Next Gen Killed Our Gaming Relationship
by dkpatriarch
© 2009 David Hilton:- 2IC-Sub Editor
Once upon a time, a long time ago, something amazing happened. My new wife and I re-discovered gaming together.
I had first played video games in the 1980s on my Apple IIe but lost interest when my parents didn’t keep up with the new computers. My wife had played the Nintendo Game & Watch console as a kid, but never was much of a gamer.
Then in the early 1990s, freshly married, we found that our new 486 PC could do more than Uni assignments. We could play games! We discovered that games had advanced from the pixilated Karateka and Donkey Kong.
We watched each other play Wolfenstein 3D (I had played the original Wolfenstein game as a kid on my Apple) and I designed levels for her to play using the map editor. We sat and enjoyed the Monkey Island and Indiana Jones adventure games together.
Then PCs got better again, and our ageing 486 was left behind. Patches and boot discs got way too annoying and we gave up on PC gaming for good.
When Nintendo released the N64 console we decided that finally consoles had got to a point where they could provide the kind of experience the PC had given us, but without the problems trying to get games to work. We both played Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire, Banjo, Diddy Kong Racing, and had group Goldeneye sessions.
But then the next generation killed our gaming relationship.
We started having children and losing spare time. While we were having our next gen, so were the console makers. I sadly watched as my wife grew increasingly disinterested in gaming as quickly as I was becoming more interested.
When I could get her to try, the next gen consoles, with their dual analogue control schemes and extra buttons, just frustrated her. As I continued to find the newer more realistic shooters to my taste, she lost interest completely. The games being released were no longer appealing to her.
Even though we had upgraded our computer by then, and knew there were some games we’d probably both enjoy, neither of us wanted to struggle to work out if our specs were good enough or sit in front of it for extended periods to play games. My wife would play cards on the PC to tune out for awhile, but that was it. And cards bore me.
Desperate to re-experience our ‘together gaming moments’ I bought Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon and Dreamfall for the first Xbox. It was almost like the good old days with Monkey Island, except we could only play at night to avoid the kids distracting us.
We would take turns like before, one playing, one watching and both enjoying it. The controls weren’t too complicated and the focus was on exploration and advancing the mystery, not killing or timing buttons correctly.
Now that gaming relationship is truly dead though. No longer are there games that bridge our interests like Broken Sword and Monkey Island. The only game she even watched me play was Uncharted, and when she tried to play herself, she hated the controls and all the shooting and gave up.
So I play my 360 and PS3 when she is away at work or off playing cards with family. She occasionally plays Wii Sports with the kids or crime games like CSI, Unsolved Crimes, and Mystery Case Files on the DS she shares with our youngest.
All is not lost, though.
I play multiplayer split-screen games on my 360 and PS3 with the kids now. In competitive games I tend to only be able to beat my 5 year old on the score table, but he gets upset and so either I have to lose there too or play a co-operative game like Lego: Indiana Jones.
At heart, though, I love the single player game. I still keep hoping a game will come that will have the character, engaging protagonists, story, exploration, fun and simplicity that might tempt my wife back to gaming with me.
Unfortunately right now the only game that might do that is one with the old fashioned adventure gameplay mechanics and a name she wouldn’t be able to resist, like a Twilight adventure game (sigh)….
Guess I’ll go back to playing COD: World At War now.
© 2009 David Hilton:- 2IC-Sub Editor
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Filed under: Blogbanter, Console gaming, Editorial, Parental Gaming, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Apple IIe, BlogBanter, bs angel, bsangel, nintendo, PS3, Wii, Wolfenstein 3D, Xbox 360
Has she tried Braid yet? I think that’s a game everyone can enjoy!
Well here’s an update: I downloaded Flowers for the PS3 for her and she’s really enjoying that. It isn’t really a couple’s game as me sitting there watching her float around with flower pedals is soothing, but not really getting me involved much!
Still it’s good to see her still playing something besides the DS that we can both watch.
BS Angel, I agree…the controls is a major part of it. She had no problems with the 1 analogue system in Goldeneye on the N64 for example, but the ‘looking’ with the second stick since really has her feeling frustrated. I’m sure she’d get used to coordinating both sticks, but she doesn’t want to spend the time that way….for me the second analogue stick was natural almost from word go.
The other major issues are time (since we had more kids) and style of games. The old adventure games were great, but modern shooters are not. Prince of Persia got her watching a bit at least, but she isn’t into button timing much, even if PoP is pretty lenient.
With the old style adventure games, even if one person is playing and the other watching, there is an interaction between both of us because we need to discuss what to do, where to look, where to go etc.
There is more story and humour than many games too.
As a child my parents didn’t have any video game consoles and therefore I barely played any video games until high school when I became obsessed with the xbox. That’s how it all began <3.
It sounds like she’s grown frustrated with the growing complexity of controls and the generic (perhaps not) user friendly interface. It’s an interesting perspective on the challenges of getting someone that has taken a break from gaming back into the daily grind.
Sounds like what happens in my house. My wife doesn’t get into hardcore gaming, but really digs playing on the DS (Magnetica, Puzzle Quest) and some 360 Arcade games (Feeding Frenzy, Zuma, Uno, etc.) Maybe you guys could recapture some of that magic that way. There’s a lot of retro games available on the 360 arcade and Wii Shop. My wife has enjoyed many of those and sometimes we even play them together.
What about something like the new Prince of Persia? It’s pretty simple, and the story isn’t bad. I guess when you aren’t jumping and sliding, you’re killing though… Oh, and if you haven’t tried it, Professor Layton on the DS might work.
Notice how many of those are ‘last gen’ games?
She did try and watch one cut-scene of MGS4, but I think it was nearly 30 minutes and she said it was worse than the soaps she used to watch.
Actually that particular scene was….
Sonic Genesis Collection
Ratchet and Clank FTOD (maybe)
LittleBigPlanet
Zelda Twilight Princess
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
Lots of PSN games
All I can think of right now, but Im sure there are much more. She might also enjoy experiencing MGS4 with you even if she doesnt like to actually play it.
Hey Anon,
Always good to hear suggestions! Anyone else with suggestions for couple gaming?
I’ve heard they are ‘remaking?’ Broken Sword on the Wii too…that might be something to try. Pity she’s so obsessed with Twilight at the moment!!!!
You should try Zack and WIki for the wii. It’s a point and click adventure/puzzle game. If you’re becoming more attracted to shooters, I don’t know if it will be your cup of tea, but it sounds like something your wife would like.