What type of game Should we suggest to our parents?

[arachnophobik]

I'd agree if that suggestion was addressed to a younger audience, but we can safely expect parents to be 50+ years old. I don't think they could start with such complex games right away, if this is their first approach to gaming. An older cousin of mine once saw me play Skyrim, and she was amazed by how many controls there were and how I could move my character AND the camera at the same time with different buttons. It's easy for us because we are used to it, but for them? Not so much.

There are easier games with very good stories that showcase pretty well what videogames are capable of. Games like Limbo or Never Alone have simple, yet addictive and interesting gameplay, they have a unique style that definitely makes them different from movies (I've heard my parents addressing videogames as "interactive movies" too many times) and, most of all, they leave a mark. Plus, they're short enough to be realistically playable by people who probably won't have the patience to play 30+ hours long games.

True, true. Then I would suggest the Walking Dead Telltale series except for the 3rd season. The controls are very easy and so is the gameplay, and it has one of the best stories I've ever played in games. Plus, you can save during scenes in episodes and an episode shouldn't take too long to play. I don't recommend the third one though unless they're just going to play for the story. The third one was quite disappointing.

 

[PenguinManiac]

True, true. Then I would suggest the Walking Dead Telltale series except for the 3rd season. The controls are very easy and so is the gameplay, and it has one of the best stories I've ever played in games. Plus, you can save during scenes in episodes and an episode shouldn't take too long to play. I don't recommend the third one though unless they're just going to play for the story. The third one was quite disappointing.

Oh, that's a great suggestion. It would also be easier to introduce thanks to the comics or the TV series, and it would explain to them the concept of a franchise with multiple nuances.
I'm not very familiar with the Telltale series, but I know that a few of them require a bit of knowledge about the original series, and they sometimes reconnect to their plots (it was the case with the Borderlands one, if I'm not wrong). I imagine it is not the case with The Walking Dead one, right?

 

[lordrenly]

My parents love fighting games and racing games. People from generation above me seems to like game that doesn't require you to be fully immersed in it like games with heavy storylines, characters, and plots. I think good games to suggest them are either fighting games, sport games, beat em up games, and racing games.

 

[Scholarkin]

I will suggest 'Four pics one word' for my mum and 'chicken invaders' for my father. I used to see my mum playing games on her phone. But my dad? NEVER!

 

[yunken]

I don't think my parents will like the idea of me playing game with them cos they are not fan of gaming. They only love to watch us play but they will never join us in playing

 

[OursIsTheFury]

Meh, I'm sure the simplest point and click games would do the trick. If they are more of a fan of history or combat you should suggest either Red Alert 2 or Civ 5. Both games are excellent and have low system requirements, which means any laptop can probably handle them. Also the scrabble and crossword puzzle stuff would be good too for an intro game. Don't give them complicated stuff since they would probably ask you for stuff every single time or they would lose interest quickly. Fail safe is just to give them solitaire and let them play on their own.

 

[Eggy216]

I can tell you what not to show them - the Portal series. I loved those two games and I was so excited to share the experience with my parents to see if they could finally understand why I enjoyed video games so much. . .and they just couldn't understand what was going on. The controls were way too involved for them. At least now I know for the future!

 

[OursIsTheFury]

I will suggest 'Four pics one word' for my mum and 'chicken invaders' for my father. I used to see my mum playing games on her phone. But my dad? NEVER!

Chicken invaders... is that the shoot-em-up game where you control a space ship and have to dodge eggs or something? I swear I played something with that name back in high school on the computer lab. And yeah, simple games like mobile ones are perfect for non-gamers since they are mostly free and are easy enough to learn. Just don't let them dive in the ones where you have to pay stuff though, otherwise you might just lose your college fund.

 

[Lukehh]

I've been a gamer since my youth, and actually rubbed off some of my gaming traits onto my father. He's 65, but plays a ton of stuff like GTA, and recently I've been playing World of Tanks and Warthunder with him, He's said he can't really play faced pace online games, but loves the bonding experience of playing together.

 

[Scholarkin]

Chicken invaders... is that the shoot-em-up game where you control a space ship and have to dodge eggs or something? I swear I played something with that name back in high school on the computer lab. And yeah, simple games like mobile ones are perfect for non-gamers since they are mostly free and are easy enough to learn. Just don't let them dive in the ones where you have to pay stuff though, otherwise you might just lose your college fund.

Yeah, that game you played back in high school is Chicken invaders.
I like the Christmas version. HahahA
I hear, but non of my parents would even pay for a video game even if I recommend it to them. They don't 'play' with their money. Lol

 

[OursIsTheFury]

Yeah, that game you played back in high school is Chicken invaders.
I like the Christmas version. HahahA
I hear, but non of my parents would even pay for a video game even if I recommend it to them. They don't 'play' with their money. Lol

You'd be surprised. The most people who get into those internet scams and useless subscriptions are those 50+ year old parents trying to be hip. They get a message about doubling their bank account, or they see someone needing help and asking for money; those are the types that easily fall for those. I even read a story online about how the parents of this one guy kept sending scammers money that he had to install a program that blocks those types of emails. Gullible types, huh?

 

[Scholarkin]

You'd be surprised. The most people who get into those internet scams and useless subscriptions are those 50+ year old parents trying to be hip. They get a message about doubling their bank account, or they see someone needing help and asking for money; those are the types that easily fall for those. I even read a story online about how the parents of this one guy kept sending scammers money that he had to install a program that blocks those types of emails. Gullible types, huh?

Hmmmm. I pity some of our oldies.
They're so easy going and are mostly dined on by selfish unscrupulous people.
But my parents are different though. They aren't inclined to IT very much thus no way they will be scammed from that section.
Unless probably through phone calls or physical contact.

 

[Eggy216]

Chicken invaders... is that the shoot-em-up game where you control a space ship and have to dodge eggs or something? I swear I played something with that name back in high school on the computer lab. And yeah, simple games like mobile ones are perfect for non-gamers since they are mostly free and are easy enough to learn. Just don't let them dive in the ones where you have to pay stuff though, otherwise you might just lose your college fund.

That game sounds really amusing, now you're making we want to check out Chicken Invaders haha. I'm sure it's an amusing and interesting way to pass time. . .plus if it's any good I can have my parents give it a shot and see if they get into it at all!

 

[Thundercatte]

While in the end it really depends on the kind of parents you have, I find that mobile games are best for introducing older people to video gaming (even if you might not consider it "actual" gaming). Most mobile games, especially those that include in-app purchases, are designed to be addictive. Candy Crush, Words with Friends, and Pokemon Go and well-known examples of this. Plus, it doesn't require any extra hardware or software - you just head to the app store, download what you want, and access it whenever. I find that mobile games are most convenient for older folks overall.

 

[whatareyou420]

Something easy and addictive. I've got this game on my iPhone called "Threes". You basically Swype up, down, left or right and try to get two matching numbers(all divisible by three) until you have no moves left. But I wouldn't suggest my parents get a smartphone. It's bad enough some of the stuff my dad forwards to my email...

 

[OursIsTheFury]

That game sounds really amusing, now you're making we want to check out Chicken Invaders haha. I'm sure it's an amusing and interesting way to pass time. . .plus if it's any good I can have my parents give it a shot and see if they get into it at all!

It's one of those spaceship games I think and we used to play 2 player competitive on one computer with my classmates. One with the keyboard and the other with the mouse. Of course, the one playing with the mouse has an easier advantage since the mouse (compared to the arrow keys of the keyboard) has a more accurate movement, so you can easily aim the incoming enemies.

 

[Eggy216]

While in the end it really depends on the kind of parents you have, I find that mobile games are best for introducing older people to video gaming (even if you might not consider it "actual" gaming). Most mobile games, especially those that include in-app purchases, are designed to be addictive. Candy Crush, Words with Friends, and Pokemon Go and well-known examples of this. Plus, it doesn't require any extra hardware or software - you just head to the app store, download what you want, and access it whenever. I find that mobile games are most convenient for older folks overall.

Ooh that's a good point, I didn't really think of mobile games when trying to figure out ways to get parents into gaming. My mother really enjoys playing Words with Friends (she actually plays against my girlfriend all the time), so I guess that's probably her gateway into gaming. I tried showing her a few games I made in Unity for fun, but she couldn't get her head around WASD being directional keys haha.

 

[giovanniiiii]

I'd say it has to be a game that is interactive and fun to play on multiplayer, while not being too complicated in terms of control. It is much better that you play with your parents since video games not only act as entertainment but also bridge for communication. I was worried back then when I was trying to help my dad play Halo with me on Xbox 360 but he quit after 10 minutes because he find the game hard to play in terms of control so we played NBA 2K13 instead.

 

[Eggy216]

I'd say it has to be a game that is interactive and fun to play on multiplayer, while not being too complicated in terms of control. It is much better that you play with your parents since video games not only act as entertainment but also bridge for communication. I was worried back then when I was trying to help my dad play Halo with me on Xbox 360 but he quit after 10 minutes because he find the game hard to play in terms of control so we played NBA 2K13 instead.

With multiplayer are you thinking more for you to play with them, or for them to play online? I could definitely see wanting to find a game that you could play with them, so that you could kind of help them through some of the tougher parts of a story based game, or maybe let them score a few extra points in a sports game so that they think they're doing better than they really are

 

[DenisHero]

I would suggest an easy-controls game for my parents.
Since they are newbies,I cant show them a skill-needed game.
So basic running games,or Candy Crush.Easy to be explained,rich tutorials before the game starts,do fit for our parents to enjoy playing games as we do.
I noticed my mom doesn't even want to try GTA series.She says it's too violent.But instead,she spent like 1 hour at night,playing Candy Crush and it made my mind this could be old persons' favourite type of game.Something casual,maybe arcade,but not complicated gameplay.