How to turn your significant other into a gamer

YOU ARE A GENIUS

Theres no chance in hell of my wife ever becoming interested in gaming or computers or anything technology related. EVAR. To do so would be to admit defeat. Right now she can hold every ""tech"" purchase I make over me and use it as leverage to get the stuff she wants. Curtains! (bah! who needs em?) Throw Pillows (These are nice.. I throw them at the TV during football season) Shoes (She has at least 60 pairs all ready!!) Clothes (ugh..we won''t go there) etc.. etc..

Just pray that your S.O. never gets a bug for art... THEN you really feel the pain in your wallet.. it makes furniture look like childs play. I can count at least a dozen pieces of art we now have sitting around the house waiting to get framed.. its painful. I cringe anytime the wife announces she going to an arts festival.

While she''s gone I''ll drown myself in SW:KOTR

Once you get her into games she will start asking to play - that''s a great moment in a gamer''s life.

I think we all agree that Co-Op is the best way to get someone into gaming. That way your virtually there with the other person to help, and they can''t give you their controler because you have your own.

Yesterday the wife asked when I was going to get the new Ghost Recon. She likes having all her guys be gals so when someone is shot or scores we know which squad did it.

Really (KOTOR) soon, honey.

Can''t stop playing KOTOR. I''m going to need a support group or something when I''m done with it.

speaking as someone who didn''t play games much before meeting her current boyfriend
here''s what drew me in:

- figuring out puzzles in and enjoying monkey island and grim fandango

- the dreamcast : i was hooked the first time i played space channel 5 - ulala''s a fabulous female character and the concept behind gameplay is basically simon says so it didn''t take hours and hours to learn, then came soul calibur - great art design, female characters less visually insulting than any other fighting game, weapons, and game play that gives first time button smasher a chance, and then samba de amigo - easy to pick up, fun as all hell, great for parties, and never loses its charm no matter how many times you play, and that monkey!

so i recommend - go out and buy a dreamcast

here''s what didn''t do it for me: co-op in baulder''s gate - blah

"unitdaisy" wrote:

figuring out puzzles in and enjoying monkey island and grim fandango

That''s something I didn''t think of, adventure games. Anybody else have any luck with those? You can''t get a much better start in gaming than an oldschool Lucasarts Adventure game or Gabriel Knight and it''s not really twitch gaming.

I''d also have to agree on the Space Channel 5 and music genre in general. The only game I can get my sister to play besides Typing of the Dead is DDR when some no life fanboy isn''t hogging it.

my gf indeed enjoys old 2d games, though not adventure games, rather the Jump&Run Shoot ''em up and Puzzle games.
We recently found out that she also likes Kung Fu Chaos (only the 1 room arenas, but even limited to that it''s a riot everytime), Outlaw Golf and Outlaw Volleyball. All three have not much shooter like 3d in it, so she does not get sick from playing.
She also enjoys coop more than playing against each other, but she would never play with me using only one controller, as she wants to do things herself and not watch someone else do it.

"Pyroman[FO" wrote:

""]
That''s something I didn''t think of, adventure games. Anybody else have any luck with those?

Adventure games seem to be working for me so far...it''s been a bit of a process, but I''ve pretty much managed to get my wife hooked on The Longest Journey. I think the strong female protagonist and extensive story are definitely key. For her, at least, a plotline that she can actually get immersed in seems to be a major hook. I''m hoping to get her to try the Myst games next, or maybe the Gabriel Knight or Broken Sword games if that doesn''t pan out.

A while back, she was pretty into Ocarina of Time (although she refused to kill anything); Wind Waker might be one to consider as far as console games go, as I hear it''s a pretty good mix of plot, puzzle, and...uh...pfighting.

Yeah I''m trying to get new computer to output to TV so we can play omega stone (riddle of sphinx 2) ""together."" My wife loved Longest Journey, and first riddle of sphinx. Problem is my goal is ""game with wife"" and adventure games tend to be something she does by herself. Maybe if i can get it to the TV we can play it together. Yes I could sit behind her while she played Longest Journey, but invariably she would then want to do something else and save LJ for when I wasn''t round (cause she would get engrossed and ignore me. I know I do that, but have uh um you know...guy stuff...um..)

Wow unitdaisy, your the very first I''ve heard that didn''t like BGDA Coop.

I guess all of the above mentioned games would be great places to start. Just depends on what she likes.

Back from Vacation. Guess I should start working now .....

Okay, question for all of you:

What games can be played co-op mode on the XBox without split screen? Any?

Inquiring ""get my wife gaming more"" minds want to know before I consider getting an Xbox.

Do they have BG:Dark Alliance on XBox? That was a blast coop without split screen.

Yes they do Pyro.

I cant believe I was so starving for something new when I bought my Xbox I was tempted tp pick it up. The memory can play funny tricks on ya.

The thought actually popped into my head that my boredom with the PS2 version might be eliminated with the Xbox version.

Dont ask me why. You get desperate sometimes and sometimes the anticipation of buying the game box and loading it up for the first time offers more enjoyment than the actual game.

already played it on PS2. that and gauntlet dark legacy are only 2 games i know where you can have 2 players (4 in case of gauntlet) on screen without splitting the screen.

but i don''t know anything about xbox titles. and we have this wedding anniversary thing today (we normally don''t get each other presents, but more a present for both of us that we both decide on) and I was thinking about xbox...

that and some really great food at this cosey little place with...anyway, that''s another thread.

anyone wanna let me know about more xbox titles?

Not split screen? That''s rough.

BGDA
Guantlet DL
Um.... There''s another Guantlet one, Nightcaster 2, but it got bad reviews
Toe Jam and Earl got good reviews on their coop, but you have to put up with ""hip-hop"" talk.
LOTR Return of the King is coming
Sports games
A few poorly rated party games
Oh! Dungeon and Dragons Heros is around the corner. Xbox only. Looking good.
Tetris Worlds.

That''s all I can think of that aren''t split.
BUT ... if you were to beg her to TRY a FPS. You can''t go wrong with Halo. Very easy to get into with the controls always on the screen. It''s without a doubt the best coop FPS game ever made.

And mountains more on the way. I''m glad developers have caught on and are putting more coop in their games these days.

Hunter the Reckoning

Its halfway decent.

I was dissappointed cuz it could have been more.

Ok, now for an unusual question. Any changes to the above suggestions for getting our husbands into games?

I play FPS, strategy, RPG, flight sims, driving, practically everything except platforms and sports (except nascar). You''d think I could get my police officer husband interested especially in those genres. Several of our friends game, all the guys, not many of the girls. He liked swat, and rogue spear but even after playing and liking it, I couldn''t get him to sit down and try it again later.

Strategies guys?

Bet no one thought of this problem before. lol

Every level he finishes, you remove a piece of clothing

Here''s how it goes here:

1. I boot up the PC or Xbox
2. The wife screams ""you''re on that damn thing AGAIN?""
3. I throw a barbell weight at her.
4. She shuts the hell up.

Works for me...

Bimmer,

If your husband is a cop he may like Splinter Cell or Rainbow Six.

People usually get hooked on Splinter Cell when you show them how to sneak up and grab the bad guy from behind and knock him out with the butt of your gun.

Rainbow Six has the hook with tactical room entry. Breach and Clear on Zulu.

Wow. One year later. Who would have thunk it?

I''ve seen it help a lot of people.

Just shut up is the short version.

Unfortunately, my wife hates everything about computers and games.
hopefully it''ll work on us old folk, there might be an age limit on your technique.

"Brannil" wrote:

Unfortunately, my wife hates everything about computers and games.
hopefully it''ll work on us old folk, there might be an age limit on your technique. :)

Your wife and my wife should start a club. I can''t spend 5 minutes on either before I hear about it. And that''s AFTER I''ve swept the walk, taken out the trash (that''s you SwampYankee! heehee), washed both cars (and hers is a huge minivan), walked the dogs and helped the kids with their homework (actually love doing that).

Woe is my life...

Just pray that your S.O. never gets a bug for art...

GG, I hope yours doesn''t get into horses. My girfriend has been riding since she was 8 and luckily her parents bought her her horse because that thing was 70grand... for a pet. It''s astronomical. When she mentions the money I spend on games I just ask what her last vet bill was.

"Pyroman[FO" wrote:

""]

"unitdaisy" wrote:

figuring out puzzles in and enjoying monkey island and grim fandango

That''s something I didn''t think of, adventure games. Anybody else have any luck with those? You can''t get a much better start in gaming than an oldschool Lucasarts Adventure game or Gabriel Knight and it''s not really twitch gaming. ...

The GK and Myst series(es?) were what got my wife open to the concept. I still wouldn''t call her a ""gamer"" but we''re in Act III of BGDA on the Xbox and she''s cutting into my ESPN time wanting to finish it.

That''s something I didn''t think of, adventure games. Anybody else have any luck with those?

That''s what got my wife hooked. On the PC. We''d play stuff like Gabriel Knight and Phantasmagoria(I think that''s right) with her driving and me navigating. It was great fun, better than watching TV, and it was a great ""gateway game"". It helped that she was already a geek and had a better PC than I did at the time, ran her own web design firm.
I think letting her drive was important though - otherwise, she''s just watching you play a game, and that''s boring.

Since you already know all the conventions of games(where stuff is hidden, cliches, etc.) you can watch for those, and if she misses one, wait til she asks if you have any bright ideas. Then say ""I wonder if that old guy meant something important when he said blah-dee-blah...""
She''ll counter ""Hmm... probably worth checking out.""

Also, you''ll probably be tapped for any of the more difficult ""puzzles"". My wife never could hear tone well enough for that water pipe-organ puzzle in The Neverhood, so even when we weren''t playing together, she''d call me over to get past it every time.

Now she''s a full-fledged gamer, but not hardcore. She''ll seek out new titles on her own, she''ll play PoP with me, she even played EQ long after I got tired of it.

To sum up:
No twitch games to start. Go with thinking games.
Let her drive. You might think it''s fun to watch a buddy get creamed at Doom 3, but you''re not trying to turn her into a game spectator, are you? If you want her to play, let her play and you watch. Don''t give advice unless asked - remember when your dad would annoyingly point out every little thing you did wrong when he took you golfing or played catch with you? Don''t be that guy. Let her make mistakes, give advice when asked but most importantly let her play/drive the game and the pace.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I get the feeling you really can''t turn them into gamers.

My wife used to play duke3d before we were married.
She no longer plays video games.
I don''t know where I''ve gone wrong.

You know, the more I think about it, the more I get the feeling you really can''t turn them into gamers.

Can I be converted to quilting? Making scrapbooks? Probably not. Can I learn an appreciation for those things and see the value in them? I think so! No different with games in my mind, you can''t make anyone like anything but acceptance should be easy if it''s someone who loves you.

"phragged" wrote:

My wife used to play duke3d before we were married.
She no longer plays video games.
I don''t know where I''ve gone wrong.

It''s funny the way a non-gamer can *love* a particular game or two, but be completely uninterested in every single other game on the planet.

Can I be converted to quilting? Making scrapbooks? Probably not. Can I learn an appreciation for those things and see the value in them? I think so!

Hahahahaha! Moving on.

The bastard side of me has to laugh at some of you when I think of my g/f who doesn''t give a damn if I play games and just goes in the other room to read a book or workout. Other days she may just fire up Doom or Doom II or play some games with me.

Yeah, I have it good.