/vr/ - Retro Games

>>502596

Yeah.
Let's fast forward a few years.

>I'm 16
>First girlfriend dumped me
>I'm just kind of sitting in my room, being stereotypical upset teen, playing video games on my computer
>Dad knocks on the door
>"Son, you all right?"
>"I'M FINE, DAD, LEAVE ME ALONE, GEEZE"
>he knows it's bullshit, opens up the door and walks in on me, giving me that "I know you ain't tellin' me the truth, boy" look
>Eventually I just break down and start blubbering like a pussy, talking him about how my heart is broken, nothing will be the same, stereotypical first breakup woes
>Dad nods, patting my shoulder a few times, we discuss shit I can't really remember
>Afterwards, he points at the computer screen and says "All these years, you keep going back to this. Don't your friends play that Halo game?"
>I just kind of shrug "I like Doom."
>Dad nods quietly "Mind if I give it a shot? If you're still going back to it, it must be interesting."
>I shrug again and set up a new game, going the lowest difficulty level for him
>The entire night, we take turns with the singleplayer campaign. Every time someone dies or the level ends, we swap off to the next person.
>Of course, he doesn't do too well, but we have a lot of fun and he seems to really enjoy it.
>For the next few years while I'm at school, he asks permission to get on the computer while I'm gone so he can play Doom and Doom II
>As the source port scene develops and expands, we check out the different Doom engine games and the mods.
>Every weekend, we did co-op/survival across different megawads, without fail. Became a sort of father/son tradition.
>I'm 23, he develops lung cancer. Terminal, is basically bed-ridden now.
>Even in his last few years, we go every weekend--now on laptops, going back to the old pass it over when someone dies.
>I remember him saying "Son, I sure hope they give us shotguns in heaven, 'cause now I've got a hankering to go to hell".
>until his last week we keep playing

I miss you, Dad.