Watching a YouTube-recommended video about how a 60+ year old woman got into #gaming, is making me wonder what multiplayer #games my #mother and I might've been playing now if she were still alive.

During my childhood she probably was the person I've played the most #videoGames with. From Tetris to card games to Super Mario Kart to Mario 64 to RPGs such as Lufia 2 and Secret of Evermore / Mana to even the occasional fighting game, even though her preference wasn't quite with those. And it wasn't just out of a supervisory point of view either; she thoroughly enjoyed playing games, and did quite a bit of it alone too.

The #MSX2 home computer or #SNES console would often be on with some puzzle, card or role playing game when I came home from school, and if either of us got stuck in some game, we'd usually find a solution together. Probably some of my best childhood memories right there.

She never quite got into PC gaming. Maybe with her dwindling eyesight it was easier to play on a TV than a monitor, or because the PC was upstairs in a bedroom that was crammed with storage stuff rather than a cosy warm livin room, or quite possibly it was the mouse + keyboard controls, or it was the games? She did like some of the PopCap games on it though, as well Puzzle Bobble / Bust-A-Move, and a bunch of flash games on the Bowland Central forums, so I'd say it's more likely a mix of the other reasons.

She passed away before I moved to Norway, so we never really had much or a reason to look into what online multiplayer games we could play together, though we did try out some free to play multiplayer game with fishing mechanics and a SNES Zelds æsthetic once; I remember another player not believing she was my mother.

If she were still alive, I think we might've ended up playing World of Warcraft together, though probably on a free third party server. I briefly played it with the missus (though she's far more dedicated to it than I was), though can't quite remember why I stopped. Probably because my subscription ended? Or due to hardware failure?
Anyway, since my mother liked RPGs, I think that WoW or Diablo 3, or something similar might've been a good fit for us.

Eventually I stopped keeping up with consoles. Didn't get a PS2 till late in its cycle, and I only got a PS3 and 360 just a couple of years ago because I could get them cheap. While I do have a bunch of games for them, and have played quite a bit of some of them, I'm not as much of a console gamer anymore. Most of my gaming is on mobile with #PokémonGO, #MarioKartTour and #Ingress, and part of that is more because I played them extensively when they came out, and don't want to stop playing them because of all the time already put into them, and in part because I play them with the missus and have fond memories of actively playing them with her.

Writing this I wonder now if part of the reason that console gaming took a backseat over the years is not just lack of time and changing interests, but also or more so that I lost my gaming buddy? Games are so much better when shared... Maybe I should play some more console games again, and see if it sparks the same interest in #BeardGrabber.

Love and miss you mum.💚

#personal #parenting #memories #gamingMemories #blog #BlogMe #randomThoughts #MyLifeInGaming #MumAndMe