The Family that Plays Together

I've written often of one of our favorite family activities - video gaming; that activity has taken on a whole new meaning lately! Starting on New Year's Eve and every day since, we've become wholeheartedly immersed in Final Fantasy XIV, considered by many gamers to be one of the classic MMORPGs. An MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) differs from a regular RPG (role-playing game) by the sheer multitude of online players, and the fact that the virtual world continues to exist even when you are offline and away from the game. This particular game has several different 'worlds', with the capability of concurrently housing at least 325 thousand online players.

Charles, Marie, and the children played an earlier version of this game for over 2 years! This may seem a bit mind-boggling, but it's a deeply social game with intricate layers and networked activities, which deepens your commitment to the game long term. In discussing whether our family should play the newest version together, I was initially intimidated by the thought. I'd never played an MMORPG before; additionally,Charles and Marie described the game as a 'jealous girlfriend' who got upset if you decided to spend your time otherwise engaged.  I'll tell you the truth, though - turns out my 'jealous girlfriend' isn't so jealous after all, because I willingly give her plenty of time and attention!

As adults we prioritize our household and family responsibilities, but after the work is done, the gamers in us take center stage! We set up in separate rooms on the 2nd floor, and play every night after work/school, and most of the weekend too. Sid and Karana play from their respective homes. When they come over to the house, after we've visited and caught up, it's common for them to jump online and join us IVL (in virtual life) right from our living room!

The spirit of teamwork is a key factor to this game and one of the reasons we love it so.  For instance, while my main character is a gladiator whose main goal in battle is to distract the enemy while others in the group conquer it, cooking has become my favorite side job.  By consuming meals before an important battle, our characters boost our skills and stats.  Marie's main character stays busy healing us when we are wounded, so specialized meals allow her to utilize her healing abilities more effectively. Charles' main character is a archer who keeps a keen eye on all enemies on the outskirts of a battle, eliminating them before they cause detrimental harm to the group. In his down time, he enjoys relaxing and fishing from beautiful streams, and makes a point of supplying a variety of fish for me to use in my recipes.  Kaz, Sid and Karana each have different skills that allow them to not only be an important resource during battle, but also handcraft beautiful clothing and armor for the group, thus increasing our success rate with the protection these high quality garments provide.

It's been a fantastic bonding experience for the entire family, not only in IVL, but IRL (in real life) as well.  While we do utilize the game's communication method via typing into a group chat, more often than not, we're jumping up from our room, crossing the hall and poking our heads in each others' doors, eager to share a particularly gorgeous scene, dope set of armor or newfound helpful tip.  Echoes of "Check this out!", "Have you seen this?", "Did you know you could....?", and "Can you help me with a mission real quick, please?" ring throughout the house - accompanying the sounds of battle and the game's beautiful background music! We'll take snack breaks together and run down to the kitchen for nourishment, sharing our latest adventures while we eat, then breaking off with, "Gotta get back to it, c'ya!" The resulting cacophony is a beautifully organized chaos that makes it feel like one big family dorm party!

In real life, things continue to go remarkably well:  Marie recently had a meaningful visit with her family out of state; Charles is involved in reconnecting to his parents through emails and visits to their home; Kaz is bringing home excellent grades; Sid is working and also going to school part-time; Karana's little family is doing well; our granddaughter brings us smiles and giggles with her latest accomplishments, and I've received a significant promotion at work. 

As you can see, our family shares an unusual connectivity and success rate, whether it's IVL or IRL.  We always have -- and I firmly believe we always will, for we've formed the habit of shellacking the love we share with daily kindnesses and positivity.  
No matter what the activity of the moment, whether it's gaming, family vacations, or outdoor activities, we create and experience many beautiful memories together! 

This latest game just happens to be the tool of the moment for family bonding, and we are having a fantastic time!

I'll be back soon to write more articles, but for now, my game is calling!  ^ ^

Rika