A few weeks ago, I interviewed my 83-year-old dad, Richard Breneman, about his life as a gamer. I also somehow convinced my 16-year-old nephew, Tyler Wojcik, to sit for a brief interview. This video is the result.
My dad has had a lot of jobs. When I was born, in 1954, he was in the army. After that, he worked for a few years as a logger. Then he went to Perry Trade School and learned how to fix electronic equipment. He ended up having a long career in the nuclear industry, working all over the world. In between all this, he raised four kids, took flying lessons, learned to play golf, and fed his passion for WWII military history. He can still fix anything—from TVs to trucks. Now he tinkers with his home computer, golfs, hangs out with the family (my mom, his wife of 60 years; two daughters; two sons; and five grandchildren), and fixes whatever breaks. I love my dad and I love that he’s a gamer.
Pixelkin: How old are you?
Richard Breneman: I’m 83.
Pixelkin: How long have you been playing video games?
Richard: Since my grandkids started playing, probably 10 years.
Pixelkin: What games do you like?
Richard: Well, Tyler and I like airplane games, fighter plane games…Air Warrior. That’s a real old one. We like golf. I play golf outside also, if you could call it that. Sometimes, like today…we won’t talk about it.
Pixelkin (to Tyler): Was it hard to teach your grandfather to play Xbox golf?
Tyler Wojcik: He had trouble with—when we were playing golf—keeping the joystick straight back and straight forward. He…couldn’t do that.
Pixelkin (to Richard): What specific golf games do you like?
Richard: Tiger Woods has a new one out that we like.
Pixelkin: Who usually wins?
Richard: We’re pretty even.
Tyler: …the ball would go off the side of the course.
Richard: It’s almost like playing the game outside. The swing and all that stuff.
Pixelkin: What’s your grandson good at?
Richard: He’s good at the golf. He’s really good at the airplane one—he’s better at the airplane one than I am.
Pixelkin: Is your grandfather a good gamer?
Tyler: It’s way better now. He’s beat me a lot.
Richard: I beat him with talent.
Pixelkin: What games do you want to try next?
Richard: I haven’t really played the football one with him, so I’d probably like to try that.
Pixelkin: Thanks, Gaming Grandpa!
