let's talk video games

(started this post before our video game lecture.. decided i needed to finish! great class Dr. Coyne!)

were you a gamer like i was?

super nintendo is still the best

then nintendo 64

the wii

and finally x-box

favorite games?

donkey kong!

aladdin

paper boy

mario kart

top gear

and simpson's road rage (ok i'm not a simpsons fan at all)

why were these so great?
they are classics to me!
i remember trying to teach my parents to play top gear with me because i thought it would be fun to teach them how to play video games.

I remember bonding with my cousin Michael while playing Donkey Kong.. because what 10 year old boy would play Barbies or house? He was my only cousin that was my age so I had to do SOMETHING with him.

My sisters and I could all play Mario Kart together because it was something we all could do! Nat was way too old to be playing with me, Nicole was like so past the age of dramatic/pretend play, Nina was borderline i sort of want to play with you but I'm supposed to be growing up so I shouldn't, and that left only Ali to play Barbies and house with me. Mario Kart and Donkey Kong were something we could ALL do!

When I analyze these games I think.. ok... I think my parents did a pretty good job. They aren't  realistically aggressive (i mean, we weren't physically hurting anyone, only killing vultures in DK ;) And I remember my Mom monitoring our time pretty well.

Did they do the right thing?
I think so.
I rarely played a video game by myself.  Most of our games were for multiple players.
My Dad bought us a new game only at Christmas time and it was his one way to relate to us girls... poor guy never had a son! This was our Tom Boy bond.

I was so involved in dance that i really didn't have much time to waste on video games.
But on a Friday night when my sisters and I were all at home together,
that was a pretty fun time.
And we still talk about our memories playing these games.

You know what I say, (obviously check content first because content is everything in the first place but..) almost anything is ok in moderation.
Moderation is key.

Alright I think Jeff and I have decided that we are stealing my parents' Super Nintendo to play Paper Boy this weekend! I also just discovered that he has never played Top Gear before.. boy do I have some things to teach him!

Bu nuh nuh nuh nuh bu nuh nuh nuh NUH NUH! (singing the New York City race tune.. anyone know it? :)

photos from here here here here here here