Wait, am I too old for video games?
Like most of us, I have enjoyed a long, rewarding and sometimes maddening relationship with video games. From dodging cars in Frogger, to shooting the laughing dog in Duck Hunt after a miss, to taking a Madden franchise to the promise land, saving the world with Master Chief and riding into the sunset with Arthur Morgan, video games have long been a faithful companion.
Recently though, I found myself wondering, am I getting too old for this? Shouldn’t I be writing a memoir or trading stocks or lounging in a robe and slippers, whiskey in hand and an Irish Setter sleeping peacefully by a crackling fireplace?
Naturally, with turning the magic age of 40 this year, I find myself asking introspective questions just like that. I think back often to my Grandfather. My parents got him a Nintendo once they came out and he absolutely loved it. In his younger years he was an electrician and a damn good one. This of course was back when TVs were being repaired and not just tossed out and replaced. He played Mario almost daily and saved the Princess so many times he lost count. Some of my favorite memories are going to my Grandparents’ house, playing Mike Tyson Punch-Out while Pops cheers me on:”Duck him Rob! Hit’em now! There ya go!”
As the years passed, he was diagnosed with Dementia and ultimately Alzheimer’s. Even as his memory and mind deteriorated, he played his Nintendo. In 2009, he passed away. A year ago, I was talking to my Dad and I asked him if he still had Pop’s Nintendo. The next day, Dad texted me a picture of an open box, the old Nintendo resting peacefully inside.
As I sit here typing this, I can look up to a bookshelf next to the mantle. Sitting right on top, next to an Xbox One, is Pop’s old Nintendo. It still works as good as it did those years ago playing Punch-Out. It’s funny to see the Nintendo next to the Xbox; old and new, yesterday and today. Funnier still that I had seriously debated on selling the Xbox for reasons I mentioned earlier. Is it a waste of time? Should I spend that time playing a ‘game’ doing something more constructive?
These days on Xbox I float between Destiny 2 (I play every season, for better or worse), Red Dead 2, which is probably the most engrossing game I have ever played, and a mixture of other stuff, mostly solo gameplay, racing, etc. I have found my tastes have certainly changed from stuff like Call of Duty and multiplayer shooters that require 29 gallons of energy drink and 100 hours a week of “pwning n00bs”.
A few days ago, I kept thinking about that old Nintendo, so, I fired it up and as I cleared 1-1 with Mario, I hear my soon to be 4 year old daughter ask from behind me, “What’s that Daddy?” She was standing there, her arm outreached and finger pointing at the TV. I felt a little silly, a 39 year old man about to explain to an almost 4 year old that I was playing a game.
But, feeling silly isn’t a bad thing. It’s a good thing. In this day in time, I think we need more silly. There’s always a Princess that needs saving. There are always enemies to overcome, treasure to find and that sense of accomplishment when a difficult level is cleared.
These are all true in games, but also in life. You fail a level? Fall off a floating, rotating balance beam? Smashed by a Hammer Bro? Well, you dust yourself off, eat a mushroom and jump right back in.
As I showed my daughter the game she stood there watching intently. After a few minutes, she had the controller, ran Mario across the screen, letting loose a strong of fireballs, sliding off a ledge and disappearing. She laughed, “I want to do it again!”
Age is irrelevant in things you enjoy. There’s always another level to clear, enemies to overcome and a Princess to save. Nobody is ever too old for that.
Cheers - Rob (@fdspodcast7 - Fat, Drunk and Stupid Podcast)