214: Sex and the Single Player

[Midniqht]

I'm also one of the minority that actually found a girlfriend that likes games. Can't say that I'm at marriage level, but it's still awesome. The only considerable difference is that she likes the more "casual" type games and prefers to play SSX on her gamecube, or anything on the DS, while I opt for Gears 2 on the 360. It's one thing to date a girl that plays games - it's way more difficult to find a girl that likes the *same* games you do.

 

[ActionDan]

I couldn't help Aww'ing at the "a single audible gasp" area. How sweet. You, are a very lucky man.

 

[Jedoro]

All that comes to mind is...

[small]...you lucky son of a *****...[/small]

But in a good way. Like, man I wish something awesome like that would happen to me.

Congratulations Mr. Pitts. You just beat life...on HARD difficulty...

I agree, wholeheartedly. Congratulations.

 

[Ian Dorsch]

Nice article, Russ. I enjoyed it greatly.

I'm not proud of this period of my life, but it did lead to some interesting experiences. Like the time, walking into the back entrance of a bar, carrying an amplifier, I stumbled over two bums having sex. They didn't seem to notice me, so I moved on - quickly. Ah, those were the days.

Yes, yes they were. I never stumbled over copulating bums, but I did accidentally interrupt a couple of tweakers snorting cocaine off of a filthy bathroom sink. Also, there was the time we played an outdoor show and some really stoned dude was writhing around in a sleeping bag in the dirt in front of the stage, apparently masturbating. I don't really miss those days all that much.

Oh man, too bad about those Russians though.

Dude, I KNOW!

 

[dudeman0001]

Thats awesome, a really great arcticle. Suprised how little comments there are.

 

[The Austin]

Uhhhh..... does my totally straight gaming bromance with youngmaxwell941 count?

 

[Cilliandrew]

Hmm....i'm surprised i'm the only one with THIS outlook: I could never EVER live with a woman who was into gaming like i am.


I don't know what it is.. Something about the personality of the female gamers i've experienced. I find they just completely rub me the wrong way. Alot of the female gamers i've met are gaming simply because it's a new way for them to try to find the attention in the virtual world that they aren't getting in the real world, imo, and it annoys the heck out of me.

Case in point: i'm playing WoW. I group up with a priest. We do a couple of quests together chatting all the way. Suddenly the priest announces "i'm a chick, ya know." I'm like: okay great! She posts a link to a pic of her. I say "oh, gee, thanks!" She asks "so what do you think? Am i cute?" At this point i'm thinking is she hitting on me? Is this a dude pretending to be a chick? What?

So i say "yeah, sure, you're cute." and she says "well, i'm married."

So i'm like "uh...congratulations?" Seriously, was that really necessary? Fish for attention much? I've played with a couple of people claiming to be lady-gamers who were like that.

I find that personality incredibly annoying. And i tried dating a couple of women into gaming because i subscribed to the whole "find someone who is into the same stuff you are" thing, and all those relationships ended very poorly.

I married a girly-girl who was a non-gamer (outside of the occassional Dr. Mario/Tetris binge) and i truly couldn't be happier.

Yes i had to curtail the gaming JUST a tad (mondays, wednesdays and saturdays are the evenings i devote to gaming), but overall i can't complain. At least it insures that i do have something in my life that i can do JUST for me.

Not to say that i haven't come across a couple of lady-gamers who weren't pretty cool. But they are a substantial minority.

 

[Leesee]

This article is awesome and I have to say it does go both ways. A lot of the guys I have dated that are not gamers and yes ladies and gents there are guys out there that hate video games... its a little scary.
Anyways they never understood why I would rather spend my free time playing a game. And I would always tell them "Hold on I'm gonna level here in a min." 5 hours later they stormed off pissed off. Yes maybe I got a little too much into the game but I don't have alot of spare time and I would try and get them to play co-op with me but they refused. Soooooooooooooo idk. I do agree dating a gamer is alot easier. The only problem there is if you only have one computer or one controller then it becomes a problem lol.

 

[lizards]

im not a major gamer and dont wish to get married or have a girl for even more than one night but yes i imagine if i were to be like you and find someone that you like to be around that might go away

 

[Shadedblade]

What about those of us who are both musicians and gamers?
Do we have to choose?

Life isn't a novel, you're either with us or against us! XD

 

[geldonyetich]

I'm probably doomed. Gamer for life, but when I started gaming was just getting its start - it would be over a decade before it was even remotely mainstream. Consequently, it's unlikely many girls my age would have heard of it. The best I can hope for will be a tolerant partner.

 

[KingKamor]

I'm also lucky in that I'm dating a girl who games. We have other similar interests, though, such as anime, manga, and movies. She doesn't do a lot of these as much as I do, but hey, at least I'm dating a gamer, right?

Nice read.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

All I have to say is "awwwwwwww"

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Considering the fact that male gamers outnumber female gamers ten to one, actually managing to marry one must be some kind of achievement.

Achievement Unlocked: She's Actually In This Castle (10,000)
Marry a female gamer.

 

[Neotericity]

Very enjoyable read, and you are one lucky gamer, great tips and moral, but what about us non-gaming journalist who are just fans of all things gaming and don't contribute to the community... Plus, I'm also interested in what you have to say about getting into gaming journalism, all in all a very truthful memoir

 

[Hulyen]

Wow, this makes me realize how lucky I am to have a boyfriend who is interested in the same types of games as I am, and understands completely when all I want to do is get to the end of the story, or one more level, or whatever. He also enjoys watching me play some of my games, like Final Fantasy XII, which makes for nice chilling and cuddling time while I stab bunnies in the face. He also understands something like "I want to go home and play more Fallout" and in fact responds with "That's okay, I'm almost done with Mass Effect anyway."

I think having similar tastes and interests/hobbies is an important part of any potential relationship anyway; gaming is no exception to that.

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

Like said the many before me, you beat life Mr. Pitts.

And like in most RPG, now all you can do is enjoy your spoils and help the newbies along the way. Maybe tell them to ingore the other stats and invest in luck.

; )

 

[AgentNein]

What about those of us who are both musicians and gamers?
Do we have to choose?

As a musician/gamer who's dated both musicians and gamers, I'd like to present my anecdotal evidence:

Every musician I've ever dated has been batshit crazy. Sometimes it takes awhile for me to realize this, and sometimes it's beyond obvious, and I've just forgotten that batshit crazy has it's downsides.

I'm not saying that all musician girls are batshit crazy mind you. I'm just strongly implying it.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Haha, I see nobody tells the editor to stick to the word limit!

Damn right. /fingergun

But what about us non-gaming journalist who are just fans of all things gaming and don't contribute to the community... Plus, I'm also interested in what you have to say about getting into gaming journalism

I honestly wish I remembered what I had to say about getting into game journalism Probably something along the lines of "if you want to be a journalist, study journalism" or something. Probably also something to the effect of "follow your dreams" because frankly, that's what I did.

I was actually having this conversation with my boss today. I literally gave up everything in my life in order to take this job, three years ago, just because this job was the only thing I really wanted to do. It was a gamble but I can't complain about the results so far.

The important thing though is this is not my first career. Not even my third, actually. I've been around long enough to know what I can and can't do, and what will make me happy.