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I think an explanation of gaming etiquette could be helpful in understanding upset over a perceived "interruption" resulting in "getting killed".

Video games were invented when I was a kid. My sister and I had an atari and later, our best neighbor friends had a nintendo. Later in my life I witnessed the evolution of games and gaming when i had a long-term boyfriend who was an avid gamer.

One thing that evolved naturally and soon after the invention of video games and seems to have not changed over the years, was the unspoken, implied etiquette of "interrupting" while playing. Interrupting included, but was not limited to talking, moving, or making any other "noise" that could disrupt the player or players and cause them to "die", go back a level, have to start over, lose their turn, or interfere with any game status they were trying to achieve.

The disruption was considered worse at "critical" moments (about to "die", about to get to next level, about to be champion of day, game, of present players, etc.). Players knew this. If they breached etiquette, by "interrupting" at an inappropriate time, they were generally reminded of the etiquette by the "interrupted" player(s) saying, for example, "dude, you made me die!". Depending on severity of etiquette mistake the offender might even be yelled at or even shunned by the other players until he learned to interrupt at the appropriate time.

A lot of video games tend to cycle with easier parts, harder parts, and built in breaks (level changes, information, and even "dying"). The "easy" parts and "breaks" would be, from a gamer's perspective, the appropriate time to "interrupt".

Hope this might help understand a gamer's perspective.

Michelle

Meshell Powell

My son is now 18, but at about 10 or so, he started to become a little withdrawn and preferred to spend large amounts of time alone. We developed a system where I would slip a note under his door if it was closed for privacy, and when he was not otherwise occupied, he would come out and address the issue at hand, whether it be food, a request to hang out with me for some activity, etc. This way, he knew the topic at hand and could think about what he wanted without feeling interrupted or as if his need for privacy was not being respected. Now, if he wants my attention for something, he comes to me and asks if I would mind scheduling time to talk to him at my convenience. He is still extremely attached to gaming, but now he plays in the living room and will pause at a convenient spot if I request his attention. I hope you are able to find a system which works for you and leaves everyone feeling respected.



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Tina Tarbutton

I also grew up with the Atari, followed by Nintendo, Sega, heck I was one of
the few to have a Sega CD system with a ton of "pre-release" games because
my sister worked for Sega at the time.

My partner and I used tax money to buy the family a PS3 because we wanted
it, he isn't really all that interested. Current favorites (of the adults)
are Heavy Rain, Ratchet and Clank, God of War (she's working through 1 and 2
while waiting for 3 to come down in price) and Assassin's Creed (Working
through 1 while waiting for Brotherhood to drop in price).

In my teen/young adult years I spent many years playing text based mmorpg's.
My son's father and I were major gamers. A lot of Draven's bedtime stories
growing up were actually logs we had printed out from our online games. He
gets the gaming gene honestly. I have fond memories of the clans and the
quests and tournaments and festivals. I remember the intense battle scenes
when one wrong move meant a missed chance at leveling up, or even worse
caused death which in those games meant hours of sitting around doing
nothing until someone could come revive you. I completely get it. That's
why it's so frustrating for me when we can't come up with a way that works
for everyone.

Tina

On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 2:43 PM, mbyerly77@... <mbyerly77@...>wrote:

>
>
> I think an explanation of gaming etiquette could be helpful in
> understanding upset over a perceived "interruption" resulting in "getting
> killed".
>
> Video games were invented when I was a kid. My sister and I had an atari
> and later, our best neighbor friends had a nintendo. Later in my life I
> witnessed the evolution of games and gaming when i had a long-term boyfriend
> who was an avid gamer.
>


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