‘It’s allowed me to see through his eyes’: Super Mario, my dad and me

When his mum found their old family NES covered in dust and rust, Thomas Hobbs cleaned it up, got it working and reconnected with his childhood and late father

One of my earliest memories is watching my mum and dad play the opening level of Super Mario Bros in cooperative mode on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was the early 1990s, and they were joined at the hip on the sofa, laughing at the idea of two portly plumbers becoming gigantic after consuming copious amounts of magic mushrooms.

In this moment I sensed their natural chemistry, while the intoxicating mix of 8-bit visuals and perky, synth-heavy music blew my toddler mind. Although it was irritating seeing them constantly fail to jump high enough to hit the top of the flagpole at the end of the level, I remember being transfixed by the TV screen, and I'm pretty sure this was the first time I connected properly with a video game.