Alright, so I love video games. Seems I always have. And, y’know, with so much gaming love there’s inevitably going to be some spillage into the gene pool. So, yes, Owen loves the video games.
It all started seemingly innocently with games on websites, but that turned into an ad-infested nightmare. Who knew a three or four-year-old could navigate a computer so easily on his own? Gene pool spillage again. So, it seemed best to get him the hell off websites and onto a real gaming platform: the console. Namely, my XBox 360. The game that seemed to make the most sense for his age and interests was Lego Batman (you did see the name of this website, didn’t you?).
So, the point of this story…. It’s been at least a year since Owen started playing Lego Batman, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. The other night, at bedtime, Owen asks, “Daddy, I need to tell you something….”
(Oh, get used to seeing that quote here before anything Owen says….)
“Why do you always have to fight in the Lego games? I just want a Lego game where you walk around and build stuff.”
Now, Lego games, I guess, are mildly violent. The whole point of them is to, well, fight. Oh, they only fall apart in little Lego pieces when they “die,” but they do, technically, die. There are very few points in these games when you’re not fighting for your little, plastic life. And when you’re not fighting other Lego people and creatures, you’re kicking the crap out of a bunch of flowers, tables, chairs, lampposts and fire hydrants. Dear lord, he was right — Legos are friggin’ violent! What did the flowers ever do to us?!
So, we’re now awaiting a new game called Lego Universe, which may or may not prove to be less violent. Owen sure hopes so. I do too.
Tags: age five