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People Like Me Article

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If we are honest, we want to play games with people like ourselves and with people we know - our unspoken tribe. Parents aren't keen at playing with anonymous teenagers. Kids don't want to play with students. And students don't want to play with seniors. Communities like GamerDads is a great example of how we can play more games with people we want to play with.

Here's Steve White's story, in his own words.

GamerDads started life as a retro gaming web site for retro gamers who wanted to meet and discuss the good old days of gaming and meet online to play. It grew very slowly, and I almost gave up on the idea. But then I had my eureka moment.

After a winning streak on Call of Duty I was subjected to the usual abuse while popping off to get my young son a drink. Now, I'm not usually one to let this sort of thing get to me, but for some reason I got involved in the usual unwanted banter.

That was it. GamerDads was born. A bit of research showed there were plenty of mature gaming sites and forums out there, but nothing quite like what I wanted. Some required a subscription, some required you to attend meeting and some were very hardcore. But none of them were aimed at gamers like me - the older Dad who wanted some gaming with a more mature attitude.

So I set up GamerDads with some values that were important for me. An atmosphere that everyone regardless of background felt comfortable. Gaming meets that came with no pressure to the host or anyone who wanted to join. And generally a more grown up tone to the whole thing.

I was astounded by the response. Initial posts on the forum indicated Dads had been wanting somewhere to meet and game together without the usual pressures for a long time. Also, a guy called George joined who soon became my right hand man. Pretty much everything now that happens on GamerDads is run by George.

We soon had 50 members and realised managing it all was too much for a two man team. This was a real low point for me. We either bit the bullet and walked away or changed the way we worked. We decided to make GamerDads a community driven forum rather than content site. Although we didn't realise at the time I think this was the single most important decision we made.

We allowed members to start their own meets using the forums backed by GamerDads. They would sort out the details with our support, but not be under huge pressure if their meet didn't work out. This allowed us to concentrate on running the site rather than getting bogged down with hosting nights.

The great thing about being an open community is that we have had loads of people come forward and offer their time and support. We have a web designer, Paul who has improved the site hugely. He is responsible for the logo, the FIFA leagues and our very own TV station GDTV. We also have a pod cast host and moderators who all do it in there own. Quite simply without these people who offer there own time and knowledge GamerDads would have probably fell by the wayside a long time ago.

We are really chuffed to have created a site that is not only useful but a real touchstone brand - and one that more and more people want to be a part of. And we met other people who wanted to partner with us and our community. This very article is part of a growing relationship with http://www.gamepeople.co.uk, who are providing family oriented reviews and articles for us now.

So, here we are. GamerDads welcomes anyone who wants to enjoy a mature gaming community with no pressures and a place to have fun after all adults are just kids, grown up. We aim to create a community members are proud to be a part off. To provide a friendly forum that welcomes all. To provide a place dads in particular can be a real part of and enjoy it.

It has been a pleasure creating GamerDads and I have met some really great people along the way. Its been hard and at times fruitless but I certainly have learnt a lot and am happy to have helped break the taboo of Dads who still love to play games.

Written by Andy Robertson

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Andy Robertson writes the Family Gamer column.

"Videogame reviews for the whole family, not just the kids. I dig out videogame experiences to intrigue and interest grownups and children. This is post-hardcore gaming where accessibility, emotion and storytelling are as important as realism, explosions and bravado."

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