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The Family That Games Together Online
GamerDad has a piece talking about families gaming together online. The article profiles some gamer families. Brian Reynolds, CEO of Big Huge Games, is cited as an example; He games together with his sons. The article also touches on the more serious issues of addiction and quality time. From the article: "Another hidden benefit to online games is that families spread over several states can keep in touch and play online together. Thompson agrees, 'I never foresaw how important the games online would become, but I did actually get a line added into my divorce decree that guaranteed me three days a week that I could get on the computer with my kids, via web cam. So I could communicate and see them. At the time, I wasn't a huge MMORPG player, so I didn't envision the role it would play.'"
but I did actually get a line added into my divorce decree that guaranteed me three days a week that I could get on the computer with my kids, via web cam.
I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of this in divorce papers. Especially if the parent with the kids moves across the country, such that personal visits are not practical.
On a related note, restraining orders are probably going to start having sections on internet contact, if they don't already. "I never came within 1000 yards of her, officer." "but you harassed her 4 hrs a day on AIM, off to jail"
No unauthorized use. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
I spend time with my family doing activities such as watching things like Stargate or watching different movies or playing trivial pursuit or recently watching Olympics. It can be very quality time, because the quality of the time is not just about the activity you are sharing, but the way you share it. Watching an episode of Stargate that stimulates a discussion about a certain topic causes us to interact in a way we would not have interacted without the show. The same goes for trivial pursuit, it can stimulate a conversation about oh remember when such and such.
If anybody else in my family actually had an active interest in gaming, then playing a game we enjoyed in common would easily represent quality time with them. I certainly feel fragging nubs with my friends outside the family has been quality time. I have certainly enjoyed dominating a server with an ex-girlfriend before, it presented an opportunity for bonding over a shared interest and promoted thinking as a unit.
I don't take issue with your passing judgment; it's a critical thing to do in order to make decisions every day. However, your judgment was passed too quickly. I bring to this conversation real-world evidence, even if it is only one case. Man and woman are married, have daughter. Later, woman cheats on man. Man finds out. Woman continues to cheat. Weak-spined man continues to forgive, expecting something to change as he goes on and continues to be a good father. Woman divorces man and marries her latest boyfriend. Court grants custody of daughter and almost all possessions to woman. Man is stuck paying $20k/yr child support in addition to college for the next 12 years. There are more details that were not mentioned, but suffice to say every detail points to this: this woman is a bitch and this man is a good person. The man was treated wrongly by the court.
So one thing to take from this story is that sometimes good husbands and fathers are given a raw deal only because their wives are terrible people and they made a bad judgment to marry.
I realise reading TFA is a quite an ordeal for todays ridlin fed ADD youth, but it even says in the SUMMARY, "At the time, I wasn't a huge MMORPG player, so I didn't envision the role it would play."
He didn't start gaming until AFTER the divorce. Most likely either he, or his wife moved and the wife maintained custody. He could have been the best father ever, and the divorce could have been amicable, but if he or his x-wife moved across the country you can't honestly expect him to commute 2500 miles for 4 hours 3 nights a week. Sitting in front of a web cam for 4 hours a night talking to your father could get rather boring for a child. Why not spend an hour talking about life, then playing a game together? Seems like a perfectly good way to hang out with a child from across the country.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
I'm divorced.
I don't get to see my kids every single day. Technically, I'm supposed to be able to talk to my kids every single day on the phone. In actuality, I get to talk to the answering machine 4 times out of every five that I call.
My kids are a little too young to play online with me. But in only a year or two, my daughter will be ready to play games. She knows my MMORPG of choice. I'll happily pay her membership. It will be just one more option that we can use to communicate.
It's one more tool at my disposal. Judge all you want. *My* kids know I'm trying.
- Zarquil
It's even more sad that watching TV counts as "quality time" for some people. At least in an MMORPG you're actually interacting with the other person, talking to them, and doing something together. Yes, it would probably be better to go outside and play catch or something, but that might not be practical if you're in another state (or it's raining out, etc). Then again, playing chess counts as quality time, right? Would playing chess on a computer be better/worse than playing chess with a real chess set? Anyway it's a lot more interactive that everyone just sitting in the same room staring at the TV.
Remember the days when Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility?
The whole concept of marriage is outdated and unsuitable for modern life. We don't live on farms anymore. Our children are not free labor to harvest our crops anymore. As much as I hate to admit it, children are a public good. They should be supported by taxes.
How we know is more important than what we know.