City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

What My Six Year Old Has Learned From CoX

2Negative

By 2Negative,
Posted on: 2008-02-19 08:05 in CoH and CoV General Discussions

 

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Yes, our dear City of X has been summed up as "playing Barbie dressup".

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It wasn't before? O.o



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Honestly, I have explained this game to people as "Barbie Dressup with super powers".

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Is Age of Conan "My little pony with vorpal swords?"

Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides

 

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As I sit here to wait for the servers to come back up, it struck me that I could write a little post about Sister Flame.

Sister Flame is the online handle of my middle daughter, currently six years old. She's been playing City of Heroes since she was 4 and 1/2. It was only over the last year we began to team together with my two accounts and have a lot of fun. I thought I let you know what Sister Flame has learned from CoX.

(1) Flame Learned To Read

At the tender age of five, I let Flame play on my second account on my laptop beside me. For a while, I had to tell her what the train destiantions were, what the NPCs were saying and what the villains name were.

It was only mere months before Flame didn't need my help anymore. We were playing one summer evening and I noticed that she wasn't asking me to read things. I looked over at her screen and watched her for a bit. I was intrigued she knew where to go.

"Need any help reading, honey?" I asked.

"Nope. I can read nope. That says Atlas Park and that says Steel Canyon. Those are Clockworks, but I like calling them Clickey Clacks." she replied quite happilly.

Her teacher was quite surprised at the headstart she had on her reading skills. When I informed the teacher that Flame's headstart was the result of playing a superhero online game, I got the weirdest look. Oh well.

Now, at six, I can hear Flame reading slowly over the mission text and the NPC dialogue. She cannot type yet, but if we get on a team together, I usually do the talking for both of us.

(2) Attitude Matters; Not Age.

From time to time, I get a little impatient with my daughters. I do recall the one evening I was unwell, but Flame wanted to play CoH and wanted to get on a big team.

"I'm too sick to play, so you'll have to do it by yourself." I told her, thinking that she'd never figure it out or get booted quickly if she did get invited to a team.

I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes to rest. Twenty minutes later, I stretched and asked Flame how she was doing.

"Good. I am in a big team." she told me.

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Yep. People keep joinging, but I think they're playing soccer." she says.

"Why is that?"

"I keep seeing the word 'kick'."

I rolled off the bed and scrolled back through the chat. Apart from several comments about Flame's excellent control and attack with her Fire Blaster, I see several conversations/arguments with some idiots who joined the team and did something really stupid. Most of them wound up being kicked by the leader. I also notice that every so often, Flame has written 'ty'.

"What's the 'ty' for?" I asked.

"Thank you. You type it sometimes. Everytime I see 'Flame', I type it. They like it."

I watched Flame play for another twenty minutes. No one in the group had a clue to her age and she played her role as any good team member should: waiting for 'Go' or 'Ready' before attacking, saving her Rain of Fire for large groups and giving inspirations to thoes that needed it.

Finally, I had to type a message for Flame.

"Thank you all for the team. This is Flame's dad. She has to get up for Grade 1 tomorrow and needs to go to bed. She says you were all great."

I still love typing that message and watching the responses. Most are 'lol' or 'what?!'. One time, a player typed 'Wow. I wonder if my poodle could play.'. All in good fun.

(3) Playing Coh Is Just Like Playing House a.k.a Imagination Is Power.

Flame has always had a decent imagination, but it has improved a lot since she has been playing Coh. She likes to spin stories about her toons and give them a backstory. This has translated well to her schoolwork when she has been asked to do creative writing assignments. She has also developed a healthy curiousity into some of the groups in CoH. Some of the things she has asked me are:

"Why do Skulls hang out in Perez Park?"

"How come the Clockworks don't attack cars or make nasty cars to attack people?"

"Why are Trolls green?"

"Where do the Outcasts get their power?"

Now, she makes up toons with funny names (to us anyways), but good backgrounds. Among some of her mains are Takes Care Of Pets (A MM with two mercenaries: Cat, Dog), Takes Care Of Bats (A PB with Bat Wings) and of course, Sister Flame (a Fire Blaster with her partner, Brother Frost [me]).

So, if you ever run across a Fire Blaster named Sister Flame on Freedom, chances are its my daughter havign fun, but learning many things at the same time. Feel free to team with her, but don't be a "poopyhead" (her words, not mind).

Ciao!

P.S. She is working on her typing skills, so if you see her say "Go", "Go", "Go" about twenty times, don't worry. It's only 1 of about 100 words she can spell.

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thats simply awesome.

hehe.

i was having a semi crappy day before i read this and i feel good now.

your kids gonna be a great asset to this world one day.

thanks for posting this.

 

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Yes, our dear City of X has been summed up as "playing Barbie dressup".

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It wasn't before? O.o



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Honestly, I have explained this game to people as "Barbie Dressup with super powers".

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Is Age of Conan "My little pony with vorpal swords?"

[/ QUOTE ]"Just don't ask me what 'Vorpal' means"

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

 

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Ah the wonders of Wiki.

Vorpal

Entropy: Not just a fad, it's the future!

To YOU I'm an atheist. To God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.

Photons have mass!? I didn't even know they were Catholic...

 

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Sheer genius. ...Barbie dress up! Exactly. Now, If I could get some good mannered kids into pvp, rather than our current crop, I would be very happy.
Definately best Thread ever! Made my day.
Ah heck, forget my greed. Keep the kids outta pvp and have fun!

 

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Just don't ask me what 'Vorpal' means"

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Ah the wonders of Wiki.

Vorpal

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Oh, we know what it means, we just don't want to have to explain "Decapitating Sword" within the context of "My Little Pony"

"Trust me, it worked in the Simpsons." - Calash

 

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So, the Romans and Power Proliferation get a "meh" from Flame, but the Hollow's redesign and the costume creator get a big "yay" from her. In fact, all three of the daughters are double keen on the costume creator overhaul.

"It's like playing Barbie dressup, but it is on the computer" as described by my eldest.


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I have this image of a run down and exhausted father hero trying to keep the little sidekicks under control as he goes shopping at Icon.

"Honey, don't touch that. . .*sigh* . .Sorry about the mess Serge. . .Go get your sisters. . .*turns and looks* Before they cause another mess. . .*CRASH!* I will pay for that Serge. . ."

 

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Considering the DOOM of the recent days, I enjoy coming back here.

It's like hosing down the DOOM with rainbow pony chocolate chip cookieness.




Which, on reflection, seems frightening...

::Wanders off whistling "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life::

 

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I have this image of a run down and exhausted father hero trying to keep the little sidekicks under control as he goes shopping at Icon.

"Honey, don't touch that. . .*sigh* . .Sorry about the mess Serge. . .Go get your sisters. . .*turns and looks* Before they cause another mess. . .*CRASH!* I will pay for that Serge. . ."



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A better image goes something like this...

Eldest daughter finds out about the extra costume slow during the Halloween event. Cue father playing her toon after her bedtime to get her a second costume slot. Cue father again playing Flame's to get a second costume slot.

Next, Flame discovers you get a free costume slot at 20. Cue father playing in a "big team" with Sister Flame powering our way to 20 so she can have THREE slots and her sister only has two.

Cue father refusing to play eldest daughter's toon to 20 so she can have three slots as well.

Cue mother asking what all the crying and whinign is about and cue Wyll explaining that he is crying because he wants to play his toon.

Seriously, Flame loves the extra slots and I haven't told her she gets another one at 30.

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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That reminds me. She wants to go Frostfire... again. She likes the slides. You think doing a 3+ hour taskforce is rough? Trying sliding on the ice slides for 1/2 hour to entertain a six year old.

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I am 16 (17 on the 11th, wewt) And I still spend some quality time on the slides...

"NO....No clowns" - Positron
50s: Smasha (SS/SD Brute), House Rules (Mind/Thorn Dom), Wind of Mind (Illusion/Storm Controller), Coraxa (Kat/Inv Scrapper), Summer's Dream (Fortunata)

 

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That reminds me. She wants to go Frostfire... again. She likes the slides. You think doing a 3+ hour taskforce is rough? Trying sliding on the ice slides for 1/2 hour to entertain a six year old.

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I am 16 (17 on the 11th, wewt) And I still spend some quality time on the slides...

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Pssh, I'm 37 and I put two characters in there, set them both to follow each other and giggled madly as they slingshotted all over the place.

 

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That reminds me. She wants to go Frostfire... again. She likes the slides. You think doing a 3+ hour taskforce is rough? Trying sliding on the ice slides for 1/2 hour to entertain a six year old.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am 16 (17 on the 11th, wewt) And I still spend some quality time on the slides...

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Pssh, I'm 37 and I put two characters in there, set them both to follow each other and giggled madly as they slingshotted all over the place.

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Want even more fun? Get two characters with fly.. have them fly up in the air and then set them to follow each other...

Much dizziness ensues!

Last night I learned, totally by accident, that if two character both use recall friend on each other at the same time, they will switch places. Which had us laughing for a quite a while.

You don't hit smiling monsters - Sister Flame

 

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sorry if i sound like a noob but whats up with these slides?

 

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sorry if i sound like a noob but whats up with these slides?

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In the frost fire mission there are these sections of ice on the floor and you can slide on them.

Uber Talgrim - level 50 emp/dark defender
Uber Rod - level 50 dark melee/regen scrapper
Rod Valdr - level 50 invuln/SS tanker
Talgrim - level 50 ninja/dark mastermind

OMG!! Please add these costume designs now!

 

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Ice Slides+Super Speed+Speed Boost=Wheeeeee!

My only regret was that I wasn't the kin so I couldn't Siphon Speed to get a bit more speed.

One last note, I hold the record for most kheldans jumped on an ice slide. Record: 1

Might go for 2 eventually.

I'll always be a "Champion" at heart. My server away from home.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson

"With great moustache comes great responsibility" - Zee Captain

 

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That reminds me. She wants to go Frostfire... again. She likes the slides. You think doing a 3+ hour taskforce is rough? Trying sliding on the ice slides for 1/2 hour to entertain a six year old.

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I am 16 (17 on the 11th, wewt) And I still spend some quality time on the slides...

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Pssh, I'm 37 and I put two characters in there, set them both to follow each other and giggled madly as they slingshotted all over the place.

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Pfttt. I'm 42 and I love to summon my non-combat pet and watch them slide around behind me.

I remember when that mission came to live and people actually like to play in the Hollows. We would get to some of those rooms with the place covered in ice and spend tons of time in there. I especially liked the room that has an Ice ramp leading to a staircase and trying to slide down and jump over to it. Ahhhh fun times indeed.

Entropy: Not just a fad, it's the future!

To YOU I'm an atheist. To God, I'm the Loyal Opposition.

Photons have mass!? I didn't even know they were Catholic...

 

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That reminds me. She wants to go Frostfire... again. She likes the slides. You think doing a 3+ hour taskforce is rough? Trying sliding on the ice slides for 1/2 hour to entertain a six year old.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am 16 (17 on the 11th, wewt) And I still spend some quality time on the slides...

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Pssh, I'm 37 and I put two characters in there, set them both to follow each other and giggled madly as they slingshotted all over the place.

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You can do the same thing on the frozen lakes in the Winter Event map. Hilarity ensues.

@Demobot

Also on Steam

 

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Just a quick update before we head down to Florida on Wensday to Disney for a vacation.

Now, being the typical 7 year old, I figured Sister Flame would be overjoyed to return to Disney World (this would be her 3rd trip in 3 years... probally the second she can remember). As I proudly announced to the family we were going, there were cheers... and on questions from Sister Flame:

"Will I be able to play City of Heroes while we're in Florida?"

*cue Wyll rubbing his face with his hands and pondering what is going on in Flame's head*

This also ranks up with her question when we spend 3 hours on the highway going to Grandma's house.

Flame: Can I play CoH on your laptop?

Wyll: There is no Internet out here.

Flame: Why not?

Wyll: We're too far from the wires.

Flame: Your laptop at home works without wires why not in the car.

*cue Wyll cranking up the radio and sighing*

Keep it warm for us.

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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<.<

>.>

Some of the hotels have wifi.

*hides*

 

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Flame: Your laptop at home works without wires why not in the car.

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Your kid is figuring out abstract concepts and extrapolating from them. Cultivate it if you can.

Teams are the number one killer of soloists.

 

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Flame: Your laptop at home works without wires why not in the car.

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Your kid is figuring out abstract concepts and extrapolating from them. Cultivate it if you can.

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Besides, it's better than her asking where babies come from...

Uber Talgrim - level 50 emp/dark defender
Uber Rod - level 50 dark melee/regen scrapper
Rod Valdr - level 50 invuln/SS tanker
Talgrim - level 50 ninja/dark mastermind

OMG!! Please add these costume designs now!

 

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My daughter is about to be turning 2 (next month! yeesh!), and her father and I both play CoX. She loves to sit in our lap whith our arms wrapped around her to use the Keyboard. For a while her dad was very into villains. She started calling the Arachnos he was fighting "bugs". After each spawn he downed she would pipe up with "more Bugs? More Bugs?" Her other favorites are the"Nakes"

After reading this I cant wait to get her playing!!!

 

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This thread still makes me smile. I read the last 10 pages again just to make me feel good.

High Beam - 50 Blaster Energy/Ice - 1228 Badges
Munitions Mistress - 50 Mercs/Traps
Many Other 50's, Too Many Alts, All On Freedom
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should!

 

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Almost forgot about this thread.

An update about my son. After several months struggling to behave in school, and a battery of tests, they've diagnosed him with a brain bloodflow irregularity, which is creating ADHD. Taking some common antimigraine medication, and he's right as rain, and back on CoH on the weekends. So, if you see on Pinnacle a character with "Wa Shabusi" in the name, or named Hen(series of numbers) wave hi to him. 8) Lately we're been teaming Wa Shabusi with Ninja Wa Shabusi, two tankers.

In addition, he has a toon on Champion, Dark Mama (his name, not mine) which was his attempt to look like his mother.... explaining to him that his mother does not wear a veil and sport wings fall on deaf ears tho.

So proud of that boy.