Outside Stavanger’s first gaming hall is a pram. Here is little Else Nevland sleeping, while dad Karl Fjelde Nevland sits in a gaming chair and plays the computer game Rocket League. The two are part of what is the country’s first organized gaming maternity group. Maternity gaming Ruben Eggebø is the founder of Haven, Stavanger’s first gaming hall. He wanted to give parents who are on leave a meeting place that has not existed before. – There is a need for meeting places within this field of interest. When you are on leave, you often lose a lot of the environment around you during the day. We wanted to do something for those who have a lot of time at home, and who have this interest, says Eggebø. Karl Fjelde Nevland and Else Nevland test the conditions in the car simulator: – Now we thought of testing a station wagon on the track instead of a Formula 1 car, Karl jokes. Photo: Odin Omland / news Karl Fjelde Nevland says that life on paternity leave is busy, but that it is nice to get out to meet others who are on paternity leave in the games room. – It is very important to meet like-minded people. When we are here, it is on the children’s terms. If you have to start from the game, no one complains about it. It is nice to be able to play in an environment that has slightly lower shoulders than what you might encounter otherwise, he says. Fjelde Nevland has a PC at home, but still chooses to go to a maternity meeting at Haven almost every Tuesday. – You get a ride out of the house, and meet others. You get the social refill to a greater extent than at home, and it feels less rotten and isolated to sit here playing than it does at home. Although he himself enjoys maternity gaming, he points out that skepticism can quickly arise when it comes to the choice to take the children to gaming meetings. However, he himself is never seen as when he brings the baby call with him. – You do not get as big a plus in the book if you go to gaming meetings as when you go on baby strollers. I think it’s about it being new, and that people are afraid that we will neglect the children, he says. Launched on Women’s Day on March 8, Eggebø decided to launch a maternity group for new parents, where e-sports is in focus. – We launched it on Women’s Day because there is too little focus on women in games and in the technology world in general. We thought we would do something that created attention, and something that is extremely atypical for gaming. Then maternity gaming was the most atypical thing we did, says Eggebø. Ruben Eggebø is calling for more mothers at the maternity meetings: – So far, most fathers have shown us that a greater effort is needed here to make Haven accessible to women. Photo: Elise Pedersen / news Thus, the ball rolled in, and both new mothers and fathers have visited the gaming hall during childbirth. – What is it like to have small children crawling around in their premises? – It is very fun, we go around and are e-sports instructors and are also a little babysitters when this is going on. The parents play while the children crawl around, the founder says with a laugh. According to founder Eggebø, the offer has been well received by several parents on leave. – There is a good rate of coming back again. I do not know if it is the children or the parents who are most eager to come here, but it seems that everyone enjoys themselves. Karl and Else have both become acquainted through the maternity offer. Photo: Odin Omland / news The girls’ problem news has previously mentioned Lotta Klonteig, one of Norway’s most famous former gamers. She has chosen to call herself a “stupid bitch” online, to get the haters in advance. Ruben Eggebø in Haven e-sport points out that the gaming maternity group is a measure to include women in the gaming world. – We are very concerned that e-sports and gaming must make an effort to be more accessible, and especially for women. Here we will move away from sitting in the dark, and the so-called “gaming stamp”. We want to do something that suits the larger society, says Eggebø.
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Karl takes Else (1) to a gaming meeting during childbirth – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
