Parents are always looking for ways to check in and connect with their children to make sure they stay a part of their lives. One way parents are doing that is by playing video games with them. Many parents of today are the "original gamers" as it pertains to video games. Many grandparents are still gaming and also use this as a way for them to connect with their children, friends, etc. One platform was created for "original gamers" to do just that, play with family and friends to stay connected. OGL.tv is a SaaS platform that provides a gaming community for over 5,000 members, including retired US Airforce Major and Intelligence Officer Brandon Sivret. Brandon is an OGL.tv General Manager and game developer who has served two deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia and was an advisor to NATO and Gulf partners in close coordination with the Office of Vice President Biden. I had a chance to interview Brandon about the social impact that OGL.tv has on our military veterans and how it provides a fun and competitive outlet for those returning from duty.
Answers by Brandon Sivret of StrongNode and Original Gamer Life
Why can we really think of gaming as a multigenerational activity?
Gaming is multigenerational by its very nature and development stemming from the days of Atari, Commodore 64, floppy disks, arcade machines and iconic games like Pong and Pacman up to today with the popularity of Call of Duty, Fortnite, Minecraft and others being played on consoles, personal computers, and even mobile devices. Older gamers created the technology that allowed us to enjoy these games and generation after generation continues to contribute their ideas, talent, and vision on how to push games to their next iteration. We now see how Virtual and Augmented Reality are fundamentally changing the way we experience game environments and interact with these new, digital worlds.
How can gaming help keep families connected?
Technology has grown leaps and bounds from the blocky, brick cell phones to handheld devices as have the user experiences and implementations of the software that runs on cutting edge hardware. Games have given rise to integrations of text and voice chat within the application as well as standalone programs such as Discord over which text, voice, and video chat allow communities of all sizes to communicate. Achievements, goals, and progression as teams, guilds, and clans encourage collaborative gameplay. Families can play together in the same room or halfway across the world in everything from games like Minecraft on a persistent server to sessions or short adventures like Star Wars: The Old Republic. Virtual tabletop games replicate popular board or trivia games recreating family game night online.
Why is it important to have a gaming community for veterans?
While many of the issues experienced by Veterans are not unique or exclusive to them, the frequency and severity of certain injuries both physical and emotional are more prevalent. Many communities claim to be open, welcoming, or even operated by Veterans, but few truly understand or provide the environment catering to these specific issues. MilitaryGamers.com is the only community of its size focused solely on veterans with a process to vet military service ensuring a greater than 99% population share allowing limited numbers of family and friends considered to be caretakers of members. Original Gamer Life seeks to bridge communities between civilians, emergency responders, and military veterans with a focus on providing a safe, positive, and productive environment leading to physical, emotional, and financial wellness services. Focusing on these issues extends existing care services and benefits counseling by raising awareness on a platform where a shared interest in games brings people together. Games provide a social environment that allows for redirecting anger, anxiety, depression, and stress, opening veterans up to communicating about their issues in a comfortable setting.
Brandon Sivret is the co-founder of Silver Sun Systems dba Military Gamer Supply operating brick and mortar game retail and online community management expanding into VR/AR gaming for training for Law Enforcement and Emergency Response. Brandon serves as the Executive Officer for MilitaryGamers.com, a community that assists current and former US Military with issues ranging from TBI and PTSD to veterans benefits awareness using Video Games as a unifying platform. MilitaryGamers.com consists of 5,000 members (nearly all current or former service members) and 400 active players at a time. He is a 13-year veteran of the US Air Force lauded as an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance and Joint and Combined Fires Planning Subject Matter Expert. He attained the rank of Major before medically retiring.
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