The family that games together stays together
We've covered the topic of family members gaming together before, but Sonya Smith, Gadgetress of the OCRegister, brings an interesting story about it to light, which she learned about on her tour through Blizzard's new HQ.
Like our own Amanda Dean, J. Allen Brack, senior producer over at Blizzard Entertainment, plays World of Warcraft with one of his parents. Unlike Amanda Dean, his relationship is paternal. Brack relocated to California from Texas two and a half years ago to take his position at Blizzard, moving away from his family. Interested in the work his son had taken up, Brack's father began playing the game himself, having never been a gamer prior to that. Now they use the game as a way to spend quality time together, half a country apart.
It's very endearing to see so many playing with their family and using games like WoW to spend time together, whether they be half a country apart or even in the same room. I haven't had this experience myself, unfortunately. I can't get my family to even turn on their computer without me watching over their shoulder, because they're afraid it will devour their souls or something like that. About two years after my mother bought her computer, she finally let me teach her how to pay her bills online, so maybe in another decade or so she'll be willing to play computer games.
The other thing about this article that makes me smile is the fact that it reinforces that World of Warcraft is more than just a job to many of the people at Blizzard. There's been many examples of it over the years since WoW's launch, but it never gets old to see that they actually play, they actually care. The game is more than a job. I like that.
[ Thanks again, Sonya! ]
