September flew by and for the first time I didn’t contribute to the Round Table. The long and short of it is–you all said pretty much anything I might have had to say about the topic, so my participation wasn’t really necessary!
And now we spin wildly into October–officially the start of my holiday season. In October, I celebrate Halloween, or Samhain, a pagan new year. In November I celebrate my birthday, a personal new year. And in December I celebrate Zombie Yule for a week, which marks the passing of another year without the zombie apocalypse.
So when Chris suggested we turn the lens of the Round Table on family this month, I thought I’d do him one better and find three familial topics to close out 2008. And now, without further ado, I present this month’s Round Table topic:
October ’08
It’s a Family Affair This month’s Round Table invites you to explore your earliest memories of playing games with your family. Although this is slowly changing, video games have traditionally been seen as an isolating medium. This isn’t true in every family, or group of friends, but it’s been true enough that the stereotype has stuck. But before video games, when games were the exclusive domain of cards, boards, dice, markers, stones, and even endless stacks of monster manuals, campaign modules, and player guides, games were a very social experience. Further, they were a social experience commonly shared by family. Grandparents, parents, and children, all playing the same game together (Wow–has it really taken so long for Wii Sports to reintroduce this concept to the average family?).
This month’s Round Table asks you to share your early experiences playing games, any games, with family. Good or bad, how did those early gameplay moments affect your approach to games now? Can you trace your current enjoyment of video games back to these memories? Or, perhaps, you didn’t play games with your family. Was it a lack that you noticed at the time? How do you feel it has it impacted your “use” of video games now?
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Oct. 2 – Denis of Vorpal Bunny Ranch goes public with his private aspirations in Not So Private I’s. Also be sure to listen to the interview he mentions in his post, as his relationship with his mother helped inspire this month’s topic.
Oct. 3 – Daniel, the Graffiti Gamer, traces his gaming lineage from his first memories of playing Snake in Encourgement is Key.
Oct. 4 – Deirdra, of Deirdra Kiai Productions, joins us to talk about her long hours alone playing video games in You say “isolation” like it’s a bad thing!
Oct. 6 – Josh of Mind’s Eye waxes rhapsodic over a family member in My Mom Kicks Ass Old School Style.
Oct. 8 – Adam of And thus Spoke Pi takes a jarring jaunt down memory lane and enthuses about his gaming superiority… at least, when the comparisons are kept All in the Family
Oct. 9 – Jason of Aim for the Head talks about the impact his brothers have had on his gaming in Early Gaming Memories
Oct. 10 – I talk about my youthful playing habits and style in Playing from the Heart
Oct. 10 – Justin of Groping the Elephant talks about his realization that his family was more supportive of his early gaming habits than he initially recalled in My Silent Companion
Oct. 10 – Scott of Experience Points talks about sibling rivalry in Brothers in Arms (and Thumbs)
Oct.11 – David of Davidus shares a very personal glimpse at his early gaming years in his Round Table entry.
Oct. 13 – Keira of Write the Game shares why she’s one of the luck ones in It’s a Family Affair.
Oct. 15 – Max of WorldMaker shares his memories of holiday’s past in Bring Out the Card Tables.
Oct. 15 – Chris at Only a Game shares memories of Mah Jong in The Twittering of Sparrows.
Oct. 16 – Ben of SLRC (who recently finished his thesis–congrats Ben!) joins us to cross the digital divide and talks about Playing Halo with my Mother.
UPDATE
Oct. 20 – Jorge of Experience Points joins us to to talk about why he’s grateful that video games were an isolating experience for him in The Gamer in the Family.
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