Why write about gaming?

I’ve been a gamer my whole life. I wasn’t, however, comfortable with that fact until I was older. I was embarrassed in my teens that this hobby I loved didn’t go away when it was “supposed” to. Video games back then were “just for kids”. They were something that children did for a few years but quickly grew out of. I never did. I could never shake the fact that all I wanted to do after a basketball or football practice was play games. I remember being on the field or the court and thinking about Diablo 2 boss strategies, or wondering if I should play through the Warcraft 2 Campaign again.

What I remember most about those early days however was the fact I couldn’t really share my passion for gaming with anyone. I had a few friends that enjoyed games too, but no one I knew loved them to the extent that I did. Being a “gamer” back then was an isolating feeling. I didn’t have the confidence to own my passion or the technology to connect with others who shared it. I mean, being a “gamer” wasn’t even a thing until the past few years. It certainly wasn’t a label in the 90’s. Remember this was a time when calling someone a “Nerd” or “Geek” was actually an insult, and hurtful.

As I got older however, I gained more confidence and realized there was nothing wrong with this “gaming” thing. I started to own it and talk about it openly as our culture began to grow and accept the fact that people are passionate about all kinds of things. There is no right or wrong when it comes to what we love to do. The past 10 years or so has been proof of that in the gaming industry, and broader popular culture. Characters from the 1000s of comic books I owned are now plastered all over Billboards and are now considered cool! (Finally)

However, as the industry and exposure has grown for gaming, the voices of opinion around the games have not grown or changed much. The older I’ve gotten I’ve felt the perspective of those commenting, and particularly reviewing, games hasn’t gotten older with me.

A different perspective on reviews

As a father and a husband there are different things that make a game great to me that didn’t matter to me when I was in my teens and early twenties. When I see 50% of a game’s review dedicated to the “End Game” I roll my eyes. End Game? I don’t have time to grind and min-max anymore. I need a great gaming experience immediately and I’m not worried about progressing beyond max level of anything. I don’t have that kind of time.

I want to create a site where I can review games for all those other people out there like me. Parents who still game and always have. People who don’t have the time to dedicate to gaming that they used to have or would like to have. We need to know that if you buy a game, can you play it in 30-minute intervals? Do you need to wait to the end of the game for it to really “open up?” Can you play it with your kids? Your spouse? I don’t see much of this perspective coming from the reviews I see. So I figured hey, I’ll provide it myself.

Not only will I review games through this “Fatherly” lense but, I also just want to spread the joy of this passion with others and try to break down whatever stigma still remains for adults who are gamers. Whether it’s video games or Dungeons and Dragons (in which I DM a group with my wife and friends) adults should PLAY. There are so many great things that come from gaming, I want as many people as possible to read about it and decide if they want to give it a try.

Stick around, enjoy the site, have fun.

-Collin