*cough*
/awkwardsilence
Yeah, it really has been a while. Admittedly, I've been quite focused on my job, family and gaming (when I can) of late so the blog has had quite a hiatus. But, here's hoping I can actually start something and stick with it!
While coming back to the blog, I've found that a lot of my old picture and link references have disappeared off the face of the Internet. Looks like I was doing it wrong, probably. So, I apologize for any of that and I'll try to be a better about it.
Anyways...what have I been up to?
- My older daughter started Kindergarten last August.
- My younger daughter is about to turn 3 and is on the cusp of using the potty.
- I'm still gainfully employed, as is my wife.
- I now have 4 cats and a dog. They are all furry goobers.
- I now have a Wii U in addition to my Xbox One. 2 down, 1 to go.
- My older daughter has started gaming a bit. More about this below.
- My younger daughter wants to game, but still very much lacks the know-how and manual dexterity.- Been really hitting the MOBAs as best I can. More on that another time.
- I started watching One Piece and I recently finished of the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc. It's a really fun show.
Speaking of my girls wanting to game more now, it's something that really has me thinking sometimes. There are a lot of factors to consider. For example, which system should they play on? What games are good for them? How can I best manage their game time?
So far, my older daughter has tried Lego Marvel on XB1. The controller is obviously too big for her. She's old enough to know the letters on the buttons so she can follow a QTE as long as it is slow enough. But, the bulk of the controller makes it hard for her to easily move her right thumb from the analog stick to the face buttons. Likewise she can't use the triggers very easily. However, my 2 year old loves to pick up my controller while Destiny is on, make my guardian twirl like an idiot and look me in the face to say, "play your game."
I have found that the Wii U is much better suited to their tiny hands. In fact, the Wii U has so many control schemes for so many of its games that there is usually some way to modify so that it's easier for them to play. My 6 year old can easily hold the gamepad in her hands and use all of the required buttons for Mario Kart 8. My 2 year old can still hold it and push buttons, but she has no idea what she's doing.
Alternately, they can still use the wiimote (with or without nunchuck) or the classic controller. So, it seems that the Wii U is the winner in this area.
Most of the games I have for the Xbox One and 360 are rated T or M, as evidenced by some of the reviews I've done in the past. I'm not about to set my kids free on Borderlands, or Shadow of Mordor. Things like Mass Effect and Dragon Age are probably waaay too complex still, too. I have a few options, like Lego Marvel on XB1 or ilo milo on the 360, but the controller is still an issue. Suffice it to say, this was actually a major driving force for wanting to get a Wii U. Between Mario Kart 8, Rayman Legends, Super Mario 3D World, Captain Toad, the upcoming Yoshi's Wooly World and a lot of others, there are bound to be plenty of things for the girls to play and use to hone their gaming dexterity. Not to mention, they're just a blast to play with the girls or by myself.
Let me pause here to note that it has a been a joy seeing my older daughter's Mario Kart skills improve. Even at 6, she is getting 1st place on 50cc when playing by herself. (I seem to be bad luck for her, since I tend to gum up the track with extra shells and banana peels.) However, she sometimes gets too focused on collecting boxes and neglects the race entirely.
As for limiting game time, both the XB1 and Wii U have excellent parental controls. I can set up an allotment of time that their profiles can use up each day. I haven't set this up just yet, but I likely will be in the near future. The hard part is trying to figure out what configuration of controls I want. Obviously, I'm going to gate things by rating (when possible), and I will likely create some sort of time limit. We'll see and I'll post my findings here.
Well, that's it for this quick update. Toodles!
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