The Video Game Generation Grows Up

The Atari 2600 was released in 1977. Pac-Mania swept the US in 1980. The NES took the American home console market by storm in 1986. And now, the first generation to grow up with video games is all grown up. Gamers that stared down the challenges of reaching "just one more level" or beating an old high score are now facing a more significant challenge: blending marriages, mortgages, and parenting together with their gamer lifestyle. How are some members of the "video game generation" coping? What do the children of gamer parents think? And where do sociologists see the "video game generation" taking family relationships and gaming itself in the future?

With gaming stepping out of the shadows of geekdom and into the spotlight of the mainstream, gamer parents aren't alone -- in fact, they have some pretty noteworthy company. Mike Krahulik, better known to his legions of fans as Gabe, one-half of the team behind the gaming webcomic Penny Arcade, says that time is biggest challenge in blending gaming and parenthood. "You just don't have as much time for gaming," he says, "when you're getting up every 30 minutes to change diapers and get thrown up on." Another gamer and parent who juggles time constraints with his gaming is John Scalzi, best-selling author of Old Man's War and editorial contributor for Official PlayStation Magazine. The demands on his time can lead to a direct conflict between the way games were designed to be played and the way he wants to enjoy them. "I tend not to play games that don't allow me to save at any time and any place," he says. Whether or not gamemakers intend it, Scalzi feels that arbitrary save points imply that "what the game has got going on is more important than anything else I've got going on in my life. That's incorrect; games have to fit my life, not the other way around." One tactic that has helped both Scalzi and Krahulik integrate their passion for videogames has been to make them part of their careers. Andrew Bub, a veteran gaming journalist, took that idea one step further: He's the founder and maintainer of GamerDad.com, a website that covers the gaming industry and reviews software from a gaming parent's perspective. As he wryly notes, "It's a lot easier to convince your wife that you have to beat Bowser Jr. one more time when there's a paycheck involved." After all, he says, "Kids and spouses take up a lot of time and money. Games tend to do that, too."

Of course, there's more to the videogame experience than a paycheck for these gamer parents. An important part of integrating gaming into their lives is sharing the videogame experience with their children. Bub plays Barbie games with his young daughter Maggie; she's also an avid Mario Bros. and Ms. Pac-Man player. Scalzi not only plays classic arcade games with his daughter, but "some of the more bloodless fighting games," like the Soul Calibur series and rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution. ("She may have youth on her side," says Scalzi, "but I have formal dance training.") Many gamer parents may wrestle with the thorny issue of finding the game that's right for their child's age and maturity level; parents must contend not just with issues of violence or mature subject matter, but also with issues of game difficulty. Scalzi says that finding a balance between challenge and fun is key; his 7-year-old daughter can become easily frustrated if a game is too complex, and that can make it far less fun for her, even if the game is rated "E." Bub, on the other hand, finds that it's important to match a game with his daughter's reading level, noting that it can be difficult to play some games with children when they can't read. Mike Krahulik's 2-year-old son, Gabriel, is still a little young to play video games, but the elder Krahulik makes sure to spend time with his son and talk about whichever game Dad's playing. He even gives little Gabriel his own controller so that he'll feel included.

Older children that have grown up playing video games with their parents may feel even closer to them when gaming's a family activity. Chelsea Adkins, 16, of Arlington, TX, has been playing video games since the age of 7. The child of a self-described "gamer parent," she says that for her, gaming is a family affair -- the Adkins clan mostly plays Konami's Karaoke Revolution or Midway's Hydro Thunder, "..basically multi-player games that the whole family can enjoy together." When she's not playing together with her family or friends, Chelsea loves to watch her father, Kenneth, play Resident Evil 4. She loves to help him solve puzzles in the game, teaming up to tackle a challenge whenever her father gets stuck-- "Which," she says with a chuckle, "happens at least once every game!".

Of course, equally as important as the bond between parent and child is the bond between spouses. Some gamers have integrated game time and quality time with their significant other successfully, finding that the shared activity of playing videogames brings them closer together. As Krahulik puts it: "Some couples go to the movies. We go to [World of Warcraft's] Molten Core." He notes that he and his wife, Kara, play a lot of single-player console RPGs together -- even if the game they're playing is only designed for one player, sitting down to share the experience is the important part. Bub was already a gaming journalist by the time he got married, so while his wife is supportive of his writing career and work with GamerDad.com, she's not personally interested in video games at all. Bub hopes that as their children grow older, she'll be more willing to try games as a family activity.

Not that there's anything wrong with one's spouse not sharing the same passion -- or even interest level -- in video games. Scalzi says that while video games don't hold much excitement for his wife, that's not a source of conflict in the relationship. After all, he says, she has hobbies that don't interest him, and he's content with them both enjoying separate pursuits. They way he sees it, "being a couple doesn't mean you have to do everything together." For the first time, children growing up today are likely to not just have parent that grew up playing video games, but have parents that still play -- a study released by the Entertainment Software Association found that 66 percent of U.S. heads of household play video games regularly, and 80 percent "gamer parents" play video games with their children. But what does this mean for teenagers like Chelsea or toddlers like Gabriel? How will having gaming as part of family life affect our nation's future? Will more gaming parents give rise to children that become better independent problem solvers? Will an increasing focus on digital entertainment fracture the family or bring it closer together?

Dr. Michael G. Zey, noted sociologist and author of the forthcoming book The Ageless Society, seems optimistic. He predicts that with advances in medical technology and people living longer than ever, American society will see a reemergence of what he calls the "multigenerational family" -- several generations living under one roof. Videogaming, in Zey's eyes, provides the ideal format for intergenerational bonding. "I have seen examples of grandparents playing an MMORPG game...alongside their grandchildren," he says. "Technology might very well mandate that gaming become a shared experience." Zey adds that the increased role networking and the Internet play in the lives of children and adults means that it's "not inconceivable that an online chat between a man and his great-grandson might be enlivened by an online video game." But what of fears raised in the media that increased violence in games will lead to increased violence in children? "I have yet to see one conclusive study that proves that playing a violent video game makes [children] more violent," says Zey.

The conundrum facing gaming parents seems to be more a moral issue than a behavioral one. When asked if gamer parents might find it difficult to convincingly teach their children to live a moral and decent life while simultaneously realizing their children may play games that require players to commit mayhem to win, Zey maintains that the question is a matter of context. "Parents might want to differentiate between games that glorify violence versus those that justify the use of violence for noble proposes, such as protecting your society from invaders, redressing obvious injustices, or defending the weak," he says.

Steve Jones, professor of communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago, observes that concerns are raised every time a new form of communication is introduced to society -- from books to photography to movies to radio to television. "Video games," he notes, "are, in many ways, not that different than other media before them, being a combination of previous media, including games and sports." He adds that fears over negative influences on youth have "been asked of every new 'media generation.' Research has long shown that violent media do not have a strong effect on violent behavior." Scalzi agrees. "Most people aren't asked how television is part of their life now, because it's assumed it is; for me, gaming is like that as well," he says, adding that the key is to treat gaming like any other activity: Make it a part of your family life and monitor what your child is doing so that they aren't exposed to media you find inappropriate. "My daughter plays videogames and sees them as just another part of her world," he notes. "Games are part of an overall balance of play and entertainment options in our household, which is how it should be." Considering that Bub runs a sited called GamerDad.com, you might think he'd be encouraging or even forcing his children to play videogames. You'd be mistaken. "I'm letting [my children] discover it on their own, and all I'm doing is steering them toward quality choices.... I'll steer them toward the ones I think are best, but I accept that as they get older, I'm going to have to accept their own choices, to a degree. The challenge is to stay calm, stay informed, and not overreact." Krahulik, recently worked with Penny Arcade partner Jerry Holkins (better known as Tycho) to help the Entertainment Software Rating Board launch an educational campaign targeting gamers. One campaign spot features the Andersons, a father and son who play video games together. Krahulik's own son loves sitting on the couch with his father, holding his own controller and making video game noises. "Pretty soon," says Krahulik, "he'll be playing games with me.... As a parent, you just have to be involved with what your kids are doing, whether it's video games or baseball."

For millions of people, video games have offered an opportunity to bond over a shared culture, and the gaming generation is now taking the opportunity to share the experience with loved ones and pass a love of gaming on to the next generation. Video games, once dismissed as a flash in the pan, have become a permanent part of the media landscape. And for the video game generation, those virtual worlds have now become a part of their everyday world.

Source:
Entertainment Software Association, "New Study Shows 35 percent of American Parents Play Video Games", Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc.