Writer Nova Barlow recently interviewed me for an article at The Escapist, mulling over the gaming crafter community’s enthusiasm. “It’s easy to get excited about some of the more polished submissions we’ve received,” I told Barlow about my World of WarCrafts fan art column at WoW.com. “I’m equally interested in the efforts of fans that are so enthralled with WoW that it spills over into something totally new or something they’re not so perfect at executing. It’s all about the love and the energy.”
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction.
It’s inevitable: whatever bright, shiny game you are playing, the kids will want in on the action, too. Granted, some games just aren’t made for sharing with kids. (This mom saw her Age of Conan debauchery relegated to late-night sessions after the kids had gone to bed.) But most MMOs make perfectly fine sandboxes for the kids, once you’ve helped shape a kid-sized mini-world within.
The thing is, young children enjoy MMOs differently than older kids and adults. The things that float their little boats are likely to seem completely pedestrian to you. Kids devour character creation. They enjoy exploring starting zones and picking “their” own houses, inns and shops. They like to dress up (you did take Tailoring, didn’t you?). They think killing 10 rats is grand fun — and just as fun the next time, and the next, and the next … Keep reading →
What a lovely little publication! I recently got word that an article on handwashing — yup, good old soap and water — that I wrote for Super Eco was reprinted in a green journal for the Columbia River/PDX area. This region’s already on our short list of places we’d like to move … And this is part of the reason why: just look at the sustainable spirit shining forth. Do stop by and give this little journal a look.
“The media is still treating games as a Topic-With-A-Capital-T, as a phenomenon,” reads a quote from an e-mail exchange I had with gaming writer Neils Clark in his new article at The Escapist. “It’s all about headlines and extremes. Will gaming give you quicker reflexes and tune up your problem-solving abilities, or will it turn you into an emotionally flat, antisocial conniver?”
It’s frustrating. The media still wants to talk about video games in terms of flashy headlines—and parents want to handle them the same way, as something to either bar from their homes or to let kids loose on with no restrictions. In the meantime, the media conversation veers farther away from families—living, breathing, interacting human beings in relationship—and toward measuring which tools we can get away with substituting for face time and for just how long.
As I told Clark for the article, “ultimately, it’s not about the games—it’s about being an aware parent, knowing your own kids’ personalities and needs and being involved in their lives on a day-to-day basis. I don’t understand it at a personal level. You love your daughter, but you don’t care enough to take a look at or talk to her about what she’s doing all afternoon?”
Read more at The Escapist and at MMO Family, my column on gaming and families at Massively.
There’s a lot of agony in the reader comments of this advice column at WoW.com. Wife aggro (GF aggro, SO aggro — whatever you call it at your place) isn’t about gaming. Wife aggro is about balancing a relationship with a hobby that tantalizingly dangles one person physically in front of yet emotionally light years beyond the reach of the other partner. Wife aggro is about attention – who’s giving it where, who’s not getting enough. Wife aggro is about what happens when couples lose their grip on how to separate “me” time from “us” time, on how “being at home” is different than “being available.” Wife aggro is about what happens when the wires of “my” time, “your” time and “our” time become crossed and start arcing angry, white-hot sparks. And left unchecked, wife aggro is about demands that cast one partner as the shrill arbiter of what the other partner is “allowed” to do and be. Keep reading →
Should you be keeping an eye on your kids while they game? (Yes!) How can you do that without seeming heavy-handed? (Stay tuned.) Are MMOs appropriate for young kids? (Sure!) Which ones? (Coming soon …) What MMOs might your family enjoy playing all together? Should you be using parental control devices and tools? What are the best ways to quickly gauge the age-appropriateness of a game?
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to leveling a family of gamers—which is why I’m excited about my new column at Massively.com, MMO Family. In my experience as a parent, a gamer and a player, I’ve observed that parents tend to cover the extremes when it comes to their involvement in their kids’ gaming habits. They either helicoptor about, setting unrealistic rules, disrupting kids’ game play and generally making everyone miserable, or they shrug it off completely and go on their own oblivious ways while their kids are getting pounded by inappropriate content and social interactions.
There are safe alternatives, and there are concrete strategies that make gaming fun and safe for kids and parents alike. We’ll be covering exactly that at MMO Family—so stop by every Friday and see how fun today’s gaming can be for your family.
It’s always a pleasure to learn that your writing has made an impression on a reader—even moreso when they tell you they’re planning to use your work as a tool for teaching other teachers! I was contacted this week by a rabbi who wished to use an article on multiple intelligences that I wrote to guide instructors at her synagogue school.
Is a child with a knack for math really any smarter than a child with a talent for drawing? How about the girl who dances like a summer dream or the boy who springs to life in the company of friends? Which child is the most “intelligent?” The idea of multiple intelligences, first proposed in the ’80s by Harvard Professor Howard Gardner, identifies seven+ “intelligences” or paths to approach and process information. The descriptions can help parents pinpoint familiar territory in their own children—I know they have for me.
Read more about multiple intelligences in this article for DallasChild magazine—an oldie, but evidently still a goodie!
There really isn’t a better way to spend a workday than marrying your own passions in an article about someone else who’s blending those very same passions. Forget the Brothers Karamazov. If you’re looking for artistic expression, passion and the bonds of brotherhood — plus a healthy dash of World of Warcraft — it’s all about the Brothers Kasprzak. Evan Kasprzak, a Top 6 finalist in the reality show So You Think You Can Dance, has gamed his entire life with brothers Ryan (also a top finisher in this year’s SYTYCD show) and Ian.
There’s no denying how tight this trio is. One viewing of Evan and Ryan’s journey through the beginning of this season’s SYTYCD competition as a team (see video, above) or a glance at photos of the threesome with their matching wrist tattoos (“brother” in Greek) show the obvious depth of their bond. Keep reading →
Fun assignments make me grumpy. On the surface, it’s all good—anything an editor could possibly characterize as “fun” generally ends up being a quick, simple wrap. Easy money, right? If I get too many of these assignments at once, though, I wind up in a sulky, obstinate huddle on the couch. It’s not that I can’t relax and get my groove on—it’s that I hate not being relevant.
Every now and then when I’m out and about on Google (sleuthing the intertubes to see where my work and links have been landing—surprise!), I run across this paper: “Child Protection in Texas: Caseworkers Attitudes and Perceptions Towards CPS Services.” This thesis paper written by a master’s degree candidate at Texas State University quotes an investigative piece I wrote some years ago for DallasChild magazine, “Overhauling Child Protective Services: Part I: Will New Laws Make a Difference? Who is Really Protecting Our Kids.” Keep reading →
I was more than a little wistful when my WoW.com column Well Fed Buff came to an end last fall. But a little patience goes a long way. To my delight, Well Fed Buff has wiggled its way back onto my plate with a bowl full of Black Jelly.
World of WarCrafts, a broader version of the old Well Fed Buff feature, allows me to indulge in that guilty (or in my case, not so guilty at all; I’m open and honest about it!) pleasure of writers everywhere: voyeurism. It’s hard not to get swept up in the enthusiasm of players who are combining their passion for art, crafts, music, writing and cooking with their gaming hobby—after all, I’ve managed to combine gaming and writing myself, for a reason. Keep reading →
Writer Nova Barlow recently interviewed me for an article at The Escapist, mulling over the gaming crafter community’s enthusiasm. “It’s easy to get excited about some of the more polished submissions we’ve received,” I told Barlow about my World of WarCrafts fan art column at WoW.com. “I’m equally interested in the efforts of fans that are so enthralled with WoW that it spills over into something totally new or something they’re not so perfect at executing. It’s all about the love and the energy.”
It’s inevitable: whatever bright, shiny game you are playing, the kids will want in on the action, too. Granted, some games just aren’t made for sharing with kids. (This mom saw her 
