I have been playing video games for over 19 years now, and my earliest gaming memories are from playing the Nintendo Entertainment System with my parents. My parents and I played a handful of different games together back then, and we all had our favorite games to play. My dad and I played Battletoads a lot and managed to beat the game in one sitting one afternoon, and that apparently is an achievement of some sort due to that game’s obscene difficulty level.
I also have a lot of memories from the times where my mom and I would play, and the two of us beat quite a few games together. 19 years later, I still play video games more than I probably should and she does not. The reasons for which I decided to ask her in this interview.
What was your favorite video game and why?
“I was always a Donkey Kong fan, (the original), because it was my first video game that I ever played. I remember playing Donkey Kong with my brother on Christmas Eve when I was a kid and I’ve probably played that game more than any other.”
Do you still play video games?
“Not really, but I do watch Jordan (my youngest son) play his video games when I’m in the living room.”
Why don’t you play video games anymore?
“I don’t play video games anymore because they have become too advanced for me. New games are not like the games I grew up playing as a kid. But, I still play puzzle and word games on Facebook.”
Well, the game is quite colorful…and explosions are always good.
What is your favorite puzzle game then and why?
“My favorite puzzle game that has come out would be Bejeweled Blitz because it made me really think about my moves carefully so I could string together combos to earn more points. I first found that game through the DirecTV game lobby when it was free one weekend.”
After hearing about why she had decided to stop gaming as much, I decided to shift gears and ask about her views on video games and her life now.
What is it like having two sons that both play video games when you do not play anymore?
“It’s annoying as ‘heck’, because none of the chores ever get done around the house. I feel like I have to tell people to do their chores 100 times before they actually get done.”
(She’s so silly, I do chores…I mean, without me how would anyone in Skyrim get any of their mail delivered to them? And don’t make me bring up the number of times I’ve saved people during a zombie apocalypse…)
Does this picture look familiar to anyone else or it is just me?
What is your fondest gaming memory?
“My fondest gaming memory is when you and I used to play Battletoads back in the early 1990s. Battletoads was the first real video game that I played in the 1990s so it makes it my fondest gaming memory…oh, and you know since I was playing with you too!” (Hmmm…I see.)
What is your least fond gaming memory then?
“My least fond gaming memory is not actually about my playing a video game. My least fond moment is watching your brother play Minecraft because I do not understand the game. All I ever see him do is chop down trees, go underground, kill some random monsters and build stuff. He just seems to do the same thing over and over, and never seems to achieve anything. What’s the point?”
Sorry Minecraft fans, she doesn’t mean it, I swear…
I miss the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System and being able to play video games with my mom. Might sound like I’m a momma’s boy but I really enjoy talking and joking around with my mom, and I can only imagine the laughs that would eventually follow.
