Passing Down the Passion

 

I remember the first time I played video game.  I was 6.  For Christmas, my parents brought home a state of the art Super Nintendo Entertainment System.  My Dad spent nearly half an hour hooking it up, getting to the back of the T.V. was much more of a process back then, and once he had finished we popped in Super Mario World.  The next few days (weeks) were a blur, but the resulting impressions lasted a lifetime.

My name is Brandon, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved gaming in every form: board games, party games, puzzles and sports.  But the one type of gaming that truly lights my fire, and has kept it burning brightly for the past 30 years, is video gaming.

Gaming is hard.  It requires you to pay attention and react to your surroundings.  It asks you to be in careful control of your movements and to think through the consequences of those movements in real time.

Gaming is competitive.  It draws out as much elation and ire as any physical sport, and it allows for the creation of a global community.  It quantifies what it means to truly be the best in the world.

Games tell important stories in new ways.  The interactivity inherent to the medium allows an audience to truly interact with narratives.  It creates a level of investment unseen in books and film.

Games are art.  They are made by insanely talented artists, musicians and programmers all of whom come together for years at a time, pouring their ideas, talent, and passion together.

Games are a labor of love, and I love playing them.  But that isn’t exactly what this blog is about.

I’m now 31, a media arts teacher, a husband, and a father to a beautiful little 6 year old boy, Connor.  As I’ve grown older, my responsibilities have increased.  My time for gaming has diminished, and my life as a whole has become much more full.  People along the way have said, “Are you really still gaming?  How do you have time for that?  Don’t you have more important things to do…  you have a child now.”  These questions were stuck in the back of my head, but eventually, I came to an answer.

Yes, I am still gaming.  I make time for it, because I love it.  And yes, you can and should balance the things you love to do with the things you have to do.  I’ve never told someone to stop watching Netflix.  I’ve never asked someone how they still have time to read.

So, this blog is about gaming with a 9 to 5.  Gaming with dinner to make.  Gaming with kids.

I’ve realized that I have an eternal ear in my son Connor.  The things I love, he also loves.  My life and interests don’t have to be segmented.  There’s no reason we can’t share in this together.  Now, it’s up to me to pass down the passion.

-Brandon