When you live in a house with parents who enjoy video games, it may come as no surprise to anyone that you may also take an interest. That is exactly what has happened with my six-year-old, Poppy. As soon as she was old enough to hold a controller, she was ready to dive in. It was a little bit of a struggle at first, but once she developed the ability to read fluently, her ability soared.
When I think back to my relationship with video games as a child, it certainly looked considerably different from hers. She is certainly not sitting cross-legged on the floor, desperately blowing into a Master System cartridge to get it to work, before giving up and playing Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Nor is she packing a link cable so that she can trade Pokemon with her friends. The landscape is vastly different. And so, it got me wondering what her ideal video game would look like, as well as what she enjoys about video games in general. So, I set us up at a little interview table, poured us each a glass of water, hit record, and asked her.
Firstly, what kind of games do you like to play?
Poppy: “I like to play Fae Farm, Minecraft, and Pokemon Violet.”
So, you seem to enjoy games where you have the ability to create and build objects.”
“Yeah!”
Why do you enjoy playing those kinds of games in particular?
“Because they are fun when you get to make your own stuff and go on your own adventures.”
What game would you say is your absolute favorite?
“Hm, I don’t have the game, but by what I see of my dad playing it, it looks pretty fun. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
Okay, so what exactly do you like about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
“I just think it’s cooler than Breath of the Wild because you actually have a cool power, and the shrines are different.”
That makes sense! So, going back to the games that you previously mentioned enjoying, Fae Farm, Minecraft, and Pokemon. What do you like about them in particular?
“Well, Minecraft I like that you can go mining and fight stuff. Pokemon Violet, I love that you can find towns, glide around, cook sandwiches, and all sorts of fun stuff. And Fae Farm, I like that you can make your own farm, and do what you want!”
What are some things that you don’t like about video games?
“That sometimes it doesn’t go the way that you want it to go. Or you accidentally chop something that you didn’t want to chop.”
When you played Animal Crossing: New Horizons you didn’t like that you couldn’t interact with most of the items. Why did that bother you?
“Because I didn’t know what the items did, and so I really wanted to know what they could do.”
Is being able to interact with the game environment something that you personally think is important?
“Not really, but I just think it would be fun to know what they do, or what they can make.”
What would your ideal or dream video game look like? What can you do in it and how does it play?
“Well, I’m thinking of a farm game where nothing is too pricey, and it’s just fun to play!”
Ok, so if you could choose any genre of video game to play, it would be a farming sim?
“Yeah! Because you can get chickens, cows, anything you want!”
If you could choose one thing to implement in a video game, what would it be?
“Hm, animals! All sorts of animals! You could ride pigs, ride cows, milking cows, getting water for you to survive. All sorts of different stuff.”
It’s interesting to see just how influenced Poppy is by what we play in the home. Recently, I have spent over sixty hours in Fae Farm, and that has clearly influenced her current preferences. Also, my husband has played a tremendous amount of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Poppy enjoys watching him play before bedtime. Regardless of Poppy having quite the backlog of video games herself, let alone access to the five hundred or so games that we have, she is vastly invested in what we are playing. Which means, that we can share in these experiences together.
