Wife is New to Gaming

[Wombatula]

So my wife only recently started console gaming in the past month or so. Her and I have played mmos for years, starting with WoW and recently moving to Rift. She does great in them and we usually have a great time when we play together. But console gaming is a bit different it seems. She gets really frustrated sometimes when she either can't figure out what to do, or can't get used to the controls or camera angles, or sometimes she says the action is just way to fast-paced for her. For the most part she has fun playing with me, especially fighters or when we play Zelda or Final Fantasy together, but when one of these problems arises she gets really upset.

She says she thinks that I think she sucks at gaming and it depresses her. I've told her over and over that nothing is further from the truth and that I love playing with her, and I genuinely do, I love that my wife wants to play games with me. I've tried telling her that the more she plays and uses the controllers, the more she'll get used to them and soon she won't even have to think about what buttons to press or what direction to go, that it'll just come naturally to her, but it doesn't seem to work. She seems to think she'll never be able to pick it up.

Any other married people or people with significant others have this problem and if so what did you do about it? I really don't want her to quit gaming because of this, I just don't know how to convince her that all she needs is practice.

[Gamerforlife]

Here's some suggestions

A Devil May Cry game on easy mode, since the game gives you a lot of leeway on the controls and does moves and combos for you

Play some co-op games. You can watch her back as she eases into things. She'll probably love you for that. Some 2d beat'em ups maybe. 2D is easier to grasp than 3D. That's one of the drawbacks of getting into gaming today.

Try that Prince of Persia game that came out in 2008 I think. It's EXTREMELY user friendly, practically plays itself

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_ ... ideo_game)

Gives her some training wheels, maybe get away from action oriented games and get her comfortable with some else. Maybe she should simply stick with rpgs. It's a massive genre and many love it BECAUSE it doesn't require a lot of dexterity and reflexes

[Gamerforlife]

Or give her a Dynasty Warriors game. People hate on them for having simple controls, may be exactly what she is looking for and they do have a lot of rpg elements as well as action. Plus, you can co-op. You can keep an eye on her and help her out

Light game guns are another option. Simply point and shoot, and you can co-op those too

[Ack]

You mentioned she's played some MMOs, which is good, but have you thought about introducing her to console RPGs? I know she won't be able to play them much with you, but if she's frustrated about controllers, maybe these would help her become comfortable with the design. Plus there are many which aren't too terribly difficult throughout but do provide some challenge from time to time, mixed in with likable characters and entertaining storylines.

[the King]

[Gamerforlife]

Wow, that just set feminism back about thirty years

[Wombatula]

Great ideas. We actually do play a lot of co-op games together, as well as Zelda and Final Fantasy games. We'll take turns controlling Link or the party and I'll give her tips and stuff to help her out during battles or when she can't get through a puzzle. The thing is though, she doesn't want to stick to just rpgs. She watched me playing Killer7 the other day and is dying to try it but is worried that she won't be able to get anywhere in it. I think I will try the idea of getting her to play some easier action games until she picks up the fast-twitchy muscle memory thing that all gamers seem to develop. I know she will sooner or later, she just doesn't believe me.

[aaron]

Get her on some shmups.

[o.pwuaioc]

That's hilarious.

[Bradtemple87]

I also suggest some easier shmups were fun to my ex

Katamari always makes any games feel happy