TheGamer Dad : Navigating Fatherhood Gaming

I grew up without my father in my life, and besides my Grandpa (whom I looked up to a great deal while growing up,) I never really had a father figure until high school. This isn’t any sort of plea for sympathy or excuse - my Mom did one hell of an amazing job raising and providing for me on her own while teaching me what it means to be a man. It’s merely stated as context for me not _ really _ knowing what it would take to be a


With Ricketts's help, John found and commandeered the wagons that were transporting the prisoners, and took them to a safer place. It was a selfless act that could've jeopardized Marston's seemingly advantageous relationship with the Mexican a


I work multiple jobs, so I rearranged and reprioritized my schedule to make sure that I was able to spend more of the short amount of time that I have with Declan. The shelter-in-place orders brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic made this a bit more difficult to navigate while working from home 24/7, but I am slowly making it work, often knocking out the majority of my major tasks in the wee hours of the early morning and late at night when Declan goes to bed (since he really doesn’t take traditional naps during the d


As cliche as "New Year, New Me" might be, I reprioritized my life. This time was different than any of my attempts prior, though, as every change I was making was in the interest of my son, instead of myself. "How can I be better for him?" "How can I make sure Declan grows up to be the person I truly believe he’s going to be - which is someone who is going to speak for those without a voice and change this world for the better?" These were the questions at the forefront of my m


Desmond was the main character for the first five Assassin's Creed games as gamers explored his ancestry through the animus. Assassin's Creed 3 finished a major portion of the first civilization storyline, which came to a head with an end of the Open World game maps thr


There was always a little voice in the back of my mind that kept saying, "You’re just like your father," when I felt like I was failing. Thankfully, I never let that noise prevent me from doing what I needed to do, because Declan deserved - and continues to deserve - my very best as his fat


Marston used their conflict to try to gather the information he wanted and had no qualms about killing people from either side, even though they were supposed to be his allies. He only fully committed to the rebels once the army figured out he was aiding them b


In a bit of a twist, the main character dies at the beginning of the game. When the Normandy explodes, Shepherd is sent spiraling into space. His helmet malfunctions and he dies alone, floating in space. The good thing is that there is a whole game to p


As the Van Der Linde Gang begins to fold, Arthur makes it a point to make John understand he needs to protect his family. After arguing about Dutch and what the next move is Arthur hits John will a definitive truth when he states, " Be loyal to what matte


For many years Van Der Linde was a tyrant that manipulated, robbed, and slaughtered countless people, and he showed no signs of changing his ways. John made it so his former leader couldn't hurt anyone anym


The best characters in fiction tend to be the flawed ones, as that's the natural state of humans. No one's perfect and the ones who try the hardest to make it seem that way are often masking the worst flaws of them all. Sadie became a fan favorite character because she's inherently flawed, but most of it is due to an event she had no control over. She may be driven by spite and hate, but people find their purpose and inspiration in different ways. Sadie's not perfect, but could you blame


As serendipity would have it, though, about 40-minutes into the "conversation," the restaurant’s power went out completely, allowing the meeting to end before I threw the lemonade that I was nursing in the face of the loser sitting across the table from me. We left without a hug, a handshake, or any plan to speak again; like it would have even been a possibil


Released in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 may not be new, but fans still can't get enough of the heartbreaking emotional Western that introduced the world to Arthur Morgan. The game did a great job of reflecting a man's journey to finding self-forgiveness and facing his mortal


I’ve also held more personal titles, such as Son and Husband. While I’ve had my moments of triumphs in those roles, I’ve also faltered mightily, which was far worse than failing in any of my other titles. As such, the role of Gamer is the title that has withstood the test of time. It’s also really the only thing I’ve consistently excelled at with each passing year of my l


It's amazing that 15 minutes into the game, players are left dealing with a widow who just witnessed her husband being murdered in cold blood. Normally the story-telling trope would have had Arthur Morgan 's gang befriend the married couple for days. This friendship would lead the O'Driscoll gang to attack as a sign of spiteful revenge. The event itself ends up feeling like a setup to get the conflict between the Van Der Linde and O'Driscoll gangs up to a fever pitch in terms of anger towards one anot