Recently Princess and Little Dude have expressed interest in playing PlayStation. Most of the games my husband has are sports or shooter games, so Military Dad and I actually felt alright letting them learn how to play Little Big Planet (LBP). Since he has more patience than I do, this educational experience was left up to him.
Princess began the intro and did great. Same with Little Dude. Now begins the first level, Military Dad and I are expecting disaster and crying, however they both do great. A few times they have to start over because their character doesn't quite make it through the electrical grid or through the fire pits, but the kids keep enjoying themselves. The great thing about Little Big Planet is that when your character "dies" it isn't bloody or gory, the sock puppet character just disappears and reappears at a checkpoint.
After Little Dude's attention span diminished, they wanted to watch Military Dad play. He grew up with Nintendo, Sega and PlayStation, so he is great at manipulating the controller. A few times he even missed some jumps on purpose so the kids could see that mistakes are alright. He noticed that when he wouldn't quite make it through the fire pits the kids laughed. This wasn't the chuckle or a normal laugh, it was the contagious belly laugh that kids usually get when they get tickled. Soon, Military Dad was purposely falling off ledges, or getting hit by cars to hear this laugh.
Fast forward a few days with constant begging by the children to play LBP every time they remembered we have the gaming system. Thankfully, Military Dad remembered we have Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Compared to the PlayStation controller the Wii controller is much easier for the kids to manipulate. Plus the kids are already familiar with the Wii controller, since we already play the sports and play games together.
The kids were sitting next to Military Dad shaking with anticipation as he explained the controls. He barely finished his sentence and they are they grabbed the controllers and were ready for the game to begin. Military Dad and I were expecting to see the same concentration and skill they displayed during LBP.
They run right into the first Goomba. They start over and run right into the Goomba again. Military Dad takes this time to refresh them on the controller buttons and how to use them. Death-by-Goomba results, repeatedly. Princess and Little Dude aren't frustrated or angry, they are laughing uncontrollably. They obviously do not care about finishing the level, or at this point even getting past the first obstacle. They are just having fun.
Unlike Military Dad, my only gaming experience until I was in late high school, was an Atari that worked some of the time. I played computer games, but did not have a gaming system. When it comes to manipulating the controller, my husband calls my method, "button mashing." This usually occurs during any activity that requires jumping. I get easily frustrated and begin pressing all the buttons in a panicky manner. When the Wii first came out, I was excited, not because it was new technology, but because if I had to jump I could physically do it, instead of having to press the buttons in a correct sequence.
Military Dad and I both enjoy Super Mario Brothers and Little Big Planet. Since I am very competitive, these games allow me to chill and just play. He gets to enjoy watching me get frustrated and start mashing buttons. Usually after a few restarts or death-by-Goomba, I just give up on getting the points and try to complete the level. At this point I'm usually laughing about my inability to play games well. Military Dad will join in the laughter and we have a pretty good time playing a game and connecting with each other.
Obviously the kids get their hand-eye coordination from their father, because I have none to share. What's great is they have the ability to laugh at themselves when they make a mistake. Whether they grow up to be gaming programmers or just good at playing like their father, doesn't really matter at this point, because I believe they have already managed to learn the important lesson, they laugh and have fun, whether they win or lose.
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