Being a dad is a thing that is ahead on my horizon, so I think most of us, even when having babies and children, want sometimes to have a short span of time to indulge into games from time to time when children are so little.
So, here’s my question: which are usually the games that are ideal for that situations? Which are the games that, for example, fill that 15-30 minutes at a day in which you can have a little bit of fun and then returning to your usual dad labor?
Firstly congratulations on soon becoming a dad! It’s a pretty damn fun experience and something I’m still learning to do and will do no doubt for the rest of my life! My boys are six and almost four so I’m lucky that they actually play with me and have developed a taste for the games of video.
It’s a strange experience gaming with a new born at home, because it’s actually easier to do. Aside from sleeping, eating, crying and pooping, babies don’t do a great deal, so you have more time to play!!! One thing that helped was having a console at home at the time, the PS4, where I could just pause a game and go instantly back to it at the touch of a button or two. Luckily nowadays almost every machine has an option like that and it really helps when you need to stop in a matter of seconds.
After he turned six months, the game that really did it for me was Breath of the Wild. It was the first game that I could play after having children where even if you played for a short period of time, you had the feeling you could accomplish something in it. Yes it was maybe a shrine or a small boss or finding a village or any one of the other tiny things - but it helped me be able to play in short bursts and know my time wasn’t wasted, in respects of I did half a boss fight or discovered a new location I couldn’t visit. And if I did want to risk playing longer, I could just stop instantly with the power button and not worry about losing where I was in it.
Check out some of the types of games you like and see what ones have smaller goals or challenges in them. I like action and RPGs so that was perfect for me. And while it took me about five months to finish, it was great to not have to rush it. Plus I was a bit busy.
And take some time to just chill for you, maybe not even playing games. Trust me - you will want to sit down and enjoy not having to think about anything for a while =)
I am not a dad or a mum but I am an ADULT with limited time! I’ve gravitated to Arcade Style games way more recently because I can get the “full experience” of a game in 15 minutes chunks. ESPRaDe most recently.
From what I gathered, there’s a game I wanted to absolutely do that I never thought about, and that was Armored Core VI. Most of the missions tend to be short even with the bosses, and I think that’s one approach.
The other one that was recommended to me was Drainus (I don’t know the name too much), which is a short shmup that I think lasts for half an hour.
So, in a sense, my usual genre is JRPGs (which tend to be a no-no in those cases), visual novels. The indie part is usually covered because I think you can have very interesting short games, but the idea is to have a list of games you can play for about 15-30 minutes a day and drop them or save and then continue the next day.
An Ace Combat game is also one that I enjoyed quite a while.
I’d say go with Armored Core when the little one is super little and as they grow and need more attention adapt a bit more.
I played Ni No Kuni when my son was a baby and he was quite happy on my lap watching the colours and listening to the music. I think any JRPG is possible at that age if you accept you may need to stop at a moments notice for dad duties. And cuddles too, those are the most important!
Oh and a handheld emulator machine will be your best friend for small chances to play games when you get those moments alone. All six of them!
Congrats! I’m also a dad of a six year old, as well as one under a year old.
In the early days of both kids, I got more gaming done than I thought, since I had a lot of late nights sitting with the wee one. For me, a session RPG worked well, like Persona 5 with its definite calendar. Turn-based was friendlier, since I could get up at any time, but I played some Skyrim as well in that period.
After six to eight months, I found myself doing more replaying of games. In that period, I replayed Shenmue (and played Shenmue 2), Dragon Quest XI, Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, Final Fantasy XII, and Grandia 1 and 2. I don’t know why I began replaying more games. The confluence of remasters coming out may have had an influence. But I also think I was getting tired between work and childcare, so I went for games I knew were good but I hadn’t played in a long time as a lower-effort, guaranteed-fun experience.
With the new kid, I may be entering a similar cycle, going more for older games or games I’ve played than new releases. Me playing Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest III feels like the start of that, and Xenoblade Chronicles X and Lunar may well continue it.
The one thing I can say for sure is that your habits will change, but it may or may not entail changes in your tastes in games.
My experience being a dad (for nine years now, and counting!) has taught me that any game can and will be enjoyed in 15-30 minute chunks! Because that’s all you’ll get! For me it’s less about genre or game type, and more about physical accessibility. Early on in my daughter’s life, that meant a lot of PSP gaming, and the Switch has been a go-to, because of that good ol’ sleep mode. When you’ve only got 20 minutes to spare, it’s a bummer to spend one or two of those minutes on loading screens! Just hop right in.
any of the shottriggers ports look awesome, but I’m playing on Mister. Means I have to play on the flat panel tv instead of the CRT because it’s a tate game. If I was serious about score or getting the 1cc I’d pick up the switch version (if it’s not delisted? I thought I heard that was a thing)
When my child was six months old she watched me play all of Mario Wonder and became obsessed. She kept wanting me to play, and we migrated to no commentary YouTube videos. We then had a whole year of watching Mario Wonder every night otherwise she wouldn’t sleep.
We tried other marios and other platformers but she only wanted Mario Wonder. I think she’s starting to tire of it.
Daughter is now one and half and very energetic and destructive. I’ve had to remove all consoles from the living room which sucks. She kept grabbing and trying to smash everything. I’ve recently taken to plugging in consoles at 11pm and unplugging them at midnight.
In terms of games, it really depends on how wiped out and frazzled you are. We have no childcare or help from anyone, so things are rough. I ended up enjoying Fortnite zero build for some low consequence shiny content gameplay, where they remix the content every month so it feels fresh. I can’t pause the game and doomscroll my phone. I have never enjoyed shooters before so it really is circumstantial.
I recently dug out my 3DS so I’m hoping I can play on that some time. The sleep mode should help.