My wife... the Gamer??
Monday, January 22nd, 2007 - 5:18pm
I lost my wife last week. Not to a better man, or a promising career, but to a game. I cannot place blame on anyone but myself, for this is the culmination of years of effort.
Upon meeting my wife, it was quickly realized that there was many things we had in common, and of course, a few things we didn't. Although video games were not something she enjoyed to do, her acceptance of my hobby has bordered on encouragement at all but the most demanding times (we are parents of two, so... yeah). During this time she has tried many of my games, but her interest has only been piqued by a few titles. She liked Fable... except for the constant monotony of running from one side of the world to the other.
I found this site about 2 weeks ago and stumbled upon an article written by Rabbit about Viva Pinata. I hadn't heard anything about this game until then, and I was compelled to find out what this was all about. After a little research I figured that at the very least my daughter would like it, and who knows, maybe my wife?
Who knew that these cute little Pinatas would have such sharp little claws, and teeth. To grab hold of my wifes head and chew their way into her brain, effectively turning her into a fully-upgraded-shovel weilding master of pinata disaster. Within two days, my 360 migrated from the entertainment room to the tiny upstairs T.V. so she could better integrate play time with household responsibilities. She loves it!
This is exactly what I wanted, for her to share my love of games. I am proud when I see that she is becoming familiar with the controller, and when she checks the status of her acheivements. It makes me smile when she excitedly tells me what she has accomplished during her most recent session. Could this be the trigger to set the gamer gears in motion? Will she find more titles that will captivate her to the point of enthusiasm? Will I finally have an in house co-op partner?
She has had the spark, the fire has been lit. Will there be enough fuel to keep it burning? I only hope that once she is finished with this game, she doesn't have to wait for the sequel to play again.
It is a double edged sword that you wield, my friend. You may find yourself the Widower of a gamer, or at the very least have lost your console.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:Way to go! Now you'll never have sex again.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
This game sucked my wife in as well. Got it Saturday, and she is well off the deep end. Its at a nice point now where my general gamer skills trump her specific VP skills, but this will pass soon and Ill have lost her and my shiny new console. Hopefully I will continue to enjoy it as well...its my only hope
Most people who say they dont care for games dont realize what a huge generalization that is; there really is something for everybody. VP does do one thing well, and thats allow the player to get used to moving around in a 3D environment with the thumbsticks. I don't think you'll have her playing Gears anytime soon, but quirky adventure games (Psychonauts?) might be a good next move.
Warrior Asherr
Hunter Ghorin
I was very excited when my good friend Crouton got a 360 for Xmas this year. Alright, co-op city here i come!
Let's just say his wife has tripled my gamer score in VP. She's very diligent about those little party favors.
Just in from Eli 7.4's playground: Apparently, girls go to college to get more knowledge, but boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. - Bill Harris
Jonnypolite on: Twitter
I am hoping that this won't kill her, it is only a game after all.
Xbox Live : Aries GWJ PSN : AriesGWJ Spore : Ariesgwj
My wife looks at these, says "They're cute!" and moves on. Oh well. If she wants to play, that'd be great, but I'm not going to try to make her play.
XBox Live: PoppinfreshGWJ
LobsterMobster wrote:
This wouldn't be the first marriage ruined by videgames, GWJ, and rabbit (in any order or combination)!
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
That thread title keeps making me see, "that's unpossible!" everytime.
Danjo Olivaw Lives
There's always cyber-sex in online games. They could figure something out, I'm sure.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
I have a 7 month old, so we are kinda used to squeezing it in whenever we can.
Pun intended
Xbox Live : Aries GWJ PSN : AriesGWJ Spore : Ariesgwj
Bravo! Cooperative mode, Halo 1. I'd suggest that as an step inbetween Viva Pinata and Gears.
Duoae wrote:
My wife got addicted to The Sims a while back. After that it was Animal Crossing. Then Star Wars Lego. She's not interested in most games, but when she gets into a game it's a total addiction. And after she's beaten the game, she puts it aside and is never interested in it again.
And now you are calling your wife fat? You are so doubly screwed.
No pun.
Quintin_Stone wrote:
lunabean wrote:My wife is really into VP as well. I try every now and then to get her to sit down and play something with me. She'll play most anything for a few minutes, but generally loses interest quick. VP has really captured her interest, and she'll sit down and play that for hours.
I struggle with explaining basic game concepts to her sometimes. Like when I tried to get her to play Tomb Raider Legends, she would get to a point and not know what to do next. To me it's obvious to try to interact with everything in the environment, or to try climbing across a ledge, but her mind doesn't make those connections.
Having a wife that doesn't game isn't a bad thing. My wife encourages me to get out of the house and try some new things once in a while, whereas most gamers would be content to sit down in front of the PC/console all weekend.
Xbox Live Gamercard - bennard
Beer For Ben
Just remember; overfeeding a new fire can smother it, leaving only dead ashes and the memory of heat.
Oogaba! (No relevance; just came to mind.
)
MechaSlinky wrote:
-on L4DGood point, I was thinking that I pretty much just have to let it take it's course.
Xbox Live : Aries GWJ PSN : AriesGWJ Spore : Ariesgwj
My recommendation is try to go cross-platform. My wife is now rocking Elite Beat Agents on the DS. This leaves the 360 unfettered and available for hot non-wifely activities. And, at that point it technically becomes "together time." Win! Wins akimbo!
"THE HELL ASS BALLS." - Prederick, expressing frustration in the time-honored way.
My wife likes games where she completes lists and such, so getting the 360 was a boon for her. She even got into Dead Rising with me for an afternoon, and she hates gore. But those achiements...
Xbox Live: JayhawkerGWJ
last.fm: JayhawkerGWJ
Maybe I need to explain achievements to my wife... She has noticed that hers is lower than mine, but she isn't really competitive in most things. The only time I've seen her competitive is when we've played Tennis (RL not games). She can beat me at Tennis nearly every time, mostly because she has had courses and I have barely played at all. I actually am enjoying this time of her not being competitive with me as far as achievements go, because this means that I get all of the achievements for now while we are playing through Lego Star Wars II for the first time
My wife loves games like Lego Star Wars, Mario, Jak and Daxter (the first one), BG: Dark Alliance, and has even beat these games on her own:
Jedi Academy
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
She has played the Sims, SSX: Tricky, Diablo 2 (didn't last very long), and these games on the 360:
Viva Piñata
Lego Star Wars 2
Arcade games (Zuma, Marble Blast, Uno, etc.)
Congratulations on getting your wife hooked on a game
Mine is currently the most interested in playing Lego Star Wars 2, but I think that's only because she didn't care for the open-ended play of Viva Piñata so much. She really likes to follow a story. She never really got hooked on the Sims either, she just played it because it meant spending time together. I think craving open ended play is a phase that a lot of gamers go through. I think I went through that phase a few years ago when I had tons of time (single), now I really want the game to have a great story and lots of save points and the ability to pause at any time! Open ended games with the ability to save and pause at any time are good too though (see: Viva Piñata).
Tobyus
Still searching for the perfect game...
Last edited by Tobyus on Sep 14, 2006 - 02:06 PM; edited 1,000,000 times in total
He's married, he's already experienced that.
Xbox Live | Steam | Last.fm
Well played.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
My wife generally thinks video games are the devil
, but Viva Pinata hooked her briefly as well. Her main problem with games is the time sink - she always has something else going on and because I am home so infrequently - just weekends these days - she has much better things to do with her time.
XBL Gamertag
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM "IF YOU SEEK PEACE... PREPARE FOR WAR"
PUBLIUS RENATUS, 390 AD
It's taken her over so completely that she infuses its game concepts into our real life. Just the other day she offered me some "romance candy".
General caveat plus irony warning: That plan doesn't always work as advertised. The following, to be fair, doesn't happen all the time... but it does happen.
I bought the wife a DS so that we could be together on the couch while I played the 360 she bought for me. Fast forward to this weekend and she's playing Viva on "my" 360 while simultaneously occupying the laptop to check GameFAQs for hints. The laptop she also bought "for me". It's times like that when I end up saying, "You have fun, honey. I'm gonna go masturbate in the corner."
XBox Live: Croutonic | Bungie.net: Croutonic
kaostheory wrote:
At least she could surf some porn on your laptop so you have something to look at while in the corner.
Xbox Live | Steam | Last.fm
If only.
XBox Live: Croutonic | Bungie.net: Croutonic
kaostheory wrote:
There's your fallacy: you bought a game for your platform that had cross-gender interest. Tut-tut. At this point protocol dictates a separate 360 for her with side-by-side 62" plasmas. Wins! Well, losses to the pocketbook, but wins everywhere else!
"THE HELL ASS BALLS." - Prederick, expressing frustration in the time-honored way.
Mostly true, but my liability is limited. Viva Pinata was a gift to her by some other non-me person. My culpability comes from my telling her about the mere existence of said game. It will be my undoing.
I do like your suggested fix, but it might be a hard sell. You know, the old "why buy the cow..."
XBox Live: Croutonic | Bungie.net: Croutonic
kaostheory wrote:
Home wrecker! Kill the interloper!
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Yeah, let's find the perpetrator.
This is how I find out my wife has two husbands? Perp found! Kill him, Word.
XBox Live: Croutonic | Bungie.net: Croutonic
kaostheory wrote:
I learned in a previous relationship that getting your woman into all your hobbies is not the golden chalice it seems to be.
Got my girl into video gaming. Suddenly I was spending twice as much for new graphics cards, etc.
Got my girl into riding motorcycles. Suddenly I was buying her gear and an R6 while my bike sat neglected due to lack of fundage.
Lesson learned - if she's happy watching TV/gossiping with other females while you game, and riding on the back of YOUR bike, don't push it.
Happily, I have ended up in just such a relationship - my new PC doesn't have a competitor anywhere in the house, and my new bike is now the sole 2 wheeled vehicle in the garage and has the stainless lines, PCIII, new pipes, etc that it requires and that I couldn't afford if it had a mate.
/selfish
//wife and kids still get everything they need and almost everything they want
XBL - UnknownSoldier
EVE - Vakor Zakorian