsons, WWF WrestleFest and Darkstalkers. I was subscribed to Nintendo Power, GamePro and was fortunate enough to keep obtaining the latest Nintendo system. I was a complete Nintendo fan boy for the majority of my life.
For years, gaming was one of my favorite past times. I joined a gaming club in college as well as covered gaming news for my college paper. But as I moved on from college, I found myself entering a relationship that lead to marriage, rent, car payments, bills, a steady job and 2 daughters. Gaming was still my passion, but I just couldn't give it the time I once did.
My game time expanded a bit when, to my utter shock, my daughter suddenly wanted to play my games. Not any of the gaming titles aimed at young kids, but Mario Bros, Kirby's Adventure and a few other titles I had on my old Nintendo Wii. After setting her up to play them, I'd check on her 20 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour later and she'd still be playing away. It was like watching myself discover video game all over again.
Now that I have moved up to a WiiU, she always asks me to play the multiple Mario games I have. She loves to watch me play or give her best effort at playing despite not having the necessary hand size to use the controllers.
"Turtles throwing hammers? Ha! That's funny daddy." she comments after seeing the Hammer Bros tossing the hammers in Mario's direction.
I thought becoming a husband and a father would practically eliminate my want for playing games. Not only do I still play, since that ability to play on my phone, PC and consoles makes it much easier, but I get to watch my daughter grow to enjoy gaming. That in itself is better than any in-game achievement.
The work day has ended. You had a rough day at work and cringe at the amount of work you will have to pick up with at the start of the next day. You take that 2 hour commute home, including the time it takes to grab the train that you hope is on time, and finally collapse on the couch. You reach for your gaming controller as you hear the familiar sound of a car pulling in to the driveway. You're left with a pick-your-own-adventure story at this point. Either play the game, although you know your wife and kids will be inside any minute, or go start dinner. This is one of the many complications of being a husband, a father and a gamer.
My addiction to gaming started decades ago when I received an NES one Christmas. My parents, to this day, recall having to drag me away from the TV just for things like lunch, dinner, sleep, things they considered more important than playing games.
As I grew, my expertise and knowledge of games expanded at a rapid rate. I was frequenting local arcades to play classic games and to check out the latest releases. I recall dropping endless amounts of quarters in to games like The Simpsons, WWF WrestleFest and Darkstalkers. I was subscribed to Nintendo Power, GamePro and was fortunate enough to keep obtaining the latest Nintendo system. I was a complete Nintendo fan boy for the majority of my life.
For years, gaming was one of my favorite past times. I joined a gaming club in college as well as covered gaming news for my college paper. But as I moved on from college, I found myself entering a relationship that lead to marriage, rent, car payments, bills, a steady job and 2 daughters. Gaming was still my passion, but I just couldn't give it the time I once did.
My game time expanded a bit when, to my utter shock, my daughter suddenly wanted to play my games. Not any of the gaming titles aimed at young kids, but Mario Bros, Kirby's Adventure and a few other titles I had on my old Nintendo Wii. After setting her up to play them, I'd check on her 20 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour later and she'd still be playing away. It was like watching myself discover video game all over again.
Now that I have moved up to a WiiU, she always asks me to play the multiple Mario games I have. She loves to watch me play or give her best effort at playing despite not having the necessary hand size to use the controllers.
"Turtles throwing hammers? Ha! That's funny daddy." she comments after seeing the Hammer Bros tossing the hammers in Mario's direction.
I thought becoming a husband and a father would practically eliminate my want for playing games. Not only do I still play, since that ability to play on my phone, PC and consoles makes it much easier, but I get to watch my daughter grow to enjoy gaming. That in itself is better than any in-game achievement.
