I, like many of you gamers out there, have tried and failed when trying to share my love of games with others.  While all of us may have the best intentions from the beginning, we usually meet failure because of lack of forethought or over enthusiasm for our hobby.  Instead of adding new gamers to the gaming community’s numbers we usually only succeed in solidifying their already negative view of gaming.  With this in mind I created a short list of ways to introduce people to gaming and what pitfalls could occur while doing so.   

1. Gentle and Accommodating

Just like taste in movies, you have to respect what your significant other’s tastes are when choosing a game to play with them.  Make sure that whatever your choice is, that it doesn’t expect too much from the player right from the start.  Watching that it both satisfies their sensibilities, as well as doesn’t drop them into something difficult, will make the transition into gaming all the easier.

Things To Watch Out For – Don’t make it too easy, just because they can breeze through it doesn’t instantly equate they’ll get any satisfaction out of it.  Try to respect their inexperience and taste – don’t mock them.

2. Size Does Matter

You’re going to have to give some thought into what their tolerance will be for lengths of time between save points or time needed to complete levels.  In most cases there has to be some satisfaction of accomplishment when the person plays the game.  Whether it’s Xbox Achievements or being able to play a full level from start to finish, the game has to have some built-in situations that they can strive to overcome and eventually beat in one sitting.

Things To Watch Out For – Accomplishment is a great thing to get from a game but make sure that the difficulty isn’t too steep.  Us hardcore gamers can get frustrated and we’re already prepared for the headaches video games can be so you could only imagine what someone who doesn’t care about games can feel if they die three or four times during a boss fight.

3. Have It Your Way

Being able to customize your own avatar or gamertag within a game can be a fun addition and playing up this fact to a new gamer can only help in drawing them in.  Perfect examples of this is the Xbox 360’s Avatars, the Wii’s Miis, and to a lesser extend  PS3’s Home application.  But even if they personally don’t want to play a particular game, giving them the chance to make your character can make them curious as to how the person they made becomes part of the world.  This will only add another point of sharing between the two of you.

Things To Watch Out For – Grin and bear how long it may take for them to complete this process.  While it may take you three minutes to make yourself a character, it just might take them three times that time to do the same.

4. “Couch Punch” Games

Try to find games that emphasize playing co-op with others rather than just sitting around taking turns on games.  Having the ability to share in the experience together can make bringing the other person into the gaming fold go a bit smoother.  Rather than emphasizing the sometimes anti-social nature of gaming you’ll be showing off how great it is to have someone next to you helping you along with the game.

Things To Watch Out For – Make sure you don’t rip through the game without them getting a full experience of what it is to play.  They’ll feel like a placeholder rather than an active participant in the experience.

5. The Wonder Years

Utilize the different compilation discs and retro downloads that can be found on each of the Big Three’s consoles.  Many of these classic games can instantly rekindle the fun factor they enjoyed experiencing in yesteryear.  Some great franchises to revisit can run the vary from Pac-Man and Galaga to Mario and Sonic.

Things To Watch Out For –This can be a great starting point but it would defeat the point if their only want was to play Centipede for the 1000th time to date.  While these are fun to experience you don’t want old arcade games to be the only games they want to play.

6. Like Tyson Vs. A Baby

While your gaming ego may take a hit in doing so, not being too competitive while playing with the other person is a must.  You’ve been playing games for quite some time and completely dominating multiplayer games will only help to alienate your loved one.  Give them a bit of space to begin with and they just might surprise you by providing quite the opposition after getting the basics down.

Things To Watch Out For – Don’t be a complete pushover. It’ll be pretty easy to see right through your ploy to give them some wins before you whoop them into submission.  Once again respect their inexperience, don’t under estimate it.

7. My Very Own Cheer Squad

Be enthusiastic about getting them to play with you.  You don’t want to make it seem like it’s an arduous situation for you to go through.  While it may seem a little cheesy this will only help for it to be more of an experience for both of you, rather than them just sitting on a couch in silence while playing a game.

Things To Watch Out For – While it can add to the experience, try not to overdue it.  No one likes to feel like some kid at their soccer game with their mom cheering from the sidelines.

8. Backseat Gaming

No one likes someone standing over their shoulder nitpicking each and every move they make.  So don’t do the same while the other person is playing the game regardless of how many times they try to open the door that clearly wasn’t programmed to do so.  Many people learn by experience and you showing your frustration could only prompt them to give up on the game all together.

Things To Watch Out For – Give them their space but also let them know that you are most likely aware of what to do next or how to go about beating a boss.  You definitely don’t want them to just toss down the controller in frustration once they’ve hit a seemingly dead end.

Knowing is HALF the battle

While following any of the above can help make the introduction into gaming go as smoothly as possible, it’s not an all access golden key card.  It will not just instantly happen, it might not even happen at all.  Some people just don’t get the idea that pushing these buttons for hours on end could be fun.  If they continue to show lack of interest, chalk it up to differences in tastes and stop “taking one for the team” while watching HGTV when you know every fabric of your being wants to put on Spike or ESPN.