Two Girls, a Boy, and Their Gaming Dad
/This blog is not about video game violence or how games make kids into serial killers. I have my own opinions on that, but that is not the point of these posts.
When I was young I played video games relentlessly. They were my TV, my movies, my entertainment. I was so good at playing games that not one of my friends could consistently beat me at them, to the point where people refused to play with me. (Thank god for online suckers - I mean, opponents.)
I beat Super Mario 3 47 times in a row to try to figure out if there was anything besides P-Wings at the end.
Years passed, I got older, and now I'm the father of three children. I'm still a game addict, but I'm also the ESRB of the house: If, after playing a game myself, I feel it's too violent or inappropriate for them, I lay down the law. My wife, also a gamer but more in the MMO universe, generally leaves the gaming world up to me.
My son is 12 years old. He's like me, always playing video games (during appropriately scheduled times) and always wanting to join me on the same game I'm currently interested in. We've played a lot of different games, and he's got this grim determination to surpass me. It's cute.
My middle daughter is 10 years old. She's the creative one of the list. Always running around playing games that invoke creativity. She's not one for competition; she's a co-op girl at heart.
My youngest child is eight (as of October!), and she is the big Nintendo fan of the family. Although she won't openly admit it, she's a huge Mario fan. Like her sister, she's also into creative games but not as much. She's a big music buff, so dancing games are her thing.
Video games are something we share in this family, either competitively or cooperatively. From games like Hyrule Warriors to Minecraft, World of Warcraft to Mario Kart, Watch_Dogs to Just Dance... we play 'em all.
In my next few posts, I'm going to post some interactions between the kids and I on specific video games we've played together. I'm hoping, over the next little while, this blog gives insight into at least one family who plays video games together as a means of entertainment.
My oldest hero
My middle artist
My youngest dancer
Michael Belkie
Michael Belkie is a student in the Professional Writing Program at Algonquin College and father of three children. Alongside co-host Jake Urquhart, he is also the creator of the Youtube series Digital Rapscallions, launched in 2014. Michael plays excessive amounts of video games and cosplaying Aiden Pearce for recreation.
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