The day i realised i had lost that edge .

Well i am 53 and have always considered that i had pretty good hand eye coordination , sport , any sport was a breeze for me . Well not entirely true as i sucked at hockey , not the ice kind . But today i was put in my place by my 14 year old son . You see this is about 2 toy helicopters . One a nano cpx and the other a 120sr . Now the nano is a pretty twitchy little thing , and i have got reasonably good at flying it inside . So i call out the lad , lay the challenge down so to speak and challenge him to a fly off outside with the 120 , a much more sedate helicopter . I go first , forwards , backwards , figure of 8s . All pretty good then he has a shot . He does the figure 8s , but , to rub it in he has to spin the helicoptor 360 degrees both ways while doing it . Now i can live with this if he had as much practise as me , but no , i was the one practising . Perhaps it is the years he has had on the xbox or similar . All i know is my father is 82 and i rarely beat him at fishing . It is not fair to be beaten by a 14 year old . Especially when you tried to cheat by practice .

a reply to: hutch622

Kids, especially boys seem to have an ability with that sort of technology, probably because they have more practice at it, it is more natural to them, being used to navigating game sites, using touch pads, mouses etc in micro ways. That sort of thing isn't as natural to the older generation.

That said, my son is excellent at games involving dice, even kids board games, winning 90% of the time and has a nack with cards, as do I and my dad before me, perhaps some things are genetic.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

probably because they have more practice at it,

He certainly has had more practice using his thumbs , i only until recently only used my thumbs for picking things up . I dont text if i can help it and still miss the letters/numbers using my other fingers . But how does one go from 2d to 3d so easily . I get the thumb thing but .... ok old .

a reply to: hutch622

I know.. That day when you finally realize you're not 25 anymore and the prime of your life has come and gone. But you know what? With age comes a bit of.... we'll call it wisdom. Now you know brute strength is not the best way to get a job done and a few minutes of thought can save you a strained back. That maybe the idiot who smarted off was just having a bad day and it's not not worth fighting over. We get older, but we get smarter too. Or we don't get older.

Oh and video games? I don't even try anymore. My son is undisputed King around here.

a reply to: hutch622

The things they do more often probably gives them a slight edge with visual spacial comprehension, their synapses in those areas are probably more developed. The brain is an amazing thing. My son is good at those things but ask him to fold his clothes and it's like asking for Krypton Factor level challenges.

You let him win, no?

a reply to: and14263

Sure, why not? Increases self-esteem.
Nevertheless, the moment an 11yo kid said to me that it could calculate better than me, the hats were off... *evil grin*

a reply to: and14263

You let him win, no?

Sadly i have let him win the battle . The war is still on . Since posting this we had another round inside . I blame the west end draught . BUT .I have a whole day to cheat ....er practice tomorrow .

a reply to: hutch622

I am thirty years of age, and my ten year old son kicks my arse at Skate 3, the skateboarding computer game. I have been playing computer games longer than he has been alive, but he has a natural ability with XBox and PS3 controls. I was a child when 16 bit computer gaming became a reality, but my son was born in the age of 32bit and upward machines, capable of much better rendering, and a higher degree of precision in terms of control features in games.

Controller pads are second nature to him, and as good as I am with a Playstation controller (Burnout Revenge, and Dead Or Alive 2... any place, any time folks), I cannot match him on some games. As a gamer, I could not be more proud!

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: hutch622

I know.. That day when you finally realize you're not 25 anymore and the prime of your life has come and gone. But you know what? With age comes a bit of.... we'll call it wisdom. Now you know brute strength is not the best way to get a job done and a few minutes of thought can save you a strained back. That maybe the idiot who smarted off was just having a bad day and it's not not worth fighting over. We get older, but we get smarter too. Or we don't get older.

Oh and video games? I don't even try anymore. My son is undisputed King around here.

Please tell my wife that I am 'wise' now!

I think we are the same age, thus the '64'? And yes, I quit playing video games with my son.

Only thing I can beat him at now is changing the oil on the car.......

a reply to: TrueBrit

The only game I can beat my 18yr old at is Space Taxi on my old commadore64....Yes, it still works!

Probably because of the 'joystick'. Remember these?


Space Taxi.

a reply to: stosh64

Epic!

I was an advocate of the Amiga 600 myself! Too many great games on that thing! FAR too many!

I don't have kids, although I think it's totally awesome that you guys play video games with yours

a reply to: hutch622

The first day my son beat me at Call of Duty...i knew it was the beginning of the end.

When my kids beat me at something, I immediately find refuge in the tought that I was a most excellent teacher. They have to beat the Master, eventually.
And it will also happen to them someday, so... lol

Who said life was unfair?

a reply to: TrueBrit

Controller pads are second nature to him

I have no problem with his advantage using a controller or radio in this case , but his ability to adapt to 3d both away and towards is what gets me . Perhaps i am just a 60s 2d child .

a reply to: hutch622

Heh... I have no problem with that sort of thing, what so ever. One thing I currently do better than my son, is basic physical tasks, like throwing and catching, stability while running full speed, and the ability to manipulate my body weight to achieve goals. This is something I want to teach him more and more as time goes on. I will be taking him to the park more often, to teach him a little more about the basic Newtonian elements of moving through life on Earth.