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Pathways

Aaron found the traditional forms of education and learning a challenge. Exam-focused teaching and classroom interactions meant that he often found himself lagging behind his peers.

 
25/03/2022 / 2 years ago

Alphonse found the classroom setting difficult to cope with. This meant that he was reluctant to attend school and struggled to find a social group.

 
18/10/2022 / 17 months ago

I've always been drawn to video games and have played from a young age. However, it's been a love-hate relationship where I found many games frustrating and confusing to play. It wasn't until returning to video games as an adult that I started to see how they could overload my brain in a way that made me feel left out and inadequate. It's a realisation that has helped me find games I love, as well as shed light on other areas of my life.

 
05/04/2022 / 24 months ago

I've played video games on and off my whole life. This has ebbed and flowed depending on what else was happening in my life. In recent years, and particularly during the pandemic, I've returned to playing games more intentionally.

 
05/04/2022 / 24 months ago

I’ve always had video games in my life. But there are a few that stand out as waypoints on my journey to where I am now. From watching my mum play Tomb Raider, to falling in love with Pharaoh Queen of the Nile these games have offered some unique first-hand learnings that stay with me in my work today.

 
22/04/2022 / 23 months ago

I enjoyed a range of video games from a young age. At first sight these don't immediately point to a future career and particularly not one as specific as mine. "A traffic engineer works to achieve the optimal traffic conditions for the areas to which they are assigned which, in practice, means achieving smooth-flowing, safe and well-maintained roads and sidewalks."

 
31/03/2022 / 24 months ago

I’m Carlos Rodela, a sketch comedian, video producer and one of the co-hosts of the So Videogames Podcast. During my childhood, I grew up with a looming divorce and regular intervals of yelling around the apartment. My brother and I often retreated into our bedroom to play games. This escape into another world helped us envision a new place to exist, a new land to explore, and somewhere we could feel empowered.

 
26/10/2022 / 17 months ago

I’m Chris Leech, a PhD Psychology researcher looking at video games and student mental health. I’m also a person with Albinism, so I’m visually impaired/legally blind and have this awesome white hair/beard combo (it really is as soft as it looks!).

 
25/04/2022 / 23 months ago

I’m Daryl Baxter, I write for Tech Radar, specialising in software and apps. I also wrote The Making of Tomb Raider book. This is the story of how video games helped me get here.

 
12/05/2022 / 22 months ago

We had video games in the house since the children were young. This meant that they each found games that they enjoyed as they grew up. As well as helping them find these, I also put time into finding games for them to play with me.

 
22/03/2022 / 2 years ago

Gemma found the business and unpredictability of Primary School a little overwhelming. The number of other children would distract her from concentrating, but also wear her out by the end of the day.

 
22/10/2022 / 17 months ago

Games served as early exposure and motivational practice for reading for Hazel, starting with games designed intentionally to support reading skills for young children and eventually graduating into independent play with more general games that feature significant amounts of text.

 
18/03/2022 / 2 years ago

As a parent, I want my child to be able to take on hard problems, persevere in the face of setbacks, and see failure in a healthy way - not as a self-defining attribute, but rather a necessary and useful tool for growth and long-term success. I also want her to have a positive mindset about her own skill development, so that she believes herself capable of developing any skills she would like to pursue for herself. Play, particularly with games, has been one way we have explored these ideas together and through games I've seen her grow in these areas.

 
18/04/2022 / 23 months ago

Rachel loved stories about wildlife from a young age, but it wasn't until she started playing some video games where you play as creatures or help wild creatures that she really started to become obsessed with all things wild.

 
23/03/2022 / 2 years ago

I have always enjoyed games that enable you to explore a vast open world. This started with Minecraft at a young age but developed as I discovered other games that let you not only find another world but also hints of the people who lived there.

 
01/04/2022 / 24 months ago

From my earliest memories of playing Manic Miner on a BBC Micro, video games have been a big part of my life. They give me a sense of immersion like my other big hobby, mountain biking, where I don’t (or can’t) think about anything else. My body and my mind are silenced as they are put to work on the task at hand.

 
23/05/2023 / 10 months ago

From a young age, John has enjoyed competitive video games, however, it took a while for him to find the patience and perseverance to improve at them. He has always had a busy life with various hobbies and pursuits and has had to fit video games around that, but over the years he has worked at them and built considerable progress.

 
14/03/2022 / 2 years ago

Games have been a part of our relationship from the moment Roger and I first got together in high school in 1998. When we started dating in senior year, it was through the game Dungeons & Dragons that I got to know Roger's three closest friends. When we graduated, the 5 of us ended up being split across 2 different universities. Then online games like Neverwinter Nights, Battlefield, and Team Fortress became a way for us to connect regularly with one another and the source of so many shared references, stories, and memories. It nurtured and sustained our friendships.

As we all grew older, moved to different parts of the U.S. and got busy with our jobs and newly forming families, we played together a bit less. Then in 2019, we reconnected with an in-person reunion where we revived our Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group. We decided to keep playing occasionally online. So when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we were already set up to play online together and it became something we did more regularly during lockdown. Around that time, the kids in our 4 families were reaching an age where they could play online games and they began playing online together, sometimes with some of us parents along, and sometimes independently. Now we have two generations of friends. We live in different places geographically but we support our friendships through a steady stream of various games that we play together.

 
30/08/2022 / 19 months ago

Some of my first memories of video games are watching my father play Age of Empires. Over the years particular games have deepened my understanding and interest in ancient cultures. They contributed not only to my love of Archaeology but my decision to study Forensic Science at college and Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Manchester.

 
30/03/2022 / 24 months ago

I’m a Chemistry teacher and have been playing games since I was four years old. I didn’t go looking to make video games a big part of my life, but over the years I’ve come back to them again and again. Reflecting on this now, I see a common thread of connection is what kept me coming back.

 
26/10/2022 / 17 months ago

I'm a junior school class teacher who uses a range of technology in my lessons. In particular, I've developed the use of video games as an interactive and socially inspiring reading time.

 
04/04/2022 / 24 months ago

Over the course of several years, Paul developed a fascination with planes and flight. This started with a cursory interest in some of the war games that let you fly planes but steadily grew as he worked his way through other games that offered the chance to fly things.

 
08/03/2022 / 2 years ago

I’m Tamer Asfahani, a broadcast journalist and producer. I’ve worked at most of the big broadcasters and founded ArabicGamers and Checkpoint. I am the eldest of three siblings and a father of two under 10s. I’ve been a gamer my whole life and have always tried to shoehorn gaming and the learnings I’ve taken away into anything I do.

 
16/05/2022 / 22 months ago

Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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