As gamers, we’re no strangers to the concept of gaming as an insular activity. It’s an argument that critics of gaming have used for a long time, though we ourselves tend to be fully aware that gaming, at its heart, is a social and interactive endeavour. We enjoy sharing our experiences, or participating in games either as a group in-person or through a screen with someone on the other side of the world.
Games connect us in a variety of ways—plus, it’s fun! And shared fun brings people closer.
The famous, unmatchable Shigeru Miyamoto understands this completely. The Nintendo Man himself chatted with Kotaku recently about how he was able to connect with his daughter through one of his own games, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In playing the game, he and his daughter were able to enjoy a shared love of games and share in each other’s experiences within the game:
“It was the first game that my daughter sat down and played a lot of, and as a result of that she became a really big Zelda fan. I remember Ocarina of Time as the game that allowed my daughter and I to start having a lot of conversations about video games.”
He’s not the first parent to have bonded with a child over a game, and he won’t be the last! It’s heartwarming to hear that even Head Honchos like Miyamoto need to find ways to bond with their kids—and what better way than over the shared love of a game?
