Coming from a strict family, my stepmom has never been an advocate of gaming. Throughout my early childhood, I’ve always played games–Counter Strike and Starcraft–but my stepmom influenced my dad to believe that it would cost my life and future career. Thus, they took away everything that was game related. At the time, it was the Game Boy. However, as I grew older, I started to pick up games again. This time, without my parents knowing. I would often times obtain games without using money, or go to a friend’s house to divulge after a project. Now that I’m in college, she feels the same way about the subject. From what I’ve seen, a lot of other people have either a neutral stance on games, or don’t mind it at all.
What I’m trying to get at is that now I’m in college and of legal age, shouldn’t I have the right to decide what’s best for myself? That question goes for games, job offers, potential girlfriend/boyfriends, and other things. Is there a point at which parental disapprovals stop? Or does it continue on forever and I’ll have to eventually give it less weight as I get older?
This seems to be prevalent in cultures that value (cough, require) high-paying jobs for their children.
Are you pursuing game development? If so, tell them you’re pursuing Computer Science. That automatically translates to lots of money in their ears. Don’t tell them you’re pursuing game development. Keep that as a secret ultimate goal.
However, as Computer Science gives you a basis for becoming a game developer, also be willing and open to other opportunities like mobile development in case the economy for game development becomes unfavorable by the time you complete your education.
Don’t fight that cultural/expectation battle. You won’t convince them to be OK with letting you make your own decisions. As you get older, you will have to live by “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.” When your money comes in from your game development career, that should silence all critics.
Yes, It stops once you’ve moved out and you’re on your own.
I’ve read somewhere that when you reach adulthood, you fire your parents as managers and you re-hire them as consultants. You don’t need them anymore for food or shelter but you might need their advice if you have a kid and you’re learning to be a parent yourself.