Sorry for you loss. My Dad passed away only two years ago and my story is very similar to yours. He was always into the latest gadgets and got us kids an Atari 2600 one Christmas. He never played it, but us kids really go into it. The only time I played a video game with him was Monopoly on the Sega Genesis sometime in the 90s; I think he dozed off before we finished the game. We mainly shared an interest in books and went to a lot of book stores together.
In memory of my father
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 On 10/23/2014 at 01:55 AM by VisuaLIES See More From This User » |
On Monday, October 20th, my father passed away after succumbing to the effects of cancer. It was a rather short battle. He had only just started showing symptoms in late August and was diagnosed in early September, and now, in the proverbial blink of an eye, he's gone. The last few weeks had been especially agonizing for him, so I'm glad he's no longer suffering. He taught me to place others' needs before my own, along with the value of hard work. I, and all his family and friends, will miss him dearly.
I could tell any number of stories about him, but since this is a gaming website, I'll share my memories most relevant to that subject. My dad was never a gamer (I don't think that term existed back then), but somehow one Christmas I wound up with an Atari 2600 that I didn't even ask for. Hell, prior to getting one I didn't even know it existed. I didn't have more than a handful of games for the system, but we played countless hours of Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Warlords, and oh yes, Combat. For the uninitiated, Combat was a war game (which came with every system) for two players, which consisted of single screen maps, where each player would control a tank, plane, or jet, and the object of course was to shoot the other player. Though the controls were sluggish, most battles were balanced, with one glaring exception. There was one map where one player got to be a squadron of 3 planes, and the other player was stuck with one big ass target plane. Well, any dad who loved his kid picked the big plane and let his kid control the smaller, more agile planes (and automatically win), just to see the smile on their face, and my dad was no exception. It was such a small thing, and even as a child I knew it was kind of unfair, but it made me feel like the greatest gamer/pilot ever.
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Years later (after Atari almost single-handedly killed the video game industry), I asked for, and got, an NES for Christmas. My dad never did get accustomed to playing on a gamepad--he could only use a joystick, and eventually games became too complicated for him to try to learn. I even tried to get him to play the NES version of Pac-Man, a game he was familiar with from the (much crappier) Atari version, but to no avail. He did enjoy the occasional game of Duck Hunt and the fishing games which used a rod and reel controller, but the end of Atari's relevance also effectively ended his game-playing career.
As I write this, I'm reminded of two things. "Casual" games, like mobile games or motion controlled fare, are still games, and are way more complex than what we started out with decades ago. They allow adults and children who may not otherwise have the skill or interest in more traditional gaming to enjoy our hobby and share our passion. The second thing is that if my dad hadn't let me win at Combat, I probably wouldn't love games as much as I do, and would have a lot more money and free time. I also would have one less awesome memory of him. I'll miss you so much dad.
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