Diddy Kong Racing: a mother’s day letter from my son
My son Trevor (aka Vyvian in the gaming world) posted this in 2017 before he was too cool for social media. Today he is a successful video game designer and his newest game (Last Train ‘Outta Wormtown) is being played all around the world, with localized versions in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Italian and more. I rediscovered Trevor's letter today and it made me cry. As a parent you never know what will make a difference to your kids when they are grown. When they are little, you do your best to try not to mess them up or over indulge them and hope for the best. I love my kids and am very proud of the kind, generous, creative grownups they have become.
"My mother has always been the "gadget lady" who keeps up with current tech trends. When I was younger, that meant we had a mac before they were household names. This thing was super powerful, we're talking 128 megs of RAM(lol). I remember her showing me the computer, how to use it, the basics of typing etc. and just being blown away by it all. She subscribed to a magazine called Mac Addict, which came with a CD-Rom every month with various trial software, considering internet speeds weren't capable of downloading those MASSIVE 20 meg file sizes at the time. But what was also on those discs each month were game demos. I would play those demos over and over, and when the "Try the full game!" window would pop up at the end, it just made my little kid brain go crazy with the possibilities of what the full game would contain. Since, when you're a kid, the thought of paying $10 for a game felt like I had to win the lottery, rent out my room, and sell off a limb just to afford it, I was content playing those demos and having my imagination fill in the rest of the game. It gave me such a sense of wonder about game design, although this is a realization I came to much later in life. Trust me, my little kid imagination version of Exile 3: Ruined World is much better than the original.
I remember my sister and I would bug my mom endlessly to play "Mario teaches typing" so we could watch, since our little dumb kid brains couldn't possibly comprehend how any normal human could type at the speeds needed to complete that game. We really wanted to see Bowser get dropped into that lava pit. We'd sit there and just be amazed at something that is so integral and normal today: typing on a qwerty keyboard. Regardless, it was one of the first challenges that I set for myself, I wanted to be able to type as fast as my mom! Even today, with all of her incredible achievements in the music world, I'm still like "whatever mom, remember when you typed fast enough to beat Bowser?"
My parents were still a bit afraid of getting a legit video game console, since they didn't want me staying inside all day playing/obsessing over it - they finally caved in one Christmas (or was it my birthday?! stupid kid memory!) and got my sister and I an N64. Packaged with the N64 was Diddy Kong Racing (which lets be honest, DKR > Mario Kart, fite me). I remember the day after Christmas (or was it my birthday?!) I spent 9 hours sitting there, playing DKR. So... sure, their fears were realized, but HEY IT ALL TURNED OUT FIIIIIIIIINE. ANYWAYS... the point I'm getting at:
The person I am today is all because of my loving and caring mother, Cynthia Vaughn. She raised me in a world of music, art, and technology. She put wonder in my eyes for the possibilities of human expression, and the stories we can tell. She's so caring and understanding. She's given me more second chances than anyone deserves and her constant loving support and optimism has helped in ways I can't even begin to express.
I love you, Mom!"
[image: Diddy Kong Racing Nintendo N64 game cartridge circa 1997]