Comments on: Whaddya mean you don’t play games together??

By: cary

cary — Tue, 28 May 2013 14:57:24 +0000

I like that idea, playing different games together. It sounds like a good way to alleviate any anger issues that often come with multiplayer!

I have nothing against multiplayer, local or online, when it works. But I wish it wasn’t so forced these days. There are plenty of ways for us to enjoy our games in our own ways. There’s little need to *make* people party up and play together. We’re smart enough to figure that out on our own, if it’s something we want to seek out.

By: Hatm0nster

Hatm0nster — Tue, 28 May 2013 02:00:00 +0000

It sounds like you’ve got a nice arrangement there. Trying to force playing a game you don’t like or playing multiplayer just for multiplayer’s sake doesn’t sound like something that would work out well.

I’ve found that out when trying to play with friends. Most multiplayer games wear thin quickly, and switching off just gets annoying. So we do a thing now were we play different games but in a common space. All of the social fun with none of the interference and annoyance.

Hey Duck, If you’ve still got a working N64 60 years from now, let me know! Because I know I’m still going to have functional cartridges for OoT and Paper Mario.

By: cary

cary — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:51:33 +0000

By golly, if I’m still alive in sixty years, can I come over to your house? I promise to wash my hands and everything. And I’ll even bring my own controller.

At the beginning, we were really up front about what we liked and didn’t when it came to video games. And though we never really set ground rules about console use, his games and consoles were always “his,” and my games and consoles were always “mine.” (Even today we still kinda consider the PS3 and Xbox 360 has “his and hers,” though not as strictly. And that’s only because of what games we play.) And the way things are now, I’m not saying they are perfect. Sometimes the other person doesn’t want to be alone while you’re off saving the universe in the other room. It’s all about compromise. Like you said, having “me” time is an important thing in any relationship. (I’ll admit to getting particularly itchy about that if it’s been awhile since I’ve gamed.) But forcing togetherness in games, like j3w3l said, isn’t needed or necessary to really make things work.

By: cary

cary — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:41:13 +0000

Sounds like you have a great set up, very similar to ours. There are certainly times when we try to help each other in games — I once got pretty good at building skate parks in Tony Hawk — but it’s not a regular thing. And since we both use games as escape and stress relief, it doesn’t really work out to have two exhausted people trying to play the same game together just because it seems like something that we “should” be doing.

By: cary

cary — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:35:30 +0000

Well thank you! We’re pretty pleased with how things are, even if people find it odd. What you said about finding someone who likes both playing together and playing alone is important. I know even most “gaming couples” have their moments of difference and separation, but that’s how it should be — balanced. Otherwise, we’d all just end up with clones of ourselves, and where’s the fun in that? Nowhere, I say!

By: duckofindeed

duckofindeed — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:16:53 +0000

I completely understand you guys not playing games together. If you don’t like the same games, you don’t like the same games. Plus, if you’d rather play alone, you should. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married or not, but if I do, I’m going to keep playing alone, as well. It is very relaxing to me, and I don’t think I’d need to give it up just because I got married. Playing certain games together might be fun sometimes, but not always. Being married doesn’t mean you do every single thing together, and there’s nothing wrong if you don’t. (And I need my “me time”! Would they rather I get cranky?)

(Plus, for me, I’d have pretty strict rules that my consoles and games are not to be touched to begin with. I have a skill for making consoles last for eternity, and no one is messing with that. Sixty years from now, I’ll still have a working N64. Just you wait and see. They can play their consoles and treat them as they see fit, and I’ll continue to play mine in another room, washing my hands before touching disks and gently dusting everything monthly.)

By: j3w3l

j3w3l — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:35:38 +0000

My husband and I barely play together as well. We tried forcing ourselves to group in many games from genres we didn’t like but it never really works and usually makes both of us frustrated.

So he plays his games and me ours, and as you said they intertwine occasionally but for those times it feels more enjoyable.because it is a natural thing.
In saying that it’s still nice to make the effort towards the others games, I sometimes jump into second life to see his newest creations but we no longer force it and that’s way better.

By: simpleek

simpleek — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:04:39 +0000

That’s a nice story about you and your husband! It’s good to have different taste in games and to be comfortable to play on your own too! It doesn’t mean that because you are a couple, you have to do everything together.

I think if I were to be in a relationship with a guy, I want a combination of the two, playing alone and having games we both can play together (that is if I found a guy who liked video games as much as I do). I’ve had a balance of both where I played by myself, but I’ve also been encouraged to play as a group by my friends.

Still, people shouldn’t feel shocked when you two admit that you don’t play games together. Doesn’t mean your relationship is any less solid. I think you have a lovely relationship with your husband when you talk about your lives a bit.