Wyatt and I played in the backyard yesterday. We built an aerial tram! Funny what two pulleys and a length of rope can spark, imagination-wise.
Spider-Man riding like only a spider can.
I was amazed at how effective the clothes hanger was in acting as a point of attachment for the tram.
That’s what we’ve been up to in our backyard, how about you?
“Get on the Battle Bus, dad.”
“I’m not jumping out of that.”
“Just get on the bus.”
[Later, having exited the bus, we are now parachuting over an island that doesn’t appear to have a name…]
“Where should we go, Wyatt?”
“Umm… Lazy Links? Tilted Towers?”
“Just set a beacon and I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve got a gun for you, dad. You’re going the wrong way! LOOK OUT FOR THOSE MONSTERS!”
“Where are you? How can you tell if there are enemies around?”
“There are enemies dad!”
“Where?”
“I don’t know, I just heard one.”
[Somehow, we both end up in a gas station. A fellow player notices us and starts shooting.]
“Wyatt, there is a guy outside by the gas pumps.”
“WHERE?”
“THERE! He is right there! Get HIM!”
Pew. Pew. Pew.
“Guess we are dead? Should we go back to the lobby?”
“Yeah, dad, let’s play again.”
Wyatt and I tried to get Fortnite, on the PS4 and the Switch, to communicate a few weeks ago, shortly after crossplay was enabled. For some reason, we couldn’t receive friend invites at that time and thus couldn’t see each other in-game. So last night, we checked again and found that crossplay is now running in a stable manner. We were able to quickly become friends and enter into a match together.
So there we were:
We ran around the cartoony world and kept dying. But the boy was super excited to be playing Fortnite with me. One of those moments where I wasn’t super enthused to be playing the game, but I was happy to just be hanging out with him.
Last night, I was reminded that often, as a parent, you have to do things your kids want you to do. You have to suck it up, quit being the boss, and enter into the worlds of play your kids are inviting you into. Whether that is playing LEGO, shooting each other outside with NERF, or playing Fortnite co-op, you are making memories with your kids. You want your kids to say: “My dad used to play with me.” Gotta remind myself of that.
Hey kids, you may be too young to see the actual Avengers movies. Blah, blah, blah, age appropriate content, right? How about a sanitized LEGO version? We’ll add humor, Stan Lee, and plenty of time to smash things as the Hulk. What do you say? Is that a yes? Then cool. January 26, 2016 can’t come soon enough.
Better start saving that allowance money.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure was my first attempt to play a video game with Wyatt. He would climb onto my lap and I would give him charge over a few buttons. We’d press on, together, through the colorful lands of Skylands, father and son.
The toys to life market has exploded since the original Skylanders debuted. Disney has followed suite with their own Disney Infinity and LEGO with LEGO Dimensions. The race for your nostalgic memories blended together with basic compulsive behaviors is on.
Skylanders: Superchargers, Disney Infinity, and LEGO Dimensions are not cheap. Each brand forces you to buy a base set, at prices ranging from $75 to $100. If you want to go beyond the initial starter pack characters, prepare to pay $15 per character. Want to play, I mean “unlock” more of the game levels you’ve already bought? The ransom price will be $30 per expansion. Good times for kids like Veruca Salt; bad times for a child who only gets a video game on their birthday.
As a parent, I wonder at what I have introduced my son to. Am I no better than a drug dealer, pushing the latest video game with expensive add-ons? What about the morality and business model of a developer who is double-dipping? Buy the initial game for x-amount and then pay more to play the rest. Is this fair?
Take LEGO Dimensions for instance. The main game, according to some reviews, is 12 hours in length. Which is not a bad amount of gameplay for $100, at $8/hour. But, any of the past LEGO games have been whole. Yes, they have lacked an accompanied physical LEGO set, but they have been fully unlocked. Interested in Portal themed levels, Mr. Nerd? That will be $30 please. Content that is already on disc, waiting to be saved.
In our brave new world of toys to life, I wonder how long consumers will stand for buying the same product 5-6 times. On a positive note, Skylanders: Superchargers only requires four vehicles to experience the game. None of the content gated to specific types of figures, as it has been in the past. A step in the right direction.
But who am I kidding? I can rant and rave about pricing structures till the end of this blog. Will LEGO Dimensions make my Christmas list? OH YEAH! I can’t pass up playing with Gandalf, Batman, and Wyldstyle. No matter the cost, playing this game with Wyatt will be awesome. LEGO told me so.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. – Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NIV)
My son and I are gripping our controllers, leading our small group of Avengers to victory. But wait, even though the screen is split, the onscreen action blinds us both to our positions in-game. Lego Marvel’s Avengers fails to provide a visual indicator to note where ones character is on screen. There is no “player one” or “player two” designation. The game’s camera pulls too far out of the action for the player to be able to follow their hero.
I am frustrated; my six year old son, even more so.
The Lego games have always frustrated me. There is so much potential with the Lego properties, squandered in the name of shoddy controls and split screen mode. What frustrates me more, as with Disney Infinity, is that developers market this half-assed game design to children. We love playing videogames together. My son is able to hold his own in Guacamelee. His skills increase every time we sit down and play. But Lego games block our fun together.
I would like to say that videogame developers hate children. But that isn’t true. Videogame developers lack a certain awareness of how kids play.
Kids games need to:
My son and I will probably continue to play Lego Marvel’s Avengers. I just wish it was more finely-tuned to my son’s early skill levels.
LEGO was always a huge part of my childhood. I will never forget the year I found this unwrapped in my parents closet:
Oh the adventures we had.
I believe this is the same year that my parents started taking Christmas presents over to my grandparents house for storage. Man, they were smart!
That same year, I also received this from my Aunt:
One of my most favorite sets ever.
I poured hours into these two sets. Not just building them but playing with them.
What were your favorite LEGO sets as a kid?
