Destiny Community: Dads Got Game

If you stop to think about it, video games have been a staple in our culture for nearly three decades. Nintendo introduced the business model of third-party licensing for the original NES in the mid-80’s, and it’s become a standard practice in the industry ever since. Still, the average person associates video games with children or teenagers. Well, the average person is wrong. Based on a study last year by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the average age of a video game player is 31-years-old.

Furthermore, most video game players have been picking up various controllers across multiple consoles for at least 14 years. Basically, there’s a group of boys, now men[1], who once used the head of a plumber to pop coins out of bricks that are now popping heads for Vanguard bounties. While that group is more like an entire generation, no finer example exists than the members of the Dads of Destiny.

If you’ve frequented the Tower you’ve probably come across someone on the roster that has some variation of “Dads of Destiny” as their clan. A quick search on Bungie.net returns a myriad of groups, clans and subclans that are associated with being a dad. There are some dads that are so passionate about gaming, at least Destiny, that they have their own podcast.

Playing with like-minded gamers can help create a positive online experience. In my last article, I talked about the importance of respect for fellow gamers in the SafeGamers group. I haven’t played with a member of every clan associated with the Dads of Destiny, but I can say that the ones I have respect the fact that you’re also a parent. I’ve done a bounty or two with dads that are playing with a sleeping infant in their lap. I’ve been in groups where the entire fireteam takes a break during a raid to help out their wives or read their child a book before bed.

I’ve also had some really great conversations while chatting with dads: Bouncing around ideas for Christmas presents for our kids, potential places for date nights with our wives, and the best ways to avoid the death stare from said wives. Don’t get it twisted: The Dads of Destiny aren’t a bunch of dudes who made a pact like some lame American Pie sequel. It’s overflowing with some golden gun yielding, fist of havoc dropping, nova bombing beasts.

Here we see TrueVanguard – Dads of Destiny EST PS4 – setting the world record for Part II of the “Dubious Task Vanguard Mentor Missive” bounty:

Here’s another example of TrueVanguard compelling people to trade their copy of Destiny in at their local GameStop. This 53-kill game ranks in the top 1% in the world:

Heck, even I had my moment in the sun:

Playing in a “shared-world” environment can be a roll of the dice in terms of social interaction. If you’re a dad and you play Destiny, there isn’t a better group to associate yourself with than a Dads of Destiny clan. In my experience, they’ll understand that being a dad takes priority over being a Guardian.

[1] This applies to girls that became women, but I didn’t want to pass up the chance to make a Boyz II Men reference.