As someone who’s been on the internet since 1995 I’ve fallen from one type of demographic into another. In the last couple of months I’ve found myself to be a Nintendad.
This was a term I heard on a Gamasutra podcast that described guys in their late twenties to early thrities who grew up playing Nintendo and are now fathers themselves. I have two boys under the age of four and the oldest is just now starting to pick up a controller.
What is expected of my son today in order to play games. Will he be overwhelmed like I’m starting to become, or is that just a sign of my age? Twenty years ago, I could sit down for ten to thirty minutes and play a game or two. Many of the games today require large amounts of concentration and play time. Neither of which I can devote a lot of energy to. I’m catching myself playing games on portable devices such as the Nintendo DS more and more. I no longer have all night gaming sessions. Most of my gaming comes either on the weekends in the evenings or maybe a break or two at work.
I believe that some of the gaming publishers and console makers are starting to recognize this are are create affordable, fun games for those of us who are compressed in our busy lives. This website is a little project that I’m going to try for a year and see what happens. It’ll probably mostly be theraputic, but you’re welcome to join me along the way.
