Those with younger siblings / kids /pupils

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Mr.Slow

Mr.Slow

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Last weekend we had a bunch of people over, there were 7 kids ranging from 5 to 9. The older ones were a group of 8 and 9 year olds (boys and girls) who have played GT5 & 6. So naturally I setup a gaming centre with two wheels and let them go to town on my main account (only restriction was no car buying)

Some of the parents hung around the room and it was a lot of fun watching the racing/crashing. I made the following observations:

- Boys will blame a loss of a race on anything but their driving. The seat was too high, the car is bad, X was standing too close, the brakes don't work, etc. Girls on the other hand will list which parts of the track they had difficulty with.

- Girls are just as 'accomplished' as boys in the art of taunting and trash talking…

- Boys won't want to race against a girl who beats them regularly. But have no problem if another boy beats them regularly.

- Boys will re-start the race if they make silly mistakes. Girls are less likely to do so.

- Both boys and girls think that the Lunar missions are 'boringly slow' but will play them over and over. Me thinks it is the lack of a formal track that fascinates them. Also they love the slow motion jumps and flipping the car over.


Anyone else watched younger siblings/kids/pupils play? what are your observations?
 
Ok, I'm a boy myself (14 years old) and I can say this about me:
If I make a foolish or silly mistake (like crashing full throttle into the back of the A.I. when they brake so early) I sometimes restart the race. But only sometimes, it doesn't happen very often. But I don't complain about the car or if the brakes are bad, I just put a setup on and work on it until it's perfect for me. If I see a point at a track where I'm not that good at, I drive a few laps and try at each lap to get better at this point. And yup, the Lunar missions are quite amusing :)
 
Nico_Ble99
Ok, I'm a boy myself (14 years old) and I can say this about me:
If I make a foolish or silly mistake (like crashing full throttle into the back of the A.I. when they brake so early) I sometimes restart the race. But only sometimes, it doesn't happen very often. But I don't complain about the car or if the brakes are bad, I just put a setup on and work on it until it's perfect for me. If I see a point at a track where I'm not that good at, I drive a few laps and try at each lap to get better at this point. And yup, the Lunar missions are quite amusing :)
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I'm replying because you're 14... I wanted to be a fighter pilot at your age, but became a game developer a few years later after selling one of my factory Honda of Troy bikes for a PC (they still want the bike back!), and since your age I've been trying to harm myself in real Motorsport's...

My point? Stay in school!!! I should have been a fighter pilot!!! Arg!
 
My observation? My one year old finds it funny to shake the left joystick violently and attempts to drive with his teeth lol..my 5 year old nephew only enjoys driving loud cars and the dodge ram 1500(to use as a battering ram)..So in a nutshell;for me,GT6+kids=carnage on the tv
 
From watching my younger siblings One brother two sisters regarding all GT and racing games in general

Brother does not care about proper racing line and will attempt to drift every corner and shred tires at a moments notice but pretty decent at controlling a slide. Started in GT2 and still hasn't changed his ideas of racing yet

My younger sister seems to be able to adapt easier to whatever car is thrown her way Able to hold solid and consistent laps. I can trust her to cover laps if I need to answer a phone etc without an issue. Started her in GT3 with a Lotus Elise she thought was cute She kept it and eventually bought her self a Viper.

My Youngest Sister/ Adopted cousin She been around long enough I consider her a sister but whatever. Dedicated to staying on the driving line and reluctant to push limits. Does not like a manual transmission at all and generally prefers cars that are stable usually of the FF and 4WD variations. Pretty funny considering she could probally out shoot me at Borderlands without any issue anyways she was started with GT5 with a Civic R
 
Nico_Ble99
Haha :p
Well, if you mean that I should stay in school to get my graduation from high school, then you mentioned the thing that I had planned after finishing school in two years :)
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Get as much school as you can! I've build some of the best games every... And after 20 years and a recognized industry leader? I still get crap for not having a collage degree... What? Yep... My first game, a game that later became a #1 world wide seller (when Kaz was still making cartoon games btw)... at 19... That was my collage! Nope... 'Equivalent exp' caps at director level... You need the degrees.

All that crap they fill your head about 'making it big'? Its BS... You need to keep doing it over and over... Had I stayed in school I could transition industries by choice... Not so much without that stupid paper...

Get as much education as you can!!! And don't let money be a deciding factor, money comes and goes your whole life...

Whoa! Yes! I've done my good deed for the day ;) wow, totally off topic...
 
Lawndart
Get as much school as you can! I've build some of the best games every... And after 20 years and a recognized industry leader? I still get crap for not having a collage degree... What? Yep... My first game, a game that later became a #1 world wide seller (when Kaz was still making cartoon games btw)... at 19... That was my collage! Nope... 'Equivalent exp' caps at director level... You need the degrees.
Click to expand...

Off topic: I think this is more so in the US, where a bachelors seems to have become the new high school diploma. Fortunately in other places it's not like this, at least not yet. Have you ever considered becoming an expat?

Back on topic:
Kids are fascinating to watch, the fact they don't have the same inhibitions from society as adults means they do more of what they want, whereas adults may want to act the same but hold back - at least most do, a few I've met online are the exception to this rule!
 
Nico_Ble99
Ok, I'm a boy myself (14 years old) and I can say this about me:
If I make a foolish or silly mistake (like crashing full throttle into the back of the A.I. when they brake so early) I sometimes restart the race. But only sometimes, it doesn't happen very often. But I don't complain about the car or if the brakes are bad, I just put a setup on and work on it until it's perfect for me. If I see a point at a track where I'm not that good at, I drive a few laps and try at each lap to get better at this point. And yup, the Lunar missions are quite amusing :)
Click to expand...


You are a few years older than the kids in my post. But good to see you are not out there just mashing the gas pedal 👍

laserviper3
My younger sister seems to be able to adapt easier to whatever car is thrown her way Able to hold solid and consistent laps.
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Sounds like my 8 yr daughter. Once she learns the track/car she can do very consistent laps. It was great to watch her do 2 lap races against same age boys and LAP them :-) (they would make a mistake and then just completely loose any self control )
 
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srefre
Off topic: I think this is more so in the US, where a bachelors seems to have become the new high school diploma. Fortunately in other places it's not like this, at least not yet. Have you ever considered becoming an expat?

Back on topic:
Kids are fascinating to watch, the fact they don't have the same inhibitions from society as adults means they do more of what they want, whereas adults may want to act the same but hold back - at least most do, a few I've met online are the exception to this rule!
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I have before, went to BC, and I'm considering it again. Demand for my background is really strong in the UK and Germany, though I never thought about the education thing, and it being different elsewhere... Very interesting... But with 2 young kids, a couple race sponsors here in the US, and laziness... I guess I need to give it more thought. And how to transfer my racing licenses... Appreciate that.

On topic: I have my 7 yr son my old Playseat and wheel and Forza horizon... Its funny how he things the cars speed and power is based on the sounds... He is always driving the Raptor, thinking its super fast...
 
I have a girl (4 years) and a boy (2 and 1/2 years).
Usually my daughter refers to GT5/6 as the game that "my father plays". :) But actually she is quite decent on the game. I mean that just after 2 or 3 times that we played together she can stay on the track instead of bumping in the barriers all the time. And she is equally good with the DS3 and the G27. For now we stick to max 400pp cars. Usually we are fill throttle all the time.
My son is desperate to play the game from cockpit view. Actually he himself switches to it even if I deliberately switch to another view. So we stick to premium cars. :P Also he likes to drive the cars slowly. With like 50-60km/h.
 
Off topic but have anyone played online and saw a kid who drives good (no crashing or going off the track all the time)?

because i know some people at the age of 16, 14 and even 11 year old knows how to drive unlike most other kids at 9-6 years driving like an idiot.
 
My 15 month old son loves playing with the wheel. If I'm playing, he'll pull himself up onto my lap and grab the wheel at 10 and 2, then proceed to vigourosly saw at the wheel whilst intently watching the screen.

If I take it slow, and try to steer gently, he will let me, and we have completed a couple of laps with him holding the wheel, and me gently guiding.

His favourite thing to do, is watch a replay in chase cam whilst at the wheel on his own, will stay there for as long as the replay.

I've got a slight incling that he will be pretty good in a few years.
 
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I have a 2 1/2 yr old son who's gotten quite good @ gt6, I put on some assists and 3rd person view and he can then get around the track (sometimes).

My 6 month old daughter is the complete opposite, she's bloody useless and only seems to KICK OFF when I'm zoned into a time trial.

conclusion : get a lockable sound proof room for girls.
 
My daughter drives but I've been playing with the idea of buying a wheel so that she can play around with it. I just can't justify making that significant a purchase for a game owned by an enlisted nephew that's off training. Ln the other hand I'd really love to see how she takes to it.
 
Dusty1990
I have a 2 1/2 yr old son who's gotten quite good @ gt6, I put on some assists and 3rd person view and he can then get around the track (sometimes).

My 6 month old daughter is the complete opposite, she's bloody useless and only seems to KICK OFF when I'm zoned into a time trial.

conclusion : get a lockable sound proof room for girls.
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And thanks to that last statement you're now being monitored by the government. :lol:
 
My little cousin (not really little, he's 15) would scream whenever he loses, crashes into a car/wall/whatever. Literally.

My ears would bleed. Not literally.
 
How interesting.

When I was a boy, I was fascinated by cars, airplanes, boats... etc. All great machines, also great dreams. Later, my interests got smaller, it was the audio stuff, more later, it was my own real car...

Now I'm in my miserable mid life crisis, I found the most complex and also most interesting subject is human being. What we feel, think, behave ... are all so amazing.


Lawndart
Get as much school as you can! I've build some of the best games every... And after 20 years and a recognized industry leader? I still get crap for not having a collage degree... What? Yep... My first game, a game that later became a #1 world wide seller (when Kaz was still making cartoon games btw)... at 19... That was my collage! Nope... 'Equivalent exp' caps at director level... You need the degrees.

All that crap they fill your head about 'making it big'? Its BS... You need to keep doing it over and over... Had I stayed in school I could transition industries by choice... Not so much without that stupid paper...

Get as much education as you can!!! And don't let money be a deciding factor, money comes and goes your whole life...

Whoa! Yes! I've done my good deed for the day ;) wow, totally off topic...
Click to expand...

This 100%.

Say, I wanted to be a fighter pilot, too, until 14 or so, when I found I got myopia :(
 
- Boys will blame a loss of a race on anything but their driving. The seat was too high, the car is bad, X was standing too close, the brakes don't work, etc. Girls on the other hand will list which parts of the track they had difficulty with.

Not in my experience with my kids and their friends. They do get somewhat agitated if one of the others stands in front of the screen but that applies regardless of sex.

- Girls are just as 'accomplished' as boys in the art of taunting and trash talking…

That's not allowed in our house.

- Boys won't want to race against a girl who beats them regularly. But have no problem if another boy beats them regularly.

Not in my experience. There is a difference in attitude between being beaten by a sibling and a friend... but even then it depends on the friend.

- Boys will re-start the race if they make silly mistakes. Girls are less likely to do so.

Almost the opposite in my experience but I think it depends on the child's character. Anyway, no restarting is allowed unless it's right at the start, it only happens once or the dog blocks the view of the road.

I'd take this one step further and say that in my experience those children skilled in the game are not necessarily those who do well at karting or bike riding.
 
Back when I was 6 I was pretty good at the early GT's and the good NFS games. I could even beat my grownup aunts in the games. Just recently I let my Dad try out GT6 with a G27 in an 86 base model and he acted like some of the kids in this study :lol:
 
I find it fascinating that kids so young are able to somewhat grasp the concept of driving. My hope would be that it will lead to more young people being better drivers when they get their license.

One guy I know through drifting in GT5 & 6 has been playing GT since he was about 5. He got his license last year, and said his evaluator was blown away with how precise his car control was....probably tooting his own horn a bit, but I've known him long enough for it to be believable.

To any kids reading this, yes, stay in school. As terrible as it is that the "degree epidemic" has swept across North America (student loan debt now rivals mortgage debt), it's part of the game you have to play if you want to be financially successful today.

I too wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a kid. Made it through the first stages of selection, only to find out my eyes weren't good enough. My suggestion, don't waste your time being a fighter pilot...it's not as glamorous as Top Gun makes it out to be. Do something constructive with your life instead of wasting tax payers money, popping speed pills and blowing 🤬 up :lol:.
 
Great thread.

My son is coming up to four. He doesn't drive much as my wife fears there would be another soul lost to Gran Turismo. He has played it a couple of times when younger (about two) and he loved see-sawing the wheel as described above and crashing into barriers. The horn in the centre of my DFGT proved very popular. He did take part in one short online race sitting on my lap talking to 3 good mates. I operated the pedals and he steered using automatic gears and caused much laughter when overtaking one of them. He has subsequently passed his driving licence at Legoland!

I let him buy cars and paint them ocassionally which he loves. He really likes walking around the tracks in photomode exploring all the nooks and crannies. He was very impressed with the two pairs of bunnies at Goodwood when I showed him.

My nine month old girl isn't quite ready yet.

We've had friends kids over aged 6-12 and had a lot of fun playing timed laps in teams with the driver blindfolded and their teammate shouting directions. That's fun no matter the age from 6-76 (my mum)
 
It's funny that you mentioned the lunar missions. My 5 year old son posted gold times in the first two. He's managed second place on Route X in arcade mode (beginner difficulty) in his Evo Touring Car that he picked out himself. He can get around the track without hitting the walls or other cars and he knows how to draft, but the AI keeps catching him on the home stretch. He gets so mad, but he keeps trying. I'm gonna work with him on something like the High Speed Ring to get him used to doing something other than mashing the gas pedal. He has a great time playing and he'll watch me race for hours, asking question after question.
 
TexRex
My daughter drives but I've been playing with the idea of buying a wheel so that she can play around with it. I just can't justify making that significant a purchase for a game owned by an enlisted nephew that's off training. Ln the other hand I'd really love to see how she takes to it.
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Second hand/ebay? Besides if she likes it would you consider buying your own game once your nephew asks for his back?
 
Mr.Slow
Second hand/ebay? Besides if she likes it would you consider buying your own game once your nephew asks for his back?
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Yeah I'll probably end up going that route. Still, I justify having the PS3 because it was loaned by someone that can't use it. Not sure I can justify the purchase of one for myself to myself or to the wife. ;)
 
TexRex
Yeah I'll probably end up going that route. Still, I justify having the PS3 because it was loaned by someone that can't use it. Not sure I can justify the purchase of one for myself to myself or to the wife. ;)
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The expense is one of those things that you need comfortable with or at least see some sort of ROI. For me it was either the PS3 with a nice wheel or go back to doing track days. It turns out much more economical to spend $1000 on a gaming setup and keep it for a few years than $400 each track day (I used to do one at least every other month).
 

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