i Canz Game?

My older brother David got an original Nintendo Entertainment System for Christmas one year.  I remember watching him play Mario, specifically, controlling the little man jumping along the screen.  For a time, David would pass one of my parents the controller to get past some of the tricky parts.  I only have a few memories of when we lived in Witt (we left when I was five), but this is one of them.  David would get other systems and other games as time went on, and over time it became a ritual for us, that I would experience the story with him, watching as he did all of the mechanics.  He'd do the level grinding and other tedious pieces on his own, but then he'd let me know when he was back to the story. 

I didn't tend to do much playing--some of this was simply the nature of the games David liked to play and anything that was a verses situation, it was only fun losing to someone that had that much more experience so many times before I was ready to do something else.  There was one particular mini-game that we played where Yoshi was spitting watermelon seeds that I was able to win every fifth time or so, but otherwise, I would perhaps play a cooperative piece occasionally, watching all other times.  

My younger brother Mike eventually, too, started to show interest in video games and the two of them would talk shop, once they hit a certain age.  I knew the stories and characters that they were dealing with, but in my brain I labeled video games as "my brothers' thing."  Watching them could be mine but playing them was not.  There were a few games like Super Smash Brothers that got the family involved, though my lack of practice again meant that I would find my limit and then stop before getting too frustrated or otherwise being ready to move on to the next thing.  These were skills that I wasn't invested in developing.  Sure, I could spend time to sort out how to grab and throw an opponent, but it was my brothers' thing and I had other was I wanted to invest my time.  

Andy is a video game fan--he and my brothers and members of his family and several friends of ours will get excited about new video games coming out, discuss and recommend games to each other, and altogether bond about these experiences.  I only have these peripherally.  This means sometimes I could contribute, if it was a question about story or character, but there were other times I would go find something else to do for a few minutes or tune it out for a little while.  I was content to let people have their joy; that didn't mean there weren't times I felt left out.  There's one video game franchise that I REFUSE to have anything to do with because of overexposure to conversations I didn't understand and how much it has been overhyped to me (namely, the entire Final Fantasy series).  As game systems continued to get more advanced, learning all of the different skills and vernacular had more requirements, too, more elements to remember and figure out.  

"Just hit that button for me."

"Which button?  Where the HELL is a Z button?"

It was my brothers' thing or my friends' thing.  I had rented a Gameboy and Pokemon Yellow from Blockbuster a couple of times and gotten through the first couple of gyms and that was the entire limit to my personal experience until I was about twenty-five.  But there have been a couple of elements that changed that:  I had a friend introduce me to a series that was essentially a game about time management, making things by gathering ingredients and completing tasks rather than hitting buttons in the perfect sequence to get across the hill before you could continue.  A couple of years later, Andy bought me my own Nintendo 3DS (which I still called a Gameboy)--I had some doubts but eventually was lined up with some good games that I could enjoy.  Monster Hunter was given to us by a friend, and I remember thinking "that's nice of them; I'm never going to play this."  But I did give it a try--playing it with people made a world of difference, that it was a social thing, and soon I was suggesting it as an evening activity.  There were still moments when I would be told to do a specific function and I had to repeat that I had no clue how to raise a shield or how to check my inventory or negotiate my camera angle or whatever else, but it was fun to contribute and be a part of the adventure..  

Whelp.  Recently, I have taken a big step further:  I have been playing Borderlands 2 with Andy on the PS4.  If that doesn't mean much to you, no worries--I am going to impart some of the basics that I have learned, through the lens of a beginner.  There are so many pieces of basic terminology and fundamental skills that I simply have had no context for; there is a level of knowledge that non-gamers simply take for granted.  

Let's start with the video game controller itself.  **Note that the following observations are for this game only at this time, but there are elements that are, I'm told, consistent for other games, too.

So, there are two joysticky thingies.  One of those changes what direction you are looking in and one changes the direction that you're moving in.  This is hard to figure out how to make it work for you.  I have walked into many, many walls while looking to the side.  They also click when you press them down.  This is needed to do some tasks--I call it "clicky the sticky." Officially they're called L3 and R3 for the left side one and the right side one; I will forever call it clicky the sticky.  

There are the special shape buttons.  They do different things and there are usually prompts for "Press O to cancel" or something similar.

The cross on the left side, that's the "d" pad, short for directional pad.  This can move you around sometimes, particularly on controllers that don't have the joysticky thingies.  In the game I'm playing, it does a lot for shortcuts and such.  

There are two buttons at the top there, one right above the triangle, on the outside edge of the controller and one matching on the opposite side.  These are called the shoulder buttons sometimes or L1 for the left side one and R1 for the right side one.  

There are two button type things underneath those that are called triggers, and even more specifically L2 and R2.  These buttons turn a bit when you press them in, like pulling a trigger, compared to the other buttons which only depress down.  

The black rectangle is something that you can push down, too, to do different things.  The button between the stickies with the weird logo takes you back to the main screen entirely.  I have never used the two small black buttons on either side of the big rectangle.  

So here's a scene from the Peterson Household:  

(Both Petersons are seated on the couch, facing the TV and holding PS4 controllers.  LARISSA is holding her controller with a look of uncertainty.  ANDY has his controller in one hand with a practiced comfort.)

LARISSA:  How do I shoot?

ANDY:  R2, right trigger

LARISSA:  (blank stare followed by trying to turn the controller to assess what piece that is)

ANDY:  (noticing the confusion, holding up his controller and indicating with his index finger)  This part.

LARISSA:  There we go!  (Accidently hits the button that throws a grenade)  Ahh!  Run!

ANDY:  (with great patience)  It's okay.  I can revive you.  See that little diamond on your map?  That's where we're going.

LARISSA:  (peering at the screen trying to locate the map in question)  I managed to walk forward this time while moving my head in the direction I wanted to.

ANDY:  That's great, honey.

Aaaaaaaand Scene.  

There's a lot of knowledge that Andy takes for granted, but he has been a very patient teacher.  However, the weirdest part for me has been reassessing that this is something that isn't just Andy's hobby or my brothers' hobby, that it's something I don't have to be good at (at ALL) to still participate in.  I'm still not confident enough, though, to open up to playing with a wider group--I will slow everyone down right now, and while I trust the people I would play with to be patient with that, I also want them to enjoy their time as much as possible, at least until I have walking figured out.

I have to reassess what I thought I was capable of.  I have to reassess what might be worth trying even though I am several years behind many others in skill level and experience.  I have no muscle memory, but I have the opportunity to sight-read new things, make connections in my thirty-two year old mind that are new and exciting to explore.  I also have an increased awareness that I cannot assume that everyone has the same set of skills and/or baggage that I might expect them to in different situations.  My proximity to gamers has not given me knowledge in the practice of gaming; someone's proximity to a situation may not imply their ability to conduct themselves through it.  Andy has the opportunity to share something that he loves with me, and he has the opportunity to see different facets through my eyes as part of that, to re-experience some of those elements.  It's been an interesting adventure...and definitely cathartic to bust up some bad guy hideouts in the midst of our stressful summer season.