WoG Gets a Taste

What do you mean only one hour?

 Any married gamer probably has a story about how their wife doesn't understand the passionate devotion that comes from a lifetime of playing video games.  I've had more than a few fights and disagreements over who can watch or play what on the TV (we're a one TV household) or how many late night hours have been spent with the other woman in my life (ahh, Zelda).  My wife is amazed at my ability to be completely oblivious to the world around me when I have a controller in my hand.

She likes to refer to herself as a "video game widow," because when I play I'm gone.  That overly melodramatic title doesn't fly with me.  I will just refer to her as a WoG, a Wife-of-Gamer.  I think that, and this is true for most WoGs, she just doesn't appreciate my level of commitment to video games; that is, until now.

During bachelorhood I took my gaming time very seriously, especially when I lived on my own.  I remember being in my one bedroom apartment at 20 years old and between going to school and work I made sure every opportunity I had was spent on my Xbox 360 (2005-2009 R.I.P.).  I spent hours in Oblivion collecting sigil stones and playing Halo 2 until midnight.  It seemed like I was refueling at Wendy's every night with a Double, fries, and Frosty just before the drive through closed up.  My buddy Abe came to visit me from Chicago during the summer and we turned my TV out to face my balcony and set up my pillows and cushions so we could sit in the open air and "play outside."  Thinking back, it felt perfect.  I could have spent a lifetime living like that.  Finally, one day, I found an amazing woman who brought me more joy than any video game ever had. 

When I first met my wife I immediately let her know what she was in for.  I told her, "I am a gamer."  One of the first things I left at her place was my Xbox and a decent TV to play.  Most people leave a toothbrush, I left my video games.  As a gamer, the devotion I feel toward my playing time can come between my WoG and I.  It has often been detrimental to our relationship.  That is why I got her a Wii.

The match-up was perfect.  She can enjoy video games through Mario Kart or Wii Sports and we get to play together.  It doesn't keep me from my games (at least it doesn't feel like it) and I even enjoy watching her play and experience the marvelous lifestyle of a gamer in her own way.  I even got to break out my copies of Wind Waker and Ocarina, not to mention the Nintendo VC.

Now, when I play, she can even sit and watch me.  Sometimes she can't help but get sucked into watching the stories progress.  Assassin's Creed and Red Dead Redemption were some of her favorites.  After I finished Red Dead I had to replay the last save-point so that she could see it's emotional conclusion.

Tonight we have come to a new level of understanding.  My WoG has just been introduced to The Legend of Zelda.  We began with Wind Waker because, as she puts it, "The cartoonie graphics are fun."  She has already passed the first couple of dungeons and watched two hours whisked away without her knowing it.  From here on forward she will have a new appreciation for my gamer lifestyle and, who knows, maybe we drop the Wo(e) from this WoG.

For any gamer in love with a real life person who is not a gamer them-self, it is important to be patient, understanding and most of all diligent with your WoG (or HoG, men are pigs) in helping them to understand your passion.  You can even find a way to invite them into the lifestyle gaming has to offer.  Please don't be too crushed when they beat you in Mario Kart.  *bitter*  Progress is inevitable, and plus, I'd like to see her try to head-shot me in a Halo free-for-all.