What My Six Year Old Has Learned From CoX
By
2Negative,
Posted on: 2008-02-19 08:05 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
alrighty. i HAD to finally make my account just to say this. I CAN"T WAIT TILL I HAVE KIDS! this is all so cute and awesome. and amazing family bonding funness..er..whatever. hmm, i swear, as i post more, i will sound much smarter.
also, only kid intrested in this game that i know was my nehew. he just wanted to make a costume.. eye hurty to say the least.
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_Wyll_ ,
Has Sister Flame experienced the winter event any? I would think that she would get a big kick out of the ski slope or the mission against snaptooth where you have to fight on a fair sized frozen lake. I'ld set my scrapper on follow to a target and then just click away. Lots of fun.
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Oh yes. She has experienced most of the major events. She really enjoys the Ski Hill and _loves_ Trick or Treating during Halloween. The Valentine Event doesn't really turn her crank, but she was looking forward to the Ski Lodge openning last December and she was in like a dirty shirt when it did finally open.
I'd have to say the Winter Event is her favorite event based on the Ski Hill alone. The Snowball temp power is also her other favorite thing and she is not happy until she gets it.
The Elementals - Brother Frost and Sister Flame
Who Is Sister Flame?
Arc 118690 - Sibling Rivalry (Sister Flame) Tweaked 09/15/09
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The Snowball temp power is also her other favorite thing and she is not happy until she gets it.
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The Snowball Temp Power pwnith. All the fun of real snowballing, but none of the wet clothes and the crying afterwards.
"OK, first of all... Shut Up." - My 13-Year-Old Daughter
29973 "The Running of the Bulls" [SFMA] - WINNER of the Mighty Big Story Arc Contest !
- The Stellar Wind Orbital Space Platform
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It's good daddy/son bonding time.
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I agree. My son is ten now, he's been playing about 2.5 years now. I've had 2 accounts for about 6 months now, but only recently got a 2nd computer up and running so for the last month or so we've been playing together.
All this time, we talked about our characters and on the weekends (divorce situation, he stays with his mother during the week) it would usually be, after the family stuff was done, and his younger brother went to bed, me on the pc playing CoX and him on the playstation or Xbox. He'd usually play on Sunday mornings for a few hours after breakfast, and while I was showering and getting his gear together for the trip back to his mother's. Whenever we'd talk on the phone during the week, and when I first pick him up on Saturday mornings eventually the talk would turn to CoX: What characters had I played that week, any events going on, etc.
But finally we got to play together and it was wonderful, him on his guy, me on mine in a mish together! BUT...I found myself being a dad instead of a teammate. "Go here" "Go there" "Keep up" "DON'T ATTACK NOW!" "Get in there and fight", etc.
After our third session I got to thinking, "Man that can't be much fun for him, probably more like playing with his teacher or something..." and I also thought that I would NEVER think of doing that to a teammate in a PuG, I might THINK those things, but I wouldn't say that to them, I decided to give my son the same respect.
The next time we played, last saturday night, I kept my mouth shut and let the boy play however he wanted to, and he did just fine. I was trying to make him play like *I* played my characters, but found out that he played just as well, or better, on his own.
Before bed that night I mentioned it to him, "Did you notice that I didn't have too much to say about how you were playing?" and he said yeah, and he appreciated it, and it was more fun for him that way. I told him he did just fine and I think that we both had a better time.
I think that just about ANY activity that you share with your kids, something that both of you like, is good for your relationship, and much more enjoyable than doing it alone. And also gives you more insight into the person, and helps you know them better. My son just turned 10, and I remember being 10, 40 years ago, but I remember that back then kids wern't treated with too much respect, seen and not heard kind of thing? *I* actually learned something from playing CoX with my son, I learned to respect him a little more as a person, he has a mind of his own and just like anyone else (read: adults) likes to do things his own way, and doesn't need daddy holding his hand all the time. If he needs help, he'll ask for it, if he doesn't ask...I'm keeping MY mouth shut!
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Badstorm: *glances at firm, upright Emerald Chesticles of DOOOM! and stretch-mark free, flat belly*
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Must be using a mirror?
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
I've been playing with my now-11-year-old son for the past 3+ years and the winter event was his favorite (especially the first, crazy XP out of control, one).
He liked swimming so much, he left his hero in one of the Steel Canyon ponds before it froze over and was stuck when we logged back in after the freeze. 
I trust him enough now to let him log in by himself, which is very nice. I travel a lot with my job, and last night I was able to play with him from my hotel room. Can't tell you how nice that was. 
Mr Energon
Confirmed altimaniac.
What helps us play is Ventrilo. 2 puters in 2 seperate rooms. I really need a house with a play room. 
"every defender needs to fight. I don't care if you have to use BRAWL!"
My best friend just linked me to this thread today, and I've had an immense smile on my face all day from reading these charming stories at work. Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
Great story! After my daughter finally figured out that no one wants to play house on COH she discovered teams - yay! Now I just have to talk her into giving up another server for dear old dad.. I get Freedom, she gets all the rest. Dressing up heroes is more fun than Barbies apparently..
Awesome story(ies) Wyll. I have a 6 year old as well, and its amazing what little bits of wisdom they can drop on you at times. Thanks for sharing.
lvl 50 Energy Blaster
Protecting the Galaxy, one planet at a time......
@Capt Omega
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What a great thread.
For anyone who hasn't seen it, here's a great little piece:
Half Life: Full Life Consequences
A Half-Life playing dad has an 8-year old son who wrote his own Half-Life fan fiction. The fanfic is then animated using Garry's Mod. Charming and hilarious (if a bit bloody).
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Oh ...my sides hurt and I have tears streaming down my face. That was excellent!
Wyll - Kudos to you! I also play on Freedom but mostly at night after my own kids are in bed.
I haven't let mine play CoX, but they really like the costume creator and making characters that are 8 ft tall with wings and skirts, a mixture of anything else, and as many different colors as possible - with a name that would make the RMT spammers envious.
Lately, they seem to have switched their liking to Overlord and watching Daddy play. They like the minions and don't want them to get hurt....plus Daddy has to have the right color minions. Not the red ones, but the blue ones.
The youngest got up at 6 AM this morning wanting Daddy to get up and play Overlord...I know the concepts of "total domination" and "bending others to do your will" are naturally inherent in youngsters, but...uh....hmmm.
I had a random thought today regarding parents and their very young kid gamers. Do you let them play using your regular mouse or did you get them a small, travel sized mouse to fit their hand better?
Teams are the number one killer of soloists.
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I had a random thought today regarding parents and their very young kid gamers. Do you let them play using your regular mouse or did you get them a small, travel sized mouse to fit their hand better?
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This is a pretty good question. All of my daughters got "early mouse training" by playing Toddler Reader Rabbitt. While the program got them use to moving the mouse around, clicking the proper buttons was hard because of its size.
Up until the age of 5 1/2, Flame had problems using a normal sized mouse. Her little fingers would accidentally right click when she wanted to left click. She worked around it by using the keyboard as much as possible (numerics for powers, arrows for direction). At 6 7/8s. Flame is old pro with the mouse now.
Princess S, my little fresh 4 year old, is now having the mouse button problem. She tries really hard to left click, but the mouse is just too big and winds up clicking both buttons. I usually work the mouse at critical moments for her, just to keep things easy. I think investing in a little notebook mouse might be a good idea for her (if I can find one on the cheap).
All of my girls know how to use the touchpad on my laptop, but they still prefer a mouse.
On the plus side of being forced to use the keyboard, all of my daughters know most of the keyboard shortcuts for CoX now (Mpa, chat, target, etc.). If you want to put it in gameterms, I find CoX very keyboard friendly, especially with binds.
The Elementals - Brother Frost and Sister Flame
Who Is Sister Flame?
Arc 118690 - Sibling Rivalry (Sister Flame) Tweaked 09/15/09
This is the one my boss uses on her laptop and she is very happy with it.
Me, I get by with the touchpad, or if Im doing a lot I have a full sized cordless mouse I take. I cant adjust to the smaller ones.
@Catwhoorg "Rule of Three - Finale" Arc# 1984
@Mr Falkland Islands"A Nation Goes Rogue" Arc# 2369 "Toasters and Pop Tarts" Arc#116617
I got one of the Microsoft Laptop Mice for my kids. It works very very well. Not only does it fit their hand better, it's also cordless, which is one less thing for them to get tangled in.
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This is the one my boss uses on her laptop and she is very happy with it.
Me, I get by with the touchpad, or if Im doing a lot I have a full sized cordless mouse I take. I cant adjust to the smaller ones.
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I tried using that one and my wrist instantly cramped up. Not good for the tendonitis. I got a full sized one with a cord that retracts into the body when I was using my laptop full time for school.
Clickey Clacks
Was running a new tech hero from Rick Davis in Atlas and the third mission I got was defeat that guy. Gave me a chuckle
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Clickey Clacks
Was running a new tech hero from Rick Davis in Atlas and the third mission I got was defeat that guy. Gave me a chuckle
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THAT.
IS.
AWESOME!
Playstation 3 - XBox 360 - Wii - PSP
Remember kids, crack is whack!
Samuel_Tow: Your avatar is... I think I like it
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Clickey Clacks
Was running a new tech hero from Rick Davis in Atlas and the third mission I got was defeat that guy. Gave me a chuckle
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Okay, that is going in Flame's treasure box.
Yes, all my daughter's have a treasure box. It is a large white plastic bin where we keep all their important childhood memories. You know, their coming home outfits from the hospital. Special ornaments. Stuff like that.
I'll add this to the other CoX stuff in Flame's box such as a Ghost Widow heroclix, a CoV DVD and some special comics that War Witch sent her (they had to go to school for show and tell). I also put a screen shot of her toon in a folder in her box too.
Pretty funny, eh? Imagine her being an adult and pulling out her memory box. Then, she has to explain what this CoX was and why it was speical.
There is a goot advertising phrase: City of Heroes. Creating childhood memories today!
The Elementals - Brother Frost and Sister Flame
Who Is Sister Flame?
Arc 118690 - Sibling Rivalry (Sister Flame) Tweaked 09/15/09
Clik Clak himself
Map Server decided to say hello before I could get a shot of little guy at the end of the mission when I was putting up the first one of the mission objective. Had to do it over again to get that one.
Outrider wrote:
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Clik Clak himself
Map Server decided to say hello before I could get a shot of little guy at the end of the mission when I was putting up the first one of the mission objective. Had to do it over again to get that one.
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Awesome sauce, with raisins.
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
That's downright adorable 
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Clik Clak himself
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Y'all can thank Hero 1 for that.
Thanks, Hero 1!
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That. Is. RIGHTEOUS!
_Wyll_ ,
Has Sister Flame experienced the winter event any? I would think that she would get a big kick out of the ski slope or the mission against snaptooth where you have to fight on a fair sized frozen lake. I'ld set my scrapper on follow to a target and then just click away. Lots of fun.