Games have been a part of our relationship from the moment Roger and I first got together in high school in 1998. When we started dating in senior year, it was through the game Dungeons & Dragons that I got to know Roger's three closest friends. When we graduated, the 5 of us ending up being split across 2 different universities. Then online games like Neverwinter Nights, Battlefield, and Team Fortress became a way for us to connect regularly with one another and the source of so many shared references, stories, and memories. It nurtured and sustained our friendships.
As we all grew older, moved to different parts of the U.S. and got busy with our jobs and newly forming families, we played together a bit less. Then in 2019, we reconnected with an in-person reunion where we revived our Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group. We decided to keep playing occasionally online. So when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we were already set up to play online together and it became something we did more regularly during lockdown. Around that time, the kids in our 4 families were reaching an age where they could play online games and they began playing online together, sometimes with some of us parents along, and sometimes independently. Now we have two generations of friends. We live in different places geographically but we support our friendships through a steady stream of various games that we play together.
Outcome
Lifelong friendships that extend from one generation to the next.
This outcome arises from the following 6 milestones over the span of 23 years, from 17 - 40 years-old: