A Gaming Conundrum

My oldest son, like most children his age, will happily while away an afternoon (or a week) playing games on his now seriously dated PS2 or Gameboy. And I'm always trying to find ways to introduce him to the glorious world of PC gaming via various games. Recently we bought him a laptop that can play some older pc games and a few of the more recent indie titles like Terraria.

So I'm always looking for games that would be interesting for both myself and for him to play, including games that he won't be able to play right away but will be able to next year when we buy me a new pc and he gets my old one (hopefully). But, by at the same time, I have to watch my gaming budget pretty seriously. With my current job I'm only paid minimum wage (don't laugh, it's honest and I have time to study at work for my classes) so recent innovations like the Humble Bundle are a godsend for my wallet and my gaming.

I do always try to beat the average though

But then sometimes the gaming gods decide to get their laughs from me and drop bombs like:

and

and of course Steam has to get in on the act with the pre-order of:

with Team Fortress 2 items! With some of the people involved in the original Portal game!

The problem with the Humble Bundle was that I already owned 4 of the 5 games included, and the day before I had purchased the Indie Royale bundle for The Ship (with additional copies for my Steam friends). So I went against the grain and bought the bundle for a buck so that my son would be able to enjoy those games as well. And the Quantum Conundrum will have to wait, as our current funds were needed elsewhere (we cleaned up at a weekend yard sale event, nabbing a number of needed items for the upcoming baby ).

I've bought several bundles now, with loads of games to share with my sons and probably eventually my daughter as well. But the gaming goodness just keeps on coming. And I can't help myself. My Steam library is full of indie games, moreso than AAA or mainstream titles, and I can't help but think that it's a good thing that indie games are breaking out of the shadows and into the limelight.

It's just not such a good thing for my wallet.