Games Saturday

[erastes]

Sorry I haven’t posted for ages but I’ve had a cough, and haven’t really been very jolly.  The last thing you need is a un-jolly Erastes.

I was blasting my way through Metal Gear 4 today (far too little sneaking and far too much fighting in this one for my taste) and was thinking about how the games industry is FINALLY changing in the public eye. With the advent of the Wii particularly they are at last advertising that gaming can be a communal and fun event.

The thing is though, is that that’s how my family have been playing video games since they were invented.  As regular readers will know, my mother was the gaming nut in my family. She’d take me to the slot machines in Southend once a year and we’d get a whole pound to play with (144 goes, as the machines were a penny a go and this was pre-decimal) and we could make that last all day.  Then when the video consoles were available she bought one and omg the fun we had with that.  Probably because it belonged to mother, rather than one of us kids, it was communal property and there was never any thought that it would be stuck in a bedroom (and anyway, we didn’t have secondary tvs ) so it was in the lounge.  As a family we’ve always played games—board games, card games, dice games so video games was just an extension of that.  We’d make leagues and compete against each other. But my favourite way was blindfolded – generally done at Christmas and played in sets of two – the person handling the controls was blindfolded and their partner would have to give instructions: “up” “left” “FIRE!” etc. 

I remember the entire family, and the families from four houses falling around on the floor laughing at “Blindfold Frogger” one Christmas.

So it just amazes me that it’s taken the gaming industry so LONG to realise that gaming can be fun for all the family. Together. As my mother often said (and ok – yes, she’s misquoting) “the family that plays together, stays together.”  *snort*  I miss her.

Anyway, I’m playing MGS4 on VERY EASY and I still suck.  I’m pinned down on a roof fighting off semi-human hybrid android bird monsters and I am failing miserably.  Gah.  Very Easy. I should be ashamed of myself.

OK - time for Sat'day night Telly. Ingredients: Tea, sofa, blanket, cats, Merlin, Strictly Come Dancing. It's ruddy cold.

Comments

[leatherdykeuk.livejournal.com]

We've just got a wii. It's... interesting. Mostly the youngest shouts at all us oldies 'yure doin it rong!'

[crawling-angel.livejournal.com]

I think I'm still a bit scared of my Wii :/

I have a monkey game of some description and Wii sports which I'm a bit lazy about.

Yay for sofa, sleeping bag, cat, X Factor and leftover veggie curry!

[beckyblack]

Gaming has never been my thing, mostly because I'm usually very, very bad at it. But the Wii is quite fun. I bonded with sister in law playing sport games on the Wii last Christmas. But I haven't bought myself one. It would end up taking too much writing time away. I'd be up all night on it!

It was very frosty here today. Winter is setting in proper now.