I had a pleasant experience yesterday (Wednesday). For a long while, the boy and I had been looking for a game that we could both enjoy, so that we could spend some time playing together. A few days ago, one of his friends bought him a copy of "Grand Theft Auto V." When he was a kid, I had given up the GTA Series, because we discovered that it was not setting a good example for him, but at this point he is more than old enough to make those kinds of decisions for himself.
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I have had a copy of the game for some time, bought by a friend last year, but I had never put a whole lot of time into it, until recently. The boy and I spent several hours last night, stealing digital cars from imaginary people, and generally raising hell in a city that doesn't exist. We even limited the game to just he and I, so we weren't risking upsetting other players. One of my common sayings to the kids has always been, "My job is to beat the game, not the players." So I tend to avoid PVP situations, whenever possible.
This morning though, I had an experience that made me stop and think. I was bragging to one of my friends about getting to spend time playing with my son, and was asked a question, that even ten years ago, would have made no sense at all. "How many Achievements did you unlock?"
When did we lose sight of the fact, that the point of a game, is to play? When did keeping scores, and stacking up achievements as if they were coins in a bank, become more important to us, than the fun of playing the games themselves? Fun, Achievement unlocked!